College lands $500 million international contract
6/5/2001 1:26:02 PM
Sunday, June 3, 2001 - College of the North Atlantic has been selected to be the Lead College for a contract to develop the Qatar College of Technology in the State of Qatar, Middle East. The contract is valued at more than $500 million (Cdn.), the largest international contract ever awarded to a Canadian post-secondary institution.
The contract was finalized at a signing ceremony in Qatar on Sunday, June 3.
“The Board of Governors for College of the North Atlantic is delighted to support the internationalization of our institution,” says Moya Cahill, board chair.
“The President and senior staff for the new Qatar College of Technology will be recruited from within the ranks of College of the North Atlantic. This speaks volumes to the quality of our institution and our people.”
The lead partner in the initiative is the Canadian Bureau for International Education, a national, non-governmental organization of which College of the North Atlantic is a member.
“CBIE is delighted to be engaged with College of the North Atlantic on this important project,” said Jim Fox, CBIE President.
“The college has all the right capabilities to provide the personnel and programs for the new Qatar College of Technology and college staff are genuinely interested in making this work for both the Qatar College and to advance the internationalization of their own institution. Beyond that, the partnership opens up a new country with which Newfoundland and Labrador can develop a close relationship through educational cooperation.”
College of the North Atlantic President Pamela Walsh explained that a delegation from Qatar visited Canada in May to evaluate institutions that were being considered for the Lead College role. They toured several College of the North Atlantic campuses and were very impressed.
“One of the things we showed the delegation was our Petroleum Training Centre at the Seal Cove campus which features state-of-the-art equipment, including a full-sized drilling rig simulator,” says Walsh.
“The centre is also one of only six sites in the world offering Offshore Well Control Certification recognized by the International Well Control Federation, and I think they were somewhat impressed by that.”
President Walsh says the relationship that will be developed between the college and the State of Qatar will be beneficial to the province as knowledge transfer and the sharing of best practices in the oil industry will be undertaken.
“Qatar has both onshore and offshore oil industries, and they are a major producer of natural gas,” says Walsh.
“Compared to Qatar, Newfoundland and Labrador is still in the early stages of developing its oil and gas sector and should benefit from this new and exciting partnership.”
Provincial Youth Services and Post-Secondary Education Minister Sandra Kelly, says she is delighted to see College of the North Atlantic taking the lead role in this project.
“The awarding of this contract, the largest ever to a Canadian post-secondary educational institution, establishes College of the North Atlantic as being among the best in the country,” says Minister Kelly.
“The contract recognizes the college’s quality curriculum, its excellent staff and its international reputation as a progressive institution.”
The Newfoundland contingent returns from Qatar later this weekend and will hold a press conference on Monday, June 11 to announce further details on the project.
College of the North Atlantic operates 18 campuses in Newfoundland and Labrador. It is the largest post-secondary and skills training institute in Atlantic Canada offering over 70 full-time programs and more than 300 part-time courses.
The Canadian Bureau for International Education represents 130 educational institutions and has negotiated educational trade valued at nearly $2 billion. It has more than 25 years of experience providing education to the Arab world and is the Executing Agency to guide the overall development of the Qatari college project.
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For more information contact:
Stephen Lee
Communications Officer
College of the North Atlantic
(709) 643-7928
Jennifer Humphries
Director, CBIE
(613) 237-4820 (ext. 246)
Andrea Maunder
Director of Communications
Department of Youth Services and Post-Secondary
(709) 729-0048