Members of an all-female Afghan robotics team, evacuated from Afghanistan and flown to Qatar, are to continue their education to study at Education City through scholarships jointly funded by Qatar Foundation (QF) and Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD).

The team, known as the ‘Afghan Dreamers’, were flown to Doha on a flight organised by Qatari officials after their home country came under Taliban rule. They are now being housed at Education City.

Education City houses the largest education ecosystem of its kind in the world, comprising eight universities – including branch campuses of some of the world’s leading universities – and both mainstream and specialised schools, offering education from K-12 to post-doctoral level.

The strategic partnership that has enabled the Afghan students to study at Education City reflects QF’s belief that nothing should stand in the way of education and its commitment to ensuring people from Qatar and beyond can realise their potential, while also further demonstrating how Qatar and its people show support and solidarity for those experiencing hardship and upheaval.

HE Sheikha Hind with Afghan Robotics team

According to QF Vice-Chairperson and CEO HE Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al Thani, the talented students have been living through a time of uncertainty and upheaval, and they want to do whatever they can to ease their concerns in the present while also helping them to look to the future. She said that by providing them with scholarships to study at Education City, their education can now continue uninterrupted.

We are currently assessing their specific needs to ensure they receive the learning experience within our schools and our pre-university preparatory programme that best suits their abilities and their goals.

Our priority is to ensure that these students feel safe, cared for, and confident in the knowledge that their education will not be affected by this immensely difficult period in their lives.

HE Khalifa bin Jassim Al Kuwari, QFFD Director General of Qatar Fund for Development, said that the programme jointly funded by QF provides high-quality technical training in the use of modern technologies which will enable Afghani female students to acquire the skills and knowledge that will allow them to be appropriately qualified and in-demand in the labour market.

We hope that this programme and the strategic partnership between QFFD, QF, and the Digital Citizen Fund will renew hope for a new generation of Afghani girls.

Roya Mahboob, the founder of the Digital Citizen Fund, the parent organisation of the Afghan Girls Robotics Team, said the team is excited and grateful for the opportunity to study abroad.

The Education City is a place where the girls can realise their full potential. The children of Afghanistan are eager and ready to continue making great contributions to the world.

The Afghan Dreamers will be supported in continuing their high school studies and higher education, with placements to be based on their educational assessments and goals. They will also have the opportunity to keep enhancing their robotics skills through the facilities and expertise available at Hamad Bin Khalifa University and at Texas A&M University at Qatar and Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar.

The students travelled to Qatar after the Digital Citizen Fund, with assistance from the Qatar government, secure the necessary visas.


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