ccq newsletter may 2014

Vantagepoint

“Eyes on CCQ”

May 2014

The Community College of Qatar’s E-Newsletter

Issue 21

Newsletter Organization BJ Jumnadass Editor-in-Chief

[email protected]

Gregory Twidal Writer and Designer

[email protected]

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EXCELLENCECOMMUNITYACTIVITYLEADERSHIPSOLUTIONSCO

MY CCQ EXPERIENCE Abdulla Adel Ibrahim Abas Al-Najjar

FUN, EXCITING ACADEMIC EVENTS FOR MAY


Written by Gregory Twidal

The Community College of Qatar is set to host its third annual commencement ceremony on May 7, 2014 in recognition of the 123 students prepared to graduate this year! This event will occur at Katara and in its splendor, is going to be the largest graduation ceremony CCQ has ever held.

Under the honorable patronage of HE

Sheikha Hind Bint Hamad Al-Thani, Vice

President of the Supreme Education

Council, approximately 123 students of

the Community College of Qatar will be

gracing the stage of Katara’s Building 12

as the graduating class of 2014.

Read what people have to say about this year’s event.

"Congratulations and best of luck in

your future!"- Cece King

“I would like to convey my sincere

thanks (to everyone) for giving me

this opportunity to express my out-

standing experience in CCQ which I

consider a turning point in my life…

Everyone I met there has influenced

(my life through) my education. I want

to thank all of the professors who

were like a candle that consumes

itself to light the way for others. A

special thanks to the great professor

Bernadette Russo, who acted like a

compassionate mother, whose advice

and instruction are precious on both

an academic and personal level. She

is truly a magnificent teacher be-

cause of her sheer dedication to her

students. Thanks to all administra-

tors, especially Mr. Patrick for being

kind, patient, and helpful. Thanks to

all for converting my mistakes into

lessons, pressures into productivity,

and skills into strengths. You really

know how to bring out the best in me.

I will miss you all” – Layna Al-Boinin

"Mabrook, Congratulations, and the

very best to you"- Alfreda Haggard-

Science Lab Associate – Graduation

Regalia sub-chair.

“This has been like a family to me.” –

Mubarak Al-Harib

“I kid-you-not, this has been the best

experience of my life.”- Ebtesam Mo-

hammed Al-Hothi.

“The best experience!”- Sheikha Al-

Masouri.

The ceremony won’t begin until

7:00pm per the invitations, but

Faculty and Graduating Students will

need to be in attendance at their

specific times and guests will be

permitted to enter until 6:00pm, when

the doors will be promptly shut.

This will be CCQ’s third annual

graduation.

GET READY TO CELEBRATE, CCQ!


MY CCQ EXPERIENCE Abdulla Adel Ibrahim Abas Al-Najjar

This month, experience more fun and exciting

events in conjunction with the Spring 2014

Academic Principle Series.


For the month of May, join the Academics Department in

learning new ways to improve your experience as a student or a

faculty member of CCQ. Numerous seminars are planned for the

month, including a video editing conference by Amnah Al-Azzah,

test taking skills by Naryman Mustafa, and a special seminar by

Indrani Ibrahim that’s not to be missed.

Beginning May 15h, join Amnah Al-Azzah of CCQ’s Instructional

Technology Department as she presents on how to record and

edit videos for personal and professional purposes. In an age

where the need to integrate technology into the classroom has

become paramount, faculty and students alike can benefit from

this new method of presenting information. Teachers can use

these videos to complete instruction and offer students new

ways to learn visually. Much like Crash Course and other success-

ful YouTube series, Faculty can create new ways to educate

students using programs they are familiar viewing. Students on

the other hand can benefit from new ways of presenting their

projects in class as well as master skills that can help them in

their future careers. This event will occur May 15th, 2014

(Thursday) from 12:00pm and 1:00pm in the C-Ring Auditorium.

Then on May 20th, join ELC Instructor Naryman Mustafa as she

presents the best tips and tricks for tackling your next tests. This

seminar is beneficial for both students and faculty as it can help

determine the best ways to interact and provide academic

understanding. May 20, 2014 12:00pm and 2:00pm C-Ring

Auditorium.

Lastly, ELC Faculty Member Indrani Ibrahim will finish off the month with a very special seminar on the “7 habits of highly effective students” and how we can better reach the 2030 Qatar National Vision. May 27, 2014 1:30pm at the C-Ring Auditorium.

