President of CCQ Dr. Khalid Mohamed Al-Horr
Doha, Qatar: Community College of Qatar (CCQ) is set to expand its academic offerings with the introduction of new programmes approved by its board, President of CCQ Dr. Khalid Mohamed Al-Horr has revealed speaking to The Peninsula recently.
Dr. Al-Horr said the college will soon announce a number of new programmes, some of which have been developed in partnership with local labour market stakeholders, while others have originated internally at the college.
“Our board approved a number of programmes that we are going to announce very soon,” he said.
“Some of them are in partnership with local partners from the labour market and others originate from the college itself. We are going to announce them very soon.”
Explaining how CCQ determines which programmes to introduce, Dr. Al-Horr noted that the Community College of Qatar model differs from that of traditional universities, requiring a strong alignment with national priorities and workforce needs.
“We do have two frameworks to introduce new programmes,” he said. “A framework we call the strategic framework, where we examine country needs, Qatar development plans, Qatar National Vision 2030, the new trends in labour markets and so on. And then we identify programmes that are going to be needed in the future labour markets. So we design a programme and offer it.”
He added that the college also responds directly to specific requests from institutions and organisations. “Another framework we call the special needs framework, where we get a request from a partner in the labour market, like the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, or the Qatar Career Development Centre, or in other cases the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, Customs Authority, where they request certain programmes to fulfil needs related to their work field. And we design a programme for them.”
According to Dr. Al-Horr, around a quarter of CCQ’s current programmes fall under the special needs framework, while the majority are based on long-term strategic planning. “So 25% of our programmes currently offered are based on what we call the special needs, and 75% based on the strategic needs,” he said.
Providing a glimpse into what is coming next, Dr. Al-Horr confirmed that though the five new programmes have received board approval, although they will not be launched simultaneously. “The board approved five programmes, but it will not be launched at the same time. It will be launched gradually,” he said. “The one that is coming in the next academic year will be a diploma in digital marketing. The other will come at a later point.”
Community College of Qatar offers two-year associate degree programmes for students seeking to continue their studies at four-year universities, as well as bachelor’s degrees under the study plan. Its academic structure includes the Science and Technology Division, established in line with Qatar National Vision 2030 to build national capacity in STEM fields; the Liberal Arts Division, which supports academic development in Islamic, human, social and educational sciences; and the Management Sciences Division, which maintains close links with Qatar’s commercial, industrial and governmental sectors.
Community College of Qatar also places strong emphasis on foundational skills through its Foundation Programme and Foreign Languages Division. The Foreign Languages Unit provides English and other language courses to support college programmes, while the Foundation Programme Unit focuses on preparing students from the Qatari community for academic and professional success in a learner-centred, innovative environment.
