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02 Thursday, June 6, 2013 Good morning Doha FIRE 999 DIAL DOHA AMBULANCE POLICE Electricity 991 Water 991 Hamad Hospital 44394444 Childs Emergency Centre (Al Saad) 44393333 Rumila Hospital 44396666 Women’s Hospital 44396666 Airport Services- Enquiry 44622999 Airport Services-Operator 44656666 Qatar Airways 44496666/44496000 Qatar Airways (Airport) 44496688 Gulf Air 44455444 Gulf Air (Airport) 44656318 Immigration & Passport Department 44890333 Traffic Department 44890666 Water Emergency 44325959 Electricity Emergency 44677601 Weather Forecasting (Admn) 44656590 Drain Centre 44687894 Municipality (Doha) 44336336 Ministry of Education 44941111 Qatar Television (QTV) 44894444 Qatar Broadcasting Service (QBS) 44894444 Qatar University 44852222 Postal Department 44464000 SriLankan Airlines 44322628/44369910 Oman Air 44320509/44321373 Oman Air (Airport) 44626835 Contact US: Qatar Tribune ■ EDITORIAL ■ Phone: 44422077, Fax: 44416790 ■ ADMINISTRATION & MARKETING ■ Phone: 44666810, Fax: 44654975, P. O. Box: 23493, Doha. EDITORIAL: qatar.editor@gmail.com, qatar.pressreleases@gmail.com, COMMERCIAL PRESS RELEASE: qtpressreleases@qatar-tribune.com, ADMINISTRATION: admin@qatar-tribune.com, ADVERTISEMENT: advertising@qatar-tribune.com CIRCULATION: circulation@qatar-tribune.com, CLASSIFIED: classifieds@qatar-tribune.com Qatar values ties with UK: Sheikha Moza TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK LONDON CHAIRPERSON of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF) Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser on Wednesday met with the Prince Charles of Wales at Windsor Castle in the UK to foster new avenues of collaboration and promote cultural and educational partnerships. HH Sheikha Moza’s visit underscores the importance of the cultural and educational relations between Qatar and the UK and reflects the historic ties between the two nations as they celebrate the Qatar-UK 2013 Year of Culture. The meeting with the Prince of Wales was intended to further bolster relations, while providing a platform from which both countries can continue to pursue innovation in the fields of science, technology and education and build strategic alliances. During the meeting, HH Sheikha Moza shared several of Qatar Foundation’s forthcoming initiatives within the realms of education, science, research, arts and culture. She also emphasised her commitment to dialogue and develop fruitful agreements that can enhance the two-way flow of knowledge. “Qatar greatly values its relationship with the UK as a longterm partner for mutual development, cultural partnerships and growth. Qatar Foundation is working to create a tangible legacy from the ‘Year of Culture’ by building strong bridges of cooperation with British institutions that can play a significant role in enhancing this legacy of common understanding.” HH Sheikha Moza said. After the meeting, QF President Dr Mohammad Fathy Saoud met with Executive Director of the Prince of Wales’s Charitable Foundation Andrew Wright and signed a memorandum of understanding that emphasised the importance of the working relationship between the two organisations in education, cultural awareness and community development. Dr Saoud commended the Prince of Wales’s Charitable Foundation for promoting understanding and fostering exchange of knowledge between organisations with Chairperson of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser at an event, in London, on Wednesday. (MAHER ATTAR/HHOPL) similar missions. “Qatar Foundation is committed to sharing knowledge and appreciates the breadth of work that is being undertaken by institutions like the Prince of Wales’s Charitable Foundation, which share common values for the advancement of quality education, culture and community development. Qatar Foundation plays a fundamental role by building upon partnerships that have been identified as central to developing the skills of youth and achieving the Qatar National Vision 2030,” he said. In the course of the flourishing bilateral relationship, both nations have reaped the rewards of advancements in multiple fields such as information and computing technology, health care and arts. Through its involvement in Qatar-UK 2013, Qatar Foundation is keen to continue promoting an awareness and appreciation of each nation’s culture, achievements and heritage. At the heart of its mission is the desire to develop the creative potential of youth and support their interests in a wide range of fields. By working with leading UK institutions to encourage greater cooperation in arts and culture, this mission can be further advanced. Within the sphere of science and research, QF supports a number of projects in collaboration with UK institutions, which also serve Qatar’s needs in developing human capacity and earning recognition as an generator of knowledge across the world. Both nations have a shared interest in developing excellence in a variety of fields, including museology and library and information studies. A number of activities will be held in the coming months to build upon Qatar Foundation’s relationship with UK entities. In September, a series of lectures will be presented by scholars and senior researchers from the Education City, who will discuss engaging topics that highlight advancements in the areas of computing, energy, environment, health care, medicine, architecture and urban planning. QMIC, MMUP launch Salamtek driver safety application RAMY SALAMA DOHA SALAMTEK, a free new android application designed to help