For more information, please contact Gregory Twidal at

[email protected] or Dean Ford at

[email protected].

FUN, EXCITING ACADEMIC EVENTS FOR MAY


Prior to my attendance at the Com-munity College of Qatar (CCQ), I was both eager and extremely anxious at the same time because I was insecure about my English skills and feared I would not last till the end. However, my worries have been proven unnec-essary. Although the overall experi-ence at CCQ has ultimately improved my linguistic English skills, the greater benefit was to be exposed to a new academic environment and broaden my horizon. Most importantly, such crucial background has not only al-lowed me the opportunity to get a hands-on experience of the real, pro-

fessional world of studying, but also allowed me to considerably increase my interpersonal, time-management as well as my communication skills. This exposure has significantly boosted my self-confidence and, as a result, I became more interactive with dealing with others effectively and efficiently. Thanks to CCQ, within only two and a half years of hard work, excitement, anticipation, and other mixed emo-tions, I was capable of achieving a goal that I have always perceived as difficult to reach. Thanks to CCQ, I

have changed into a better person and became more considerate of others' needs. Thanks to CCQ, I am now able to continue my studies abroad and graduate not only with a bachelor's degree, but also with an adequate amount of information and accountability to represent and meet the needs of my country. On behalf of all of the students, I would like to give my appreciation and say thanks to CCQ's staff and faculty for encouraging us to study and offering us a second chance to achieve great-ness!

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


“PARTNERS FOR EDUCATION“ RECOGNIZED BY CCQ

April 22, 2014- Numerous industrial, academic, and

commercial sponsors were recognized for their

support of the Community College of Qatar at

CCQ’s annual formal appreciation luncheon.


In a world where it takes a village to raise a child, a group of

industrial, commercial, and academic institutions have taken

the mantle to raise and support the country’s first official

community college. For their efforts, CCQ recognized these

“Partners for Education” at an annual luncheon held at the

Oryx Rotana Hotel on April 22, 2014.

For the second year in a row, sponsors such as industrial

powerhouse QAPCO and long term ally Qatar University

were recognized and given awards for their sponsorship and

support. As many know, QAPCO has funded a number of

successful endeavors with CCQ including several events and

educational seminars. Recently these to institutions

concluded a series of leadership seminars aimed at educat-

ing and empowering CCQ’s female population. In a growing

economy where networking relations is paramount to any

institution’s success, many different organizations have found

potential in CCQ’s ability to provide innovation and specific

training and certification degree programs valuable to the

growth of their specific industries, and the number of special

programs is growing.

Recently the Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC), along

with other healthcare providers recently agreed to implement

a new Associate’s of Applied Science in Health Information

Management (HIM), with the intention of stemming the need

for better administrative control of Qatar’s healthcare facilities.

Richard Brown, Director of Health Information Management

for Hamad General Hospital spoke at the luncheon and con-

firmed the need to support Qatar’s growing community

through the acceptance and sponsorship of CCQ.

Dr. Ibrahim Al-Naimi, President of CCQ, remarked during his

opening speech “We must thank our sponsors for all of their

contributions. Our College has grown from 308

students to more than 2200 in less than 4 years. About 40%

of our students are either sponsored by local organizations or

ministries, and we continue to see an increase in enrolment

of students that work during the day and attend classes in the

evening. We hope to encourage our business and community

partners to sponsor their employees and give them the

opportunity to attend college full time so they can more fully

dedicate their time and efforts to their education.”

Approximately a hundred and thirty students are expected to

graduate in May and this number is expected to increase

exponentially as the college continues to grow. Many of these

students have indicated their desire to stay in Qatar and

continue working in the public or private sectors of the nation.

Quoting Aristotle, Dr. David Widdowson, Director for the

Center for Customs and Excise Studies for Charles Sturt Uni-

versity in Australia, reminded us ““The whole is greater than

the sum of its parts.” Speaking of synergy, he complimented

CCQ on its ability to produce an effect greater than the total.

Among the many different Associate’s degrees offered by the

college, students of CCQ also have the option to earn certifi-

cation and training in various technical and managerial roles.

The HIM degree is among many different Associate degrees

offered by the college. Additionally, the first class of CCQ’s

Custom Management Degree, a program created in partner-

ship with Qatar’s General Authority of Customs is expected to

graduate next year.


