Georgetown University: School of Foreign Service in Qatar

Six students at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar were recently awarded four grants from the Qatar National Research Fund. The grants, of up to $10,000 each, are part of the Fund’s Undergraduate Research Experience Program. The UREP program is designed to support undergraduate student research, as well as faculty mentorship.

Kate Sampsell-Willmann, a professor at SFS-Qatar, sees the collaboration between faculty and students as a true highlight of the program. “The UREP grants, involve undergraduates in the process of discovery, thus encouraging creative thinking, fostering excitement for primary research, and imparting a deep sense of accomplishment,” she said. “Students are not usually exposed to these kinds of intellectual challenges until graduate school.”

Willmann received a grant to have two undergraduate students assist her in research and editing an upcoming book to be published on the work of American photographer Lewis Hine.

According to QNRF Director Dr. Abdul Sattar al-Taie, the organizers were overwhelmed at the positive response from the university community in Doha. “We were amazed and delighted to have received four times the expected number of proposals compared with what was originally envisaged in QNRF's business plan but approximates the number of proposals that were projected to be received five years from now,” he said.

More than 120 proposals came from a variety of disciplines including the arts & humanities, health, engineering and social sciences. Each grant was jointly submitted by a faculty member collaborating with at least one student. The proposals were reviewed by a team of 50 Arab scientists, international and local peers. Al Anood Al Thani (SFS ’09) and Hanouf Al Buainain (SFS ’09) submitted a request with Professor Amira Sonbol to fund a project to study the history of Qatar. The goal of the project will be to create a website to help tell the story of the Qatari people.

Fatima Mokhtar (SFS ’09) and Professor Patrick Laude received a grant to study the motifs and symbols in Mauritanian leather crafts. The research is designed to understand the cultural significance and variety of meanings associated with leather objects in Mauritania. “The role of the arts in promoting a deeper understanding of religion and culture should not be underestimated,” Laude said. “I’m very excited to assist Fatima in deepening her awareness of Mauritanian culture, thereby setting a good example for others in the region.”

Students Assma Al-Adawi and Lina Abduljawad are working with faculty mentor Candith Pallandre to utilize grant money in order to strengthen the Hoya English Language Program (HELP). A student initiative, HELP is a volunteer outreach program in which Georgetown students teach classes to contract workers at Education City.

The response from faculty has been positive. “Qatar Foundation has given the faculty who teach in Qatar a marvelous tool to encourage student development,” Willmann claims. “In this very real sense, students and teachers are together building an academic community in Qatar that will be a jewel of the Gulf.”