drivers avoid undue distraction while driving, was unveiled by Qatar Mobility Innovations Centre (QMIC) and the Ministry of Municipality Affairs and Planning (MMUP) at a media briefing held at Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP) on Wednesday. Speaking about the motivation behind developing the app, Abdulaziz al Khal, Director of Masarak at QMIC said, “Salamtek is the beginning of an elaborate initiative to help support driver anti-distraction and road safety through which we hope to continue to contribute to reducing traffic fatalities and injuries caused by car accidents.” Salamtek (which means ‘your safety’ in Arabic) is an android application currently available in Google Play. It works by limiting the usage of the phone while driving so that the driver can focus on the road. The user can, however, set the speed and timing of the application according to his convenience. In addition, the user can set up to three numbers and three mobile applications which they can access even through the blocking criteria. The application will keep a log of all calls blocked and callers will be automatically notified via SMS that their call is being blocked because the call recipient is driving. Eng Ibrahim Abbas, Director of Transportation & Infrastructure Planning at MMUP, commented that “road safety is a complex issue, which calls for collaborative effort to tackle it. At the national level, we need more programmes to address the issue. We need to ensure that we have done all we can, and as such, are very pleased that our joint Masarak solution has begun to deliver applications and services that directly address the important road safety segment.” The Salamtek app is the first part of a smart mobility initiative intended to help improve road safety in Qatar, called Masarak. Jointly owned by QMIC and MMUP, Masarak is aimed towards keeping roads safe through driver performance management, antidistraction, incident detection, emergency/assistance supportive services, and intelligent school bus monitoring systems. Masarak is a comprehensive intelligent transport, logistics management, and road safety services and applications that are fully developed in Qatar and optimised for serving the needs of different sectors in Qatar and the region. Salamtek is not currently available for iPhones due to limitations placed on applications running on the platform. However, Dr Adnan Abu Dayya, Executive Director of QMIC said “innovation is really about continuous experimentation and we intend to have Salamtek keep evolving. Once we launch it, we’ll know more about the number of downloads and characteristics of usage, and we’ll receive user feedback. We would like to add more features, and some of the app’s parameters will be optimised as well.” Executive Director of QMIC Dr Adnan Abu Dayya, Director of Masarak at QMIC Abdulaziz al Khal and Director of Transportation and Infrastructure Planning at MMUP Engineer Ibrahim Abbas at a press conference, in Doha, on Wednesday. (HANSON K JOSEPH)
Nation Thursday, June 6, 2013 03 1,300 staff to join PHCC workforce TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK DOHA MORE than 1,300 employees will join the Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) team in the next five years with the launch of the National Primary Health Care Strategy 2013-2018. The five-year plan reads, “Primary health care at its simplest is the interaction between a patient and a healthcare professional.” Different working groups that designed the strategy have outlined changes to be implemented by each field of work. On this basis, new staff roles in the health promotion area will include community outreach workers to raise awareness and support change in public behaviour as well as more nutritionists to support people in healthy diets. According to a press release issued by the corporation, radiographers to carry out mammographies for screening and new staff to support NCD care, including specialist nurses, are also needed. “There will also need to be allied health professionals such as podiatrists and physiotherapists. Regarding home care, PHCC plans to create a multidisciplinary team comprising physician, home care nurse, social worker, dietitian and pharmacist. Health Promotion Manager at PHCC Yousra Hammad Bagadi emphasised the importance of the strategy. She said, “It will change the way care is provided in Qatar by focusing on prevention. Being a patient-centred plan, it will help employees to design implementation plans in the best possible way.” QC’S QR2MN PROJECTS IN SYRIA Qatar Charity recently carried out relief projects worth QR2 million in Syria, which included distribution of 11,100 food baskets, 1000 bags of flour, and 5,000 blankets in different regions of Syria. The goal of these projects is to alleviate the suffering of displaced Syrians by providing them food and shelter. Qatar’s education future in spotlight at UK debate TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK MANCHESTER (UK) QATARI students joined their peers, policymakers and educators in the United Kingdom on Tuesday for a debate and discussion on the future of education. Qatar-UK 2013, in conjunction with the British Council’s Going Global conference for leaders of higher education and Qatar Foundation’s World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE), convened leading experts at the University of Salford for a formal debate on, ‘Will the teaching profession as we know it become obsolete?’ The event was one of activities to celebrate Qatar and the UK educational ties and forge lasting partnerships for the future. The debate was co-hosted by Martin Davidson CMG, chief executive of the British Council and Stavros Yiannouka, CEO of WISE. On the premise that rapid technological innovation creates new methods of education and expands access to knowledge, three speakers supported the idea that teaching would be rendered obsolete in the future and three opposed it. Notably, Georgetown University Qatar student Bilal Shakir was among those opposing the idea that technology will replace teaching as a profession. Shakir presented a clear and concise case that technology should augment the learning process. Maintaining that problems with current education systems stem from the systems themselves and not with teachers, Shakir said those who argued for replacing teachers with technology mistook the prognosis for the diagnosis. “We need to find creative ways to fix the teaching system and invest in teachers not make teaching obsolete. Technology can and should augment learning – but it must never replace teachers,” argued Shakir, citing the work of the NGO BRAC across South Asia. Professor Martin Hall, vice-chancellor of the University of Salford, joined Shakir in supporting the value of traditional teaching. Proponents of the idea that technology will eventually replace teachers in the classroom pointed to the power of individual students in determining educational outcomes and rising costs of traditional education compared to those of emerging technologies. Qatari students studying at the University of Leeds, University of Huddersfield, University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University in the UK joined the wider student community in the discussion and were given the opportunity to vote on the outcome of the debate. After a passionate hour-long debate, the audience voted against the motion. Jassim Mahmoud, University of Huddersfield student said, “I was extremely proud this evening to see my country, through the WISE debate, drive forward the global discussion on the future of education. I voted against the motion.” 1st Malaysian Education Expo in Doha to open tomorrow AILYN AGONIA DOHA SEVEN top universities from Malaysia including Britain’s University of Nottingham (Malaysia Campus) and Universiti Teknologi Petronas, a whollyowned subsidiary of Malaysia’s national oil company Petronas, will take part in the Malaysian Education Exhibition (MEE 2013) to be held at Crowne Plaza Business Park from June 7. The two-day event, which is being organised for the first time in Doha, is aimed at showcasing to the students here world class higher education opportunities in Malaysia on par with what is offered in the UK, the US, New Zealand, Australia and in Singapore at an affordable cost. Malaysia has 21 public universities, five branch campuses of UK and Australian universities, and over 500 higher education institutions that provide a diverse range of courses in various areas of specialisation. Addressing a press conference at the Crowne Plaza on Wednesday, the Malaysian Ambassador to Qatar HE Dato’ Ahmad Jazri bin Mohammed Johar said, “The Ministry of Education ensures that the curriculum and educational programmes of Malaysia meet international standards. Malaysia is not only a top tourism destination, even among Qataris, but also an ideal academic destination.” The envoy added, “The reputation of Malaysia as a successful country integrated in all its sectors is among its selling points. The current population of foreign students in Malaysia stands at more than 71,000 and is ranked 11th in the world by UNESCO in terms of the highest number of international students studying in the country.” According to him, of the total number of international students in Malaysia more than 25,000 students are from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region including students from Yemen, Sudan, Iran and Saudi Arabia. “However, till date, there are only 24 students from Qatar who are studying in Malaysia and we are keen on attracting more Qatari students to Malaysia. It is part of Malaysian Government’s campaign to increase the number of foreign students in its universities”, the envoy remarked He also stressed the significance of the presence of Malaysia’s best universities in Doha to Malaysian government’s campaign of increasing the number of its foreign students. Marliza Malek of MY Aspiration Malaysia, a new Malaysian-incorporated agency specialising in the organising of education-based promotional events, reiterated the importance of MENA market to Malaysia by arguing that the top 20 countries represented in their population of foreign students are from this region. In his presentation, Safuvan of APEX Qatar highlighted the cost effectiveness of studying in Malaysia. He said while an average cost of studying in a Malaysian university for three years is around $41,010 inclusive of tuition fees and living cost the average cost of worldwide universities for the same period and package is $97,330. Meanwhile, prominent among the exhibitors are famous technical and engineering institute Universiti Malaysia Pahang represented by its Director of German Academic & Career Centre Brian Trenaman, Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation, HELP University, SEGi University and Sunway University. Malaysia’s Ambassador to Qatar HE Dato’ Ahmad Jazri bin Mohammed Johar (centre) along with Marliza Malek (left) of MY Aspiration Malaysia and Brian Trenaman at a press conference, in Doha, on Wednesday. (MANEESH BAKSHI)
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