PICTURES WORTH MORE THAN A 1000 WORDS

1.) Like a string of pearls, these beautiful classic cars lined the parking lot of CCQ’s West Bay campus at the first annual Majlis al Hewayat

(Hobby Majlis). This collection was presented by Nasser Khalil Ibrahim. 2.) ELC Department Chair Deborah Ali and several other ELC

Faculty members watch intently as students of the WELL Business English Program cross the stage to receive their certificates. WELL

was a joint venture with the Al-Jazeera Media Training and Development Center. 3.) Before the certificates were handed out, audience

members were treated to a series of short films made by Al-Jazeera’s students explaining what they accomplished in “8 weeks.” 4.) Dur-

ing April’s West Bay Open Science Lab presentation, CCQ Student Ghanem Ahmad Al-Mass burns Magnesium for spectators attending

the event. 5.) Humanities Professor Chandi Wyant with CCQ students Ibrahim Al-Qahtani and Abdullah Al-Najjar present on the impor-

tance of preventing plagiarism from occurring in classrooms during a Spring 2014 Academic Principles event. 6.) Dr. Ibrahim Al-Naimi,

Presidemt of CCQ, poses with Mounir Daymi, Director of Aljazeera Media Training & Development Center and presents him with his certificate having completed his own courses in WELL during the joint venture between CCQ and Al-Jazeera’s Media Training and Development Center. These are only a handful of pictures of the many great events occurring each month at CCQ.

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“PARTNERS FOR EDUCATION“ RECOGNIZED BY CCQ


PICTURES WORTH MORE THAN A 1000 WORDS

1.) Like a string of pearls, these beautiful classic cars lined the parking lot of CCQ’s West Bay campus at the first annual Majlis al Hewayat

(Hobby Majlis). This collection was presented by Nasser Khalil Ibrahim. 2.) ELC Department Chair Deborah Ali and several other ELC

Faculty members watch intently as students of the WELL Business English Program cross the stage to receive their certificates. WELL

was a joint venture with the Al-Jazeera Media Training and Development Center. 3.) Before the certificates were handed out, audience

members were treated to a series of short films made by Al-Jazeera’s students explaining what they accomplished in “8 weeks.” 4.) Dur-

ing April’s West Bay Open Science Lab presentation, CCQ Student Ghanem Ahmad Al-Mass burns Magnesium for spectators attending

the event. 5.) Humanities Professor Chandi Wyant with CCQ students Ibrahim Al-Qahtani and Abdullah Al-Najjar present on the impor-

tance of preventing plagiarism from occurring in classrooms during a Spring 2014 Academic Principles event. 6.) Dr. Ibrahim Al-Naimi,

Presidemt of CCQ, poses with Mounir Daymi, Director of Aljazeera Media Training & Development Center and presents him with his certificate having completed his own courses in WELL during the joint venture between CCQ and Al-Jazeera’s Media Training and Development Center. These are only a handful of pictures of the many great events occurring each month at CCQ.

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3 4

5 6


AL-JAZEERA & CCQ CELEBRATE FIRST GRADUATING CLASS

The Community College of Qatar, in partnership with Al-Jazeera’s Media Training and Develop-ment Center recognized graduates of their New Workplace English Language (WELL) program, focusing on Business English and Improving Communication. Written by Gregory Twidal and Lydia Kuniholm

The Community College of Qatar in partnership with Al-Jazeera’s Media Training and Development Center recently recognized 60 students for completing their first set of courses as part of a newly established joint venture between the two organizations. Starting from February 23rd, the Workplace English Language Learning Program or WELL has focused on en-gaging students in projects requiring the use of English to complete work related tasks and resulting in multi-media portfolios. Recognizing what can be accomplished in eight weeks, representatives of both institutions were present for the commencement ceremony, which occurred April 20, 2014 at JSC’s Media Training and Development Center. During the commencement ceremony, videos made by the students showcased how the students learned, highlighted those involved in the process, and even provided a humor-ous explanation using an English speaking Genie who couldn’t grant wishes he didn’t understand as a reason why it is important to learn new languages such as English, in order to promote understanding and mutual respect.

