QU hosts lecture on ‘Climate Issues and Continued Life-long Learning’

DOHA: Qatar University (QU) hosted a lecture on “Climate Issues and Continued Life-long Learning” delivered by Maria van der Hoeven, former Minister of Education, Culture and Science and Former Minister of Economic Affairs at The Netherlands, and Former Executive Director at the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The event was attended by QU Chief Strategy and Development Officer Dr Darwish Al-Emadi and QU officials and students, as well as representatives of Oryx GTL and Gulf Intelligence. It was moderated by QU Gulf Studies Center (GSC) Director Dr. Mahjoob Zweiri.

Maria van der Hoeven stressed the importance of being conscious and an agent of change for a better world. She underlined the global awareness of climate change in the planet Earth pointing to the position of the United States regarding this issue.

She underlined the role of politics as an instrument of change and the importance of education referring to Nelson Mandela’s quote “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”.

She noted that during her tenure as Minister of Education, Culture and Science, she put citizenship as part of the curriculum and organized the collaboration between industry and schools. She also noted that science is the starting point of research, development, education and economic growth. Maria van der Hoeven noted that the huge challenge of this century is to ensure that energy transition happens in a beneficial and sustainable way for our future.

Dr. Darwish Al Emadi said: “It is a great opportunity for our students to get a face-to-face meeting with Maria van der Hoeven. The topic of the discussion is extremely important and relevant to QU.”

On the sidelines of the event the 2018 class of ORYX GTL Student Award winners were recognized for their contribution to help build a knowledge economy in Qatar. Abdulqader Al-Khouzaam, M.Sc. in Environmental Engineering, and Shifa Shaikh, M.Sc. in Environmental Engineering, who are both from Qatar University, were recognized in the Masters category, while Khalid Al Khoori, Ph.D. in Sustainable Energy, Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), and Ms. Dhabia Al-Mohannadi, Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering, Texas A&M University, were recognized in the top tier award section of Ph.D.