Global Economic Observer (Jun 2019)
Foreign Universities in Qatar: A Critical Review of Policy and Sustainability Issues
Abstract
Qatar is transitioning toward a knowledge society and aims to become a hub for international education. Qatar’s Permanent Constitution and Nation Vision 2030 explicitly refer to the role of government in promoting sound education and making it the prime driver of human, social, and economic development. The government has invested 3.5% of its GDP in education. Since 1998, Qatar has succeeded in contracting with 11 international foreign universities to open International Branch Campuses (IBCs) in Qatar, including Texas A&M University, Weill Cornell Medicine, Georgetown University, University College London, and the University of Calgary. These IBCs offer a range of specializations and degree programmes, such as medicine, engineering, foreign affairs, journalism, and tourism. Hence, this study attempts to examine Qatar’s policy on IBCs and investigate its sustainability. The paper focuses on discussing critical policy issues, including English as a language of instruction, mixed-gender education, and IBC ‘glocalization’, and addresses sustainability issues related to the IBCs such as political will, economic diversification, and the contribution of the IBCs to Qatari society. This library-based, theoretical, and critical study provides a basis for extended scholarly investigations and debates on Qatar’s unique model of hosting foreign universities’ campuses.
