CNA-Q and UNESCO sign MOU and announce UNESCO Chair
10/24/2016 11:40:22 AM
CNA-Q and UNESCO sign MOU and announce UNESCO Chair
October 23, 2016 – College of the North Atlantic - Qatar (CNA-Q) and the Qatar National Commission for Education, Culture and Science (QNCECS) signed a Memorandum of Understanding that will see the two organizations work together on a number of projects and activities that will further the outreach, research, advocacy, and programming of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and Sustainable Development in Qatar.
The MOU was signed by Dr. Hamda Hassan Al-Sulaiti, Secretary General of the QNCECS, and Dr. Ken MacLeod, President of CNA-Q. Dr. Hamda wasted no time in declaring the first accomplishment of the new partnership when she announced that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) had awarded CNA-Q a prestigious UNESCO Chair on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and Sustainable Development.
Dr. Hamda noted that the two organizations have plans to conduct collaborative activities through the new UNESCO Chair, the QAPCO Professional Chair in Vocational Studies, and the UNESCO-UNEVOC Center for Qatar, which is also located on the CNA-Q campus.
Dr. Rupert Maclean has been appointed as the UNESCO Chair holder by UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. Dr. Maclean concurrently holds the QAPCO Professional Chair in Vocational Studies in CNA-Q’s Office of Applied Research and Innovation; and thus, the UNESCO Chair will also be located in the same office.
Dr. Maclean is well qualified to assume the role of UNESCO Chair, as he has had a long and esteemed career as a TVET researcher and author, and has been a member of the UNESCO community for two decades, working in various UNESCO offices in Myanmar, Bangkok, Paris, and Bonn. The Chair will be funded by CNA-Q and industry partners for an initial period of four years.
Dr. Hamda Hassan Al-Sulaiti said, “CNA-Q is the premier provider of TVET programmes in Qatar. I can think of no better organization to partner with the Qatar National Commission for Education, Culture, and Science and to take on the responsibilities of hosting a UNESCO Chair in the region. TVET is extremely important for Qatar and countries in the GCC. The UNESCO Chair will focus on two areas of importance to UNESCO, that of inclusive growth, so that the benefits of economic development encompass all sectors of the community, and sustainable development, which seeks to minimise the adverse impact of economic growth and development on the environment.”
The role of the Chair is to ensure that UNESCO priority areas are applied in Qatar and the GCC, such as skills development for employability, green economies, entrepreneurship education, job transition from classroom to workplace, and meeting the vocational and technical training needs of Qatar’s energy and industry sector. The Chair will conduct extensive local and regional labour market policy research, and produce effective strategies to ensure that all Qatari graduates are appropriately prepared to fulfill the goals of the Qatar National Vision 2030.
“As the State’s premier college of applied teaching and learning, we are delighted to be partnering with the Qatar National Commission for Education, Culture, and Science and it is very fitting that UNESCO has granted this Chair to Qatar, and that it is located on our campus, and filled by one of our staff members. At CNA-Q, our educational philosophy is centered on applied technical and vocational education. The UNESCO Chair will conduct targeted research and outreach, and provide leadership to the State of Qatar in educational pathways linked to evolving labor force needs. This will provide opportunities for young Qataris to achieve a skillset in their chosen field that prepares them to build both their own future and that of Qatar,” said CNA-Q President, Dr. Ken MacLeod.
CNA-Q is the Qatari campus of the Canadian technical institution of the same name. Since opening in 2002, the College has graduated over 5000 students from 30 certificate and diploma programs in Business Studies, Engineering Technology, Health Sciences, and Information Technology.
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