Each graduate was awarded a certificate by Dr. Ibrahim, President of CCQ and Mr. Mounir Daymi, Director of Al-jazeera Media Training & Development Center. Now hav-ing completed these courses, these students will have the option of moving up to the next level of the six- level WELL Program, which will run from May 4th to June 25th. This is not the first venture CCQ has shared with Aljazeera Media Training & Development Center, and more programs may be created in the future. Professor Rami Ashhab, an veteran instructor of the program, remarked “Both the students and training center staff have expressed a strong desire to continue our collaborative efforts.” Lydia Kuniholm is the training program specialist oversee-ing this program. Those in attendance included numerous faculty members of the ELC Department, including Depart-ment Chair Debbie Ali, Ph.D. .


NEW MOU ENDORSES NEW HEALTH MANAGEMENT DEGREE

Last month’s Open Science Lab

was a success. Attendees experi-

enced a number of demonstrations

presented by the Faculty and Staff

of CCQ’s Science Department as

well as by West Bay students who

were also on hand to perform ex-

periments for the crowd. These

experiments included igniting mag-

nesium, proving the electrical

strength of uncommon, everyday

items, and demonstrating the

effects sudden change in tempera-

ture can have on atoms.

Dean of Instruction, Dr. Robert

Ford attended the event and during

the commencement reminded

audience members that only a year

or so ago, West Bay campus did

not have any laboratories to speak

of and now they house three.

“RECAPPING THE SCIENCE LAB SUCCESS”


AL-JAZEERA & CCQ CELEBRATE FIRST GRADUATING CLASS


NEW MOU ENDORSES NEW HEALTH MANAGEMENT DEGREE

New CCQ Degree created through MOU signing

to resolve Health Information Management con-

cerns within the State of Qatar.


In pursuit of excellence, the Community College of Qatar

(CCQ) has partnered with leading healthcare providers,

Qatar’s Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC), Hamad

Medical Corporation, and QF’s Sidra Foundation to

implement a new Associate of Applied Science Degree in

Health Information Management (HIM).

The first Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was

signed with PHCC on April 24, 2014 at CCQ’s C-ring

adjacent campus. HMC signed their MOU with CCQ a few

days later, and plans to sign any further paperwork with

SIDRA are currently under way.

In regards to each MOU, Dr. Ibrahim Al-Naimi, President of

CCQ, remarked during his opening speech “I would first

like to recognize and thank our partners, (PHCC/HMC/

SIDRA), for their support in the development and imple-

mentation of this new AAS Degree in Health Information

Management and for providing sponsorship and employ-

ment opportunities to our students and their staff members.

Due to the tremendous growth our nation has been experi-

encing over the past few years along with the launching of

new national healthcare and insurance plans, there will be

a critical need for more healthcare facilities and improved

healthcare services in our country. This will require

qualified individuals to manage these facilities and ensure

quality care is provided as well as to improve patient

satisfaction.”

Approximately thirty students are enrolled in the degree,

though the number of students is expected to increase

exponentially as the program begins to grow. Dr. Ibrahim

also remarked “This program will improve Qatar’s health-

care system and most importantly, it will enhance the ways

in which patients, doctors, and insurance companies are

able to communicate with one another. It will build upon

the advances already made in Qatar’s healthcare system.”

Developed in collaboration with PHCC, HMC, and Sidra,

these courses will offer students the training and

knowledge required to enter into the field of health care

management. It should provide healthcare facilities and

insurance companies with highly skilled administrative staff

who can provide accurate, reliable patient data so they can

make critical decisions about patient care. Graduates will

be able to manage information centers and medical re-

cords departments for local hospitals, health care centers,

and other healthcare settings focused on the proper man-

agement of health and medical facilities in the State of

Qatar.

Over seventy adults and children attended last

month’s Majlis al Hewayat (Hobby Majlis) Satur-

day April 5th. Presented by the Academic Honors

Fraternity, members, faculty, students, and staff

presented a number of displays and activities for

attendees. Special recognition is due to Dr. Scott

Gehman for bringing in his collection of musical

instruments, BJ Jumnadass for his hockey dis-

play and the combined efforts of John Moretta,

David Britton, Patrick Locke, John Burgan and

Barbara Loggins for a wonderful slide show of

travel photographs (with IT assistance from Pat-

rick Nguyen). Gregory Twidal took many pictures

during the event.

