College holds 18th meeting of CNA-Q Joint Oversight Board
12/21/2009 9:33:55 AM
Members of the College of the North Atlantic-Qatar (CNA-Q) Joint Oversight Board (JOB) attended the 18th meeting of the board on December 10, 2009 in Doha, Qatar.
College of the North Atlantic (CNA) President Jean Madill, Board of Governors Chair Terry Styles and other members of CNA’s College Executive and Board of Governors travelled to Qatar to meet with JOB Chair Her Excellency Sheikha Hind bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and other CNA-Q and Qatari stakeholders.
The JOB, established in 2001 by the State of Qatar and College of the North Atlantic, provides oversight and direction to various operations of Qatar campus including training and research, relationship building with Qatari industry and government, articulation agreements, etc.
At this month’s meeting, the board reviewed and approved the annual plan and annual budget for 2010-2011. They also addressed the need for a one-year extension.
“The college’s 10-year Comprehensive Agreement with the State of Qatar is due to expire on August 31, 2012,” explains Madill.
“And while we continue our discussions with Qatar for a ten-year extension to the contract, we recognize that committing to another year now will allow the campus to continue in offering new employees standard three-year contracts. We also have a number of current employees asking for renewals and others interested in extending their contracts and becoming non-residents.”
CNA-Q currently employs some 639 faculty and staff in Doha: 517 are Canadians and 163 of that number are Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. The project has experienced remarkable growth and the college is continuously hiring, says Madill, giving Canadians a unique career experience overseas while bringing the new ideas and techniques back home.
“We have seen tremendous benefits for Newfoundland and Labrador in the relationships built, the transfer of knowledge and the career opportunities at CNA-Q; in addition, those vacancies left at the college and throughout the province by those choosing to work at CNA-Q are creating work right here,” says Madill.
CNA-Q is the premiere technical institute in the State of Qatar and its second-largest post-secondary training institution. There are over 30 nationalities of students at the campus, including those from Asia, Africa, Europe Australia, the Middle East, Canada and the US, but the majority of the students (over 76 per cent) are Qatari.
CNA-Q was the first co-ed institution in Qatar, the first foreign institution with a predominantly Qatari student body, and the first international public education institution in Qatar – this project is not only bringing momentous impact to our province, but is making history for that country, says Madill.
“The college’s success with this contract is testimony to the strength of expertise and experience that has been developed in Newfoundland and Labrador’s public college, that which and has served the residents of this province for over 45 years,” she says.
“It is this expertise and experience that enables CNA to assist the State of Qatar in providing quality education and training for the achievement of their social and economic goals. With a new intake of faculty this coming year, we will continue to respond to Qatar’s needs in training an exceptional workforce that will help shape the future of their country.”
The JOB meets at least twice a year, with the venue generally alternating between Qatar and Newfoundland and Labrador.
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Media contact:
Tanya Alexander
Public Relations Specialist – Qatar Project
College of the North Atlantic
(709) 643-0811
tanya.alexander@cna.nl.ca
Roger Hulan
Communications Specialist
College of the North Atlantic
(709) 643-7938
roger.hulan@cna.nl.ca