A group photo of participating students with research supervisors and professors.
Doha, Qatar: Qatar University’s (QU) Requirements Programme, affiliated with the College of General Studies dean, recently organised an event called “Student Research Posters Exhibition for University Requirements Program Students”.
The event aimed to enhance students’ understanding of community partnership, train them early on the fundamentals of scientific research, and address several important societal issues related to the programme’s curriculum. Additionally, an honouring ceremony was held during the exhibition for the programme’s winners.
Dr. Saba Qadi, Director of the University Requirements Program at the College of General Studies, said, “The posters exhibited at the event represented hundreds of community engagement research and projects conducted by students enrolled in the first-year Seminar course (UNIV 100), the Innovation, Leadership, and Community Engagement course (UNIV 200), and the Social Service-Learning course (UNIV 220). The topics emphasised diversity and richness, reflecting students’ awareness of their society’s issues and their interest in contributing to the development and progress of their country.”
In a student survey, Abdulrahim Abdelrashid, a member of the “Education Expenses in Qatar” poster team, said he recommends the UNIV 100 course to all students. He emphasised that the course equips students with various important skills, including the ability to create presentations and posters, while broadening their academic, intellectual, and personal horizons.
Student Ibrahim Al Musaifiri, a winner of the University Requirements for Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship award, for the collective project “The Green House,” said, “This course truly lives up to its name. Thanks to the Innovation, Leadership, and Community Engagement course (UNIV 200), we started thinking about developing our project idea and turning it into a company, considering its significant environmental and economic impact on society.”
The posters of the first-year seminar course (UNIV 100) reflected the important outcomes of the course, which include general skills that support students in academic and professional life, such as digital literacy, critical and creative thinking, communication skills, research skills, and promoting responsible citizenship.
This was evident in the posters, as some addressed economic topics such as “The Impact of Economic Development in Qatar on Qatari Society” and “Economic Inflation and Price Hikes in Qatari Society.”
Others discussed modern scientific issues like “Ethics of Artificial Intelligence and its Applications in Health and Education Sectors in Qatar” and “The Impact of Artificial Intelligence (Chat GPT) on Higher Education.” Mustafa Youssef received the award for the Electronic Achievement File of the first-year seminar course. Hamda Al Marzouki received the award for Community Engagement for the service-learning course. Ibrahim Al Musaiferi, Zaid Ashour, Ismail Sinan, and Mohammed Mallah received the award for Innovation and Entrepreneurship for their project “The Green House” in the Innovation, Leadership, and Community Participation course.
