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The History of the Foundation Program—Part I: The
Founding of Qatar University
Elisabeth Szewczyk-Méziane, Lecturer of English, Foundation Program
In autumn 1973, the first ter-
tiary educational institution, the
Qatar Teacher-Training Col-
lege, was opened in Madinat
Khalifa North. It was later re-
named the College of Educa-
tion. Two government second-
ary schools were repurposed
for the teachers’ college: one
for male teacher-trainees and
one for female teacher-
trainees. These teachers’ col-
leges were located approxi-
mately one kilometer apart.
The Qatari government, with
the support of UNESCO, then
made plans to establish a uni-
versity and thus, in 1977, Qatar
University was founded. There
were three colleges: The Col-
lege of Education, The College
of Humanities and Social Sci-
ences, and The College of Sci-
ence. The College of Sharia
and Islamic Studies was later
opened in 1978.
As the number of students
increased, the government
decided to construct a mod-
ern, purpose-built campus. A
suitable site was selected in
the desert, on the then out-
skirts of Doha. The site was
geographically interesting, con-
sisting of a low ridge with a
narrow wadi (dry river bed)
flanking the southeastern side
and plenty of space for expan-
sion. As the site was somewhat
elevated, one could see the
bay, the city of Doha and the
iconic Sheraton Hotel in the
distance.
Construction of the campus
began in the early 1980s and
the new university was inaugu-
rated in autumn 1986. It was
connected to the suburbs of
Markiya and Dafna by a new
dual carriageway, appropriately
named University Street. The
campus consisted of a series
of buildings which were in-
spired by Islamic and tradition-
al architecture. These build-
ings were designed by Egyp-
tian architect, Kamal El
Kafrawi. Although originally
envisioned to be a co-
educational campus, it was
decided to separate the two
campuses. A wall was con-
structed at the rear of the last
corridor on the men’s side,
thus effectively creating a parti-
tioned university with a men’s
campus and a women’s cam-
pus.
Up to this point, there was no
tertiary teaching of English
language in Qatar, apart from
courses run by the British
Council in Ras Abu Aboud and
a few private language institu-
tions. With the establishment
of the College of Engineering
(1980) and the College of Busi-
ness and Economics (1985),
the university decided to open
a department on the new cam-
pus to teach English language
courses in 1986 to prepare
students for programmes of-
fered in English in these colleg-
es.
A College of Technology was
established in 1987. This col-
lege offered both part-time and
full-time courses; many of the
students were already working
full time for the government.
Classes were taught in the old
Qatar University buildings in
Madinat Khalifa North, one
campus for women and one for
men. The original men’s cam-
pus now houses a boys’ sec-
ondary school opposite Land-
mark Mall.
The new university buildings
won widespread praise for their
novel and striking architectural
features. The buildings’ archi-
tect was acclaimed internation-
ally.
Qatar University: Photograph courtesy of Mike Richards
Qatar University photograph: Courtesy of Mike Richards