H E Dr Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada receiving the honorary Doctor of Letters degree, during the Graduation Ceremony of Texas A&M University at Qatar held at QNCC. Pic: Baher Amin / The Peninsula
Doha: In an accomplishing milestone, Texas A&M University at Qatar graduated its 1,000th engineer during the annual commencement held on Thursday.
The historic commencement ceremony, held at the Qatar National Convention Centre, saw more than 100 Aggie engineers earn their bachelor and master degrees. They included 95 who graduated with bachelor’s degrees in chemical engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and petroleum engineering. The branch campus also awarded 12 with Master of Science and Master of Engineering degrees in chemical engineering.
To date, Texas A&M at Qatar has awarded a total of 1,056 degrees, with 42.8% awarded to Qatari graduates.
Texas A&M University also presented H E Dr Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada an honorary Doctor of Letters degree in recognition of his achievements and longtime support of the university and its branch campus in Qatar, during the commencement ceremony.
“This is not only a personal accolade for me but also a tribute to Qatar under the leadership of Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Since 2003, I have witnessed the evolution, development and growth of Texas A&M at Qatar as a branch campus of Texas A&M University. It is a matter of pride for all of us to have witnessed the successes and accomplishments of this institution over the past 16 years.
The work of Texas A&M at Qatar directly contributes to the pillars of the Qatar National Vision 2030, and I applaud this prestigious institution for all it does to make a positive impact on Qatar and throughout the region in the noble cause of education,” said H E Al Sada upon receiving the honorary degree.
Hassan Al Thawadi, Secretary General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC), was the invited speaker for the ceremony. He congratulated the graduates for their achievements, recognising the pressures and challenges the students faced during their academic years.
“The graduation that was a distant dream few months ago became a reality today, and it will help graduates achieve their purposes and face any challenges in their professional lives. I would like to invite all graduates to discover themselves and the world and find a purpose for their future and encourage to always look at leaving a mark in the community around them,” he said.
The commencement ceremony marked a significant milestone for Texas A&M at Qatar, the main campus in College Station, Texas (USA), is celebrating more than half a million degrees awarded since its humble beginnings as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas in 1876.
“Through our partnership with Qatar Foundation, Texas A&M at Qatar is educating world-class engineers to meet growing demand for technical expertise and human capital in a workforce that is diversifying as rapidly as it is expanding. For the past 16 years, we have kept this mission in mind. This incredible journey and its innumerable success stories would not be possible without Qatar Foundation’s devotion to education and diverse thought,” said Dr César O. Malavé, Dean of Texas A&M at Qatar.
Saeed Binnoora, a Class of 2019 electrical engineering graduate, was selected to address his classmates and fellow graduates during the ceremony.
The ceremony ended after Todd Creeger, a Class of 1986 graduate of Texas A&M and president of ConocoPhillips Qatar, inducted the graduates into The Association of Former Students, Texas A&M’s alumni organization that comprises the 500,000 graduates of the university and is known worldwide as the Aggie Network.
