Jul 15, 2018
QATAR CAREER DEVELOPMENT CENTER WRAPS UP SUMMER CAREER CAMP 2018
Qatar Career Development Center (QCDC), a member of Qatar Foundation (QF), has wrapped up the fifth edition of its Summer Career Camp, which saw around 50 secondary school students take part.
The camp, which ran from July 1-12 at the Education City Student Center, offered students a stimulating and educational environment designed to equip them with the skills and knowledge necessary to make informed academic and career decisions.
Mrs. Machaille Al-Naimi, President of Community Development, QF, attended the final day of the camp and congratulated students on their participation in the program’s activities, while wishing them success in their academic and professional choices.
Urging participants to promote a culture of career guidance, Al-Naimi said: “You are the ambassadors of the future, and we count on you to assist your colleagues in choosing the appropriate academic and career paths that will shape their lives.
“On this occasion, I would like to assure you that QCDC and QF will always stand by you, the youth, ready to support you on your journey.”
The two-week camp featured a variety of activities and educational programs, as well as stimulating workshops designed to provide students with practical skills and knowledge to help them plan their academic and career paths.
During the camp, students were introduced to QCDC’s Career Advising System (CAS), which features diverse and innovative components, including psychometric and personality assessment tools, to help students identify the most appropriate academic and career paths in line with the future needs of Qatar. As part of the camp, Stenden Qatar University of Applied Sciences (Stenden Qatar) conducted a day-long training session for students, teaching them a range of life skills designed to prepare them for university, in addition to offering practical advice for use when traveling for study programs abroad.
Commenting on the camp’s fifth edition, Mr. Abdulla Al Mansoori, Director, QCDC, said: “I am pleased that the fifth edition of the Summer Career Camp has had a strong impact on the lives of these students.
“Over the last two weeks, they participated in an intensive program of activities that provided them with insight into the professional world, enabling them to make well-informed academic and career choices. At QCDC, we motivate young participants to believe in their abilities, explore their interests and pursue their ambitions in line with the aspirations and objectives of the job market in Qatar.”
The camp featured site visits and job-shadowing programs at leading organizations in Qatar, providing participants with real-world insight into workplace environments with the aim of helping them to match their abilities and skills with various career choices. The site visits also provided an opportunity for students to familiarize themselves with the dynamics of Qatar’s labor market across various industries, and the future needs of the nation.
Six days were dedicated to site visits at institutions operating across various sectors in Qatar. These included a ‘Medical Day’ sponsored by Hamad Medical Corporation; an ‘Agriculture Day’ sponsored by the Qur’anic Botanic Garden, a member of QF; an ‘Engineering Day’ jointly sponsored by College of the North Atlantic – Qatar and Msheireb Properties; a ‘Banking Day’ sponsored by Qatar National Bank; a ‘Media Day’ sponsored by Northwestern University in Qatar, a QF partner university; and a ‘Transport Day’ sponsored by Qatar Airways.
Sharifa Mohamed Al-Qasimi, one of the participating students, said the camp deepened her understanding of the labor market, and provided insight into the educational and career opportunities that best align with her skills and abilities.
“The Summer Career Camp offered me new experiences and the opportunity to make new friends, but most importantly, I gained a better understanding of chemical engineering, the major I want to study and pursue in the future,” she said. “As well as getting a glimpse into the realities of a workplace, I learned more about the nature of work in this specialty and even had the chance to try my hand at operating factory machines.”
The final day of the camp featured an introductory session on universities in Qatar, such as QF partner universities Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar and Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar; Qatar University; and Stenden Qatar. Representatives of these universities provided students with an overview of their academic programs, admission processes, and entry requirements, designed to help students make informed academic decisions and prepare them for university life.
All students who completed the program were awarded participation certificates.
