University College London joins QF

Doha, March 28 (QNA) -The University College London (UCL) has officially joined Qatar Foundation (QF) Wednesday in a partnership with Qatar Museums Authority (QMA) and QF offering postgraduate degrees in museum studies. In a press conference on opening UCL in Qatar, Director of (UCL-Q), Thilo Rehern, said the university is delighted to be the first British university opening a new campus in Doha, widely contributing at promoting Qatar's cultural heritage. UCL coming to Doha happened upon an invitation from each of QF and QMA to present our experiences in archaeology where Qatar is seeking to be a capital of culture, he said Rehern noted that UCL has made a "unique" partnership with QF and QMA in 2010 of which it accordingly became the first British university to have a branch in Doha. Seeking a pioneering position in culture and conservation practices, UCL s activities will reach multiple parts in Qatar including schools, and even the public and all those interested in knowledge generally and archaeology particularly. He pointed the UCL will not only be concerned to develop archaeology-related things in Qatar but the whole region as well, having a staff of lecturers on Arabic culture and introduction of archeological sites to Gulf region, and other countries as Sudan, Iraq and Syria. Qatar Foundation is Qatar Foundation for Education, Science, and Community Development was founded in 1995 and is committed to training and developing its staff. It prioritizes staff development needs through programs such as the competency-based leadership program and the e-learning online portal. Rehern said the new UCL campus will offer two-year master s program in Museums and Conservation Practice, and in Arab and Islamic Archaeology as well as three-year Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy programs (Mphil./Phd.) The UCL is currently offering professional training courses for QMA staff but the courses will be open to all starting at the end of Spring 2012. UCL-Q Marketing Officer, Brett Kershaw, on his part, said the UCL, being one of the top ten universities, has the adequate experience to be transmitted to Qatar. "Some 21 graduates of UCL were awarded the Nobel Prize prominently of them the famous Mahtma Ghandi, Alexander Graham Bell and other figures in the field of art", Kershaw added At a press conference today, UCL Qatar announced the start of the UCL Qatar Lecture Series. The first lecture, titled 'The Dome of the Rock', will be taking place on April 4, 2012 at the Museum of Islamic Art Auditorium at 6:30 PM. Open to the public, 'The Dome of the Rock' lecture will be presented by Dr. Timothy Power and aims to inform and establish discussions concerned with the archeology of the Islamic world. UCL is the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London founded in 1826 in order to open up education in England for the first time to students of any race, class or religion. UCL is organized into 10 constituent faculties; within there are over 100 departments, institutes and research centers. UCL is among the world's top universities, as reflected in a range of performance rankings and tables. In 2011* UCL was ranked 4th amongst European Universities and 7thh in the world rankings. 21 Nobel prizewinners have graduated from the UCL community. UCL is also a member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities, the European University Association, the G5, the League of European Research Universities, the Russell Group, UNICA and Universities UK. (QNA)