Building connections with QF via GU-Q Leadership Track programme
THE Georgetown Leadership Track programme at the Georgetown University in Qatar (GU-Q), a Qatar Foundation (QF) partner institution, invited juniors and seniors to participate in a session on ‘Building Connections with Qatar Foundation’.
The session was an important part of the final year of the learning track, which focuses on encouraging students to prepare for life beyond graduation by networking and starting to put into practice the lessons learned over the course of their undergraduate years.
The event included presentations from two senior members of QF’s management, who shared their experiences in contributing to the journey of the organisation. They also inspired students with their first-hand accounts of learning and growing as professionals, showing the real impact a career can have on the institutions and the people they serve.
The first of the two speakers was Amy Johnson, director of Community Engagement at QF, who is responsible for activating QF’s Education City as an open, welcoming community destination, as well as managing QF student engagement with the organisation’s partner universities.
Beginning her presentation with an extensive overview of QF, from its beginnings 25 years ago to the global hub of education, research and innovation and community development that it is today, she said: “It is incredible to see what has been built and created by QF in a short amount of time, given the scale of our organisation.”
Johnson emphasised how QF’s unique status as a hybrid organisation that sits between the public and private sectors gives it the flexibility and capacity to identify and address many different challenges.
“When we see a gap in society that isn’t being filled, we’ll step in and fill that need until such time as another organisation may be in a position to fulfil this role.”
The second speaker was Hamad Al Kuwari, executive director of City Operations at QF, who oversees the leaders of six departments including QF’s
Integrated Transportation System, Security, Facilities & Infrastructure, General Services, SIDRA Facilities Services, and Services and Initiatives. In his presentation, he detailed the wide scale of operations that maintains the visual impact of Education City while ensuring it is a safe and comfortable place for thousands of people to work and study.
Al Kuwari, who played a key role in designing QF protocols and policies during the pandemic, also shared insights into how QF positioned itself to be prepared for the effects of COVID-19. He explained how the severe flooding of October 2018, which caused widespread damage in Qatar and the region, led to critical changes being made in disaster response protocols that came to the fore when the pandemic hit.
“That flooding affected Education City for several days, but it also made us think differently,” he said. “We started asking: how can we be more prepared for the unforeseen How can we think through different scenarios which were thought of as unlikely to happen
“Today, we are in a much better position. We understand much more from our experiences. It has been crucial for us to establish committees, protocols, and to enhance our operation, how to deploy, to go back to work, and more.”
The session ended with an engaging question and answer session, and a reminder to the students that when they graduate GU-Q, they don’t only join the Georgetown Alumni community. “You’re also a member of the QF Alumni community. We want to bring you closer as you continue your education journey and afterwards.”