Qatar University's (QU) requirements program, affiliated with the College of General Studies dean, organized an event called “Student Research Posters Exhibition for University Requirements Program Students” at the Research Complex building. The event aimed to enhance students' understanding of community partnership, train them early on the fundamentals of scientific research, and address several important societal issues related to the program's curriculum. Additionally, an honoring ceremony was held during the exhibition to honor the General Requirements Program winners.
Dr. Saba Qadi, the Director of the University Requirements Program at the College of General Studies, stated, “The posters exhibited at the event represented hundreds of community engagement research and projects conducted by students enrolled in the first-year Seminar course (UNIV 100), the Innovation, Leadership, and Community Engagement course (UNIV 200), and the Social Service-Learning course (UNIV 220). The presented topics emphasized diversity and richness, reflecting students' awareness of their society's issues and their interest in contributing to the development and progress of their country.”
In a student survey, Abdulrahim Abdelrashid, a member of the “Education Expenses in Qatar” poster team, said, “We strongly recommend the (UNIV 100) course to all students. He emphasized that the course equips students with various important skills, including the ability to create presentations and posters, while broadening their academic, intellectual, and personal horizons.”
In turn, Muza Al-Kerbi commented on the seminar course: “Thank God it is a mandatory subject, as it has its benefits in establishing the student with the fundamentals of study and equipping them with the necessary skills.”
As for Reem Al-Rumaihi from the “Reached” team, she said: “We owe thanks to the Innovation, Leadership, and Community Engagement course (UNIV 200), which grew and developed this idea that achieves the goals of sustainable development and Qatar Vision 2030 in terms of quality education and continuous development. We intend to implement the idea practically, and we only lack capital. Therefore, we intend to participate in the National Idea Competition in cooperation with the Qatar Development Bank (QDB), which will finance the winning idea.” Sanaa Al-Atar, her colleague in the project, added, “As a mother, I feel the need for such a project, and I expect it to receive a positive response due to its importance in society.”
As for the student Ibrahim Al-Musaifiri, a winner of the University Requirements for Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship award, regarding the collective project “The Green House,” he said, “This course truly lives up to its name! Thanks to the Innovation, Leadership, and Community Engagement course (UNIV 200), we started thinking about developing our project idea and turning it into a company, considering its significant environmental and economic impact on society.”
The Poster exhibition:
The posters of the first-year seminar course (UNIV 100) reflected the important outcomes of the course, which include general skills that support students in academic and professional life, such as digital literacy, critical and creative thinking, communication skills, research skills, and promoting responsible citizenship.
This was evident in the posters, as some addressed economic topics such as “The Impact of Economic Development in Qatar on Qatari Society” and “Economic Inflation and Price Hikes in Qatari Society.” Others discussed modern scientific issues like “Ethics of Artificial Intelligence and its Applications in Health and Education Sectors in Qatar” and “The Impact of Artificial Intelligence (Chat GPT) on Higher Education.”
The posters for the Innovation, Leadership, and Community Engagement course (UNIV 200) highlighted important outcomes of the course, including developing entrepreneurial and leadership thinking among students, enhancing their problem-solving skills, promoting community engagement, and fostering social entrepreneurship through innovative and creative solutions to societal problems.
This was reflected in creative projects such as the award-winning project “The Green House” from the University Requirements Department, which focuses on cultivating and greening home gardens with the aim of increasing vegetation cover, thereby achieving environmental and economic impacts through food self-sufficiency.
Another project is “Reached,” which is a wristband connected to an application that allows parents to monitor their children's movements from the moment they leave home until they safely board the school bus and arrive at school, ensuring their security and safety.
The Service-Learning course (UNIV 220), which integrates academic study with interactive community service activities, reflected students' sense of social responsibility through posters of projects such as the “Automated Response Bot.” This project aims to answer students' inquiries at the university library using artificial intelligence.
Students' Honoring:
On the sidelines of the exhibition, awards from the University Requirements Program were distributed to the winning students. Student Mustafa Youssef received the University Requirements Program Award for the Electronic Achievement File of the first-year seminar course (UNIV 100). Student Hamda Al-Marzouki received the University Requirements Program Award for Community Engagement for the service-learning course (UNIV 220). Meanwhile, students Ibrahim Al-Musaiferi, Zaid Ashour, Ismail Sinan, and Mohammed Mallah received the University Requirements Program Award for Innovation and Entrepreneurship for their project “The Green House” in the Innovation, Leadership, and Community Participation course (UNIV 200).
University Requirements Program:
It is worth mentioning that, The University Requirements Program aims to provide university students with a set of characteristics, knowledge, values, attitudes, and skills necessary to enhance their academic and personal excellence, enabling them to play an effective role within and beyond the university. Among the key skills provided by the program through its courses are critical thinking, reasoning, creative thinking, communication skills, presentation skills, the fundamentals of scientific research, technology skills, information analysis, and evaluation. The program also seeks to instill the concept of civic engagement and good citizenship within the framework of Arab and Islamic values, building awareness of diverse knowledge so that students become responsible citizens and socially capable leaders who can engage in civic participation and comprehend local and international changes in a challenging world.