Karen DePauw to discuss higher education strategies at Qatar University
Qatar University will learn about Virginia Tech's work in mentorship and graduate interdisciplinary research on Nov. 17 and 18, when Vice President and Dean for Graduate Education Karen DePauw visits the institution in Doha.
DePauw and Associate Dean Mohammad Hajj will discuss graduate programs, student and faculty engagement, and ethics, based on DePauw’ Transformative Graduate Education initiative at Virginia Tech.
“They are interested in particular in interdisciplinary studies and mentoring,” DePauw said.
DePauw will present a seminar, “Graduate Education in the 21st Century, the role of Graduate Schools,” to faculty, administrators and students. She also will lead a workshop with faculty on the attributes of graduate programs.
Hajj will conduct a workshop with the university’s graduate students.
Qatar University was founded in 1977, when that government expanded a former College of Education. The university has seven colleges and an enrollment of more than 14,000 students, with almost 40 percent from other countries.
Today, about 400 students are enrolled in graduate programs. The university offers two doctoral degrees and almost two dozen master’s degree programs. University officials said they are plan to add five new doctoral programs and 14 new master’s programs to their line-up in the near term.
According to its 2012-13 annual report, published on its website, Qatar in 2013 launched an interdisciplinary research effort, bringing together faculty and students from across its colleges and departments. The university chose four major areas of focus: energy, environment and resource sustainability; social change and identity; population, health and wellness; and information, communication and technology.
DePauw noted Qatar administrators also are interested in potential collaboration between Virginia Tech and Qatar University, particularly focused on students.
This is the latest of several such invitations for DePauw, who has shared Virginia Tech’s graduate education efforts with universities in China, Hungary, Italy, Switzerland, and other nations.
“Often they ask for details of how we did certain things,” DePauw said. “They ask how we build our academic community and how we train graduate students for professional fields and the professoriate.”
Virginia Tech’s academic community can follow the action via DePauw’s Twitter feed, @kpdepauw.
