CMED welcomes 10 new faculty members

The College of Medicine (CMED) at Qatar University (QU) launched on Sunday a 2-day orientation event for 10 new faculty members at the College’s building. The new faculty members carry 10 different nationalities including Qatari nationals and have come to Qatar from medical schools in Australia, Canada, Egypt, Qatar, UAE and UK. Faculty onboarding sessions aimed to give new faculty members the opportunity to learn more about QU Health Cluster, to meet their colleagues, and to get introduced to various aspects related to CMED including external outlook, teaching philosophy as well as research programs.

The event attracted all 10 new faculty members in addition to 7 clinical faculty (members of healthcare organizations in Qatar which have a clinical faculty affiliation with the College) as well as a number of new faculty from other colleges from the Cluster (Pharmacy and Health Sciences). In his opening remarks, QU VP for Medical Education and CMED dean Prof EgonToft told the new members: ”Faculty are at the core of everything we do. A company may be valued by its products, premises, profit, financial capital, etc., but in higher education, our value is reflected by what happens in the brains of our faculty members and the teaching and research that result. We as administrators are here to serve you. Our work revolves around yours not the other way around.”

On Sunday, faculty members attended a number of sessions on QU Health Cluster and its research agenda, groups and platforms; external outreach and identity; education technology; and QU Library. Faculty members were given an opportunity to visit the Biomedical Research Center and CMED research laboratories that aim to provide progressive and cutting-edge research on health-related issues. A University-level Academic Orientation for New Faculty (YaHala) was organized yesterday to initiate new comers into QU’s work environment and to provide them with valuable information about QU’s vision, strategy, programs, and the numerous resources that will support them to continuously enhance the quality of their work as well as their life in Qatar.

A workshop on Faculty Development “Learning, Teaching, and Assessment” will also be organized today to introduce faculty to various aspects related to the curriculum and academics life at CMED. In addition, this activity will allow faculty to network within their new collegial environment from day one of joining the medical college. The workshop will engage faculty in the curriculum design and structure, and will help them recognize the different learning and teaching strategies used at CMED, understand the students’ assessment system, and receive information on various aspects related to governance and academic committees at CMED.