Students making an exceptional contribution in-

cluded Mohammed Hussain Abdullah for an

amazing job preparing and cooking the BBQ,

Nasser Khalil Ibrahim for presenting his classic

car collection and Mohammed Al Tajer for his

video game exhibition. The goal of Hobby Majlis

was to present on the many different interests

and hobbies of the growing Qatari population.

.

“RECAPPING WEST BAY’S HOBBY MAJLIS”

EXCELLENCECOMMUNITYACTIVITYLEADERSHIPSOLU-

STUDENTS COMPETE IN NATIONAL BUSINESS COMPETITION

Recently a team of CCQ students participated in a business competition with the challenge of creat-ing an unknown company and marketing a new product to the populous. How did they do? Written by Gregory Twidal

Recently students of the Community College of Qatar participated in a national competition between educational institutions within Qatar aimed at testing their entrepreneu-rial skills. Roudha Al-Hababi, Noor Al-Mohannadi, AlAnood Al-Thani, Sara Al-Kendi, Shaikha Al-Mansouri, and Maha Al-Hababi formed a mock company to compete with.

Identified throughout the competition as Steve Accessories in honor of Steve Jobs, the competition required students of each institution to establish a mock company, consisting of 6 major leadership positions and departments needed to run a company successfully. Once positions such as President or CEO, finance manager, marketing, human resources, production, and/ or public relations were chosen, the next step of this competition would be to then create a unique product that does not yet exist in the mainstream market and promote its sale to the general public. CCQ’s team assembled a portable, lightweight charger capable of universally powering multiple electronics such as laptops and smartphones of different brands. With so many different companies producing similar products being able to charge any one from the same device would be exceptionally useful, especially in diverse areas such as large family dwellings. More so, this “Jack of All Trades” would be capable of charging multiple objects at a time and would need to be only plugged in when being charged itself. Called

S1, this futuristic product would be the first item offered by CCQ’s team. Once they had a product in mind, all entries would then have to present before a panel of judges and explain their merchandise and the methods they would use to promote and sell their product to the general public. Amongst those involved in this competition included famous announcer Hassan Al-Saai, who spoke to CCQ’s team during the compe-tition. After the initial viewing, teams would then have to write a report about their product and company for submis-sion. Lastly, each team had to then make a presentation in front of the audience and their competitors.

CCQ’s team would like to thank Professors Camille Alexan-der, Rola Zaza, Linda Lebile, and Nereida Llonch for their support. They would also like to thank Injaz representatives Rania Sawalhi and Dr. Ouis for their leadership and advice. “I am so proud to see CCQ students following their dreams while they pursue their college degree,” stated Ms. Camille. This competition was on exhibition at Doha’s City Center Mall, March 27, 2014. CCQ currently competing against 24 teams of the universities and schools in Qatar. Should CCQ win in the finals, we will be qualified to compete against universities outside Qatar and specifically within the Arab region. After that that competition, further competition will expand to include international schools and universities outside of the region.

“DON’T FORGET TO BE ON THE LOOK OUT FOR THIS MONTH’S ISSUE OF PROF. POINTS.”

By Amy Cook and Greg Twidal

IMPORTANT NOTICE ON THE NEXT PAGE

EXCELLENCECOMMUNITYACTIVITYLEADERSHIPSOLU-

STUDENTS COMPETE IN NATIONAL BUSINESS COMPETITION

“If you’ve come this far, maybe you’re willing to go a little further…”

Dear Valued Readers,

I sincerely hope you all have enjoyed my work for the past three years.

This will be the second to last issue of Vantage Point I write and design

as I will be resigning at the end of May. With this penultimate edition, I

would like to issue an invitation to anyone interested in continuing the

newsletter to meet with BJ and I to learn how you can become a part of

this great enterprise. For the past three years, I have worked with the

help of many incredible individuals to develop a lasting and meaningful

way to communicate with the college and support it in my own unique

way.

I believe publications such as Vantage Point serve a valuable purpose,

ensuring each and every member of CCQ is able to have a voice. It has

served as a way for others to learn about our college and to advertise

the many events occurring on and off campus. Now is your chance to

carry on this legacy.

If you are interested, please contact either myself at

[email protected] or BJ at [email protected].

ccq newsletter may 2014

Documents

best experience

standing experience

sheikha almasouri

amnah alazzah

mubarak alharib

faculty member of ccq

layna alboinin mabrook

annual graduation