Ashghal hires two students after graduating from QU's Engineering Faculty

The Public Works Authority 'Ashghal' continues to invest in developing Qatari cadres and competencies and providing opportunities to obtain university degrees. This comes in line with the country's vision to rely on its citizens to occupy various positions and perform a variety of functions.

Ashghal is achieving this by launching a number of development plans and programmes, short and long-term, in addition to cooperating with the Ministry of Administrative Development on the government's scholarship programme. This aims at enabling students and employees to complete their education and technical studies within Qatar and abroad according to the authority's strategy to develop national cadres to meet current and future needs.

In line with these efforts, the Training and Development Department in Ashghal hired two students who graduated in spring 2015 from the engineering faculty in Qatar University through the scholarship programme. Engineer Abdallah Qassem received a Bachelor's degree in civil engineering and was appointment in September 2015 as a civil engineer in the Roads Design Department in Ashghal. Engineer Jawaher Hamad al Kaabi also received a Bachelor's degree in architecture and joined Ashghal's Building Design Department in mid-September 2015.

Both students had the opportunity to intern at Ashghal in summer 2014 while they were still in university. The internship revolved around becoming familiar with the duties and responsibilities of the roads and building's departments. They also attended a number of meetings and went on site visits to many of Ashghal's projects. On his experience as a student on a scholarship, Eng. Abdallah said: "Being on a scholarship is very important as it motivates students to do their utmost. I personally learned a great deal during my internship in the authority's many departments, and the training team was extremely helpful despite the work-load. This experience helped me apply some skills that I learned during my time in university."

It is worth noting that Architect Fatima Adel al Zaraa was the first student to benefit from Ashghal's sponsorship and scholarship programme and she received her Bachelor's degree in Architecture from Qatar University in spring 2014, while she officially joined Ashghal's Building Design Department in October 2014. Eng. Fatima who also interned at Ashghal during the summer break said: "The summer internship programme helped me gain experience and become widely familiar with the buildings' department duties and responsibilities. It also taught me how to effectively prepare for and manage meetings, become a more confident public speaker and overcome the shyness to ask questions, as it is the only way to keep learning."

Eng. Fatima added that receiving a scholarship from Ashghal helped her in more ways than one, not only because of the scholarship itself, but the experience forced her to better organize her studies and maintain her high grades so as not to lose the scholarship. She also expressed her deepest gratitude for the support she received in developing her career, notably from her manager Eng. Lahdan Saqr al Mohanadi, Director of Building Affairs, as well as from Eng. Muhammad Nasser al Baker, Head of Architecture Department in the Buildings Affairs Department.

The Scholarship and Sponsorship Programme in the Training and Development Department continues to sponsor students in different specialties within Qatar and abroad, in coordination with the government scholarship programme of the Ministry of Administrative Development. Ashghal is currently sponsoring 25 students in different engineering specialties; namely, civil, mechanical, electrical and chemical. Ten of these students go to Qatar University, 13 students are attending universities in the UK's Liverpool John Moores University, Coventry University, and University of Brighton, and 2 students are attending Arizona State University and University of Colorado in the United States.

The Summer Internship programme in Ashghal takes in 15 students every year while giving priority to students who are required to complete an internship to graduate. There is also direct communication with local universities to provide a list of students (candidates) for the summer internship. Furthermore, 13 students took part in the summer internship programme offered by Ashghal this year in each of the following departments: Drainage Networks Operation and Maintenance Department, Roads Maintenance Department, Expressway Projects Department and Buildings Affairs Department. Ashghal will continue to receive summer intern students for the coming year if they are enrolled in any summer classes.

It is worth mentioning that Ashghal has stopped accepting scholarship applications directly and is instead accepting applications through the government scholarship programme initiated by the Ministry of Administrative Development. Through this programme, scholarship procedures for all ministries, government bodies and public institutions are coordinated with the Ministry of Administrative Development to contract with Qatari candidates who are either fresh high school graduates or current university students offering them scholarships covering different specialties in universities within Qatar or abroad.

Ashghal is committed to enhance national competencies as it is considered one of the leading government entities responsible for contributing to the overall development and sustainability through developing infrastructure projects, buildings, and public facilities in different parts of the country and according to long-term strategic objectives with clear development plans.