Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar (VCUarts Qatar) welcomed new and returning students, staff and faculty to the 2023-2024 academic year earlier this week.
VCUarts Qatar is a partner university of Qatar Foundation and is the only university in Qatar dedicated to arts and design. The school was set up in 1998 and is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.
This year, 101 new students from 19 countries are joining the VCUarts Qatar community. Of these, 91 students are undergraduates, while seven are joining the post-graduate MFA in Design programme.
The first week kicked off with an immersive and motivating orientation programme. The new students were accorded a warm welcome by VCUarts Qatar faculty, staff, students and the university’s senior leadership, including Dean Amir Berbić.
According to Dean Berbić, who extended his congratulations and welcome to the new members of the VCUarts Qatar family, they are in the right place.
This is where the creative energy is, this is where the future you are looking for will unfold. We are celebrating 25 years in Qatar, and you, the class of 2027, kicks off our next exciting 25 years – years of innovation, growth, curiosity and bold creativity.
The dean said they are delighted for the students and hope that they learn a lot, get immersed in all that they have to offer. He also thanked them for choosing VCUarts Qatar.
A ‘taste’ of different academic pathways
The new students were also introduced to the directors, heads and chairs of the various academic and non-academic departments, who gave the students an overview of VCUarts Qatar’s BFA, BA and MFA programmes.
The orientation programme for new students was a four-day activity-driven introduction to VCUarts Qatar. The icebreakers, brainstorming and team-building activities were all linked to a theme to provide participants a taste of the academic pathways and help the new students get comfortable in their new surroundings.
New student Dayna Balough, a Graphic Design exchange student from VCU in Richmond, said this is the kind of environment she wants to be. She said she saw the work of VCUarts Qatar students in Richmond and it inspired her to come to Qatar.
International student Nazanin Towhidkhah also said that the first time she travelled to Qatar, she fell in love with the country. When she found out about VCUarts Qatar, she said it was the perfect combination of culture, tradition, and modern education.
Off-campus welcome for faculty, staff
During the orientation week, the university’s Department of Human Resources held a one-day off-campus welcome at Al Messila Resort for new and returning faculty and staff where the leadership team shared priorities and strategic developments for the upcoming year.
VCUarts Qatar is the international branch campus of the highly-rated Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Richmond, Virginia. The Qatar campus currently has 175 faculty and staff, including 15 new hires.
To learn more about VCUarts Qatar, visit qatar.vcu.edu.
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