Georgetown Community Classes Open the Door to New Career Possibilities
It seems like everywhere you look in Doha, there is a construction project for a new road, hotel, or stadium. Plans have already been announced for an 80,000 seat stadium that will host the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2022 final in Lusail City. And for the 2015 Men’s Handball World Championships, when national pride swelled with the unprecedented 2nd place finish for the Qatar Handball team, three new arenas were built with a total of nearly 30,000 seats, all part of the plan to transform Qatar into an internationally recognized sports hub.
Undoubtedly, a tremendous labor pool will be needed to fill the jobs created by this massive sports infrastructure effort. However, in Qatar, many are uncertain about how to break into the industry and develop a career out of it. That’s where Georgetown University in Qatar (GU-Q) comes in.
“Qatar is well on its way to hosting one major international sport event per week. That makes this the best place and the best time to specialize in one of the subfields in sports and exercise,” said Dr. Khalid W. Bibi, Associate Dean for Academic Programs, Georgetown-Josoor Initiative, and one of the instructors for an upcoming program of community education classes taught by prominent scholars and faculty members. Included is a course on education pathways and career opportunities in the sports and exercise science industries.
The new program commemorates Georgetown’s 10th anniversary of academic excellence and innovative thought in Qatar, and is the first of its kind at the University’s Education City campus. Offerings include a wide variety of topics taught in both English and Arabic and are scheduled in the evenings to accommodate people with busy workday schedules. Planning for the new initiative was launched three years ago.
“There are many people in Qatar who would love the chance to get back into the classroom to brush up on their education,” said Dr. Amira Sonbol, professor of history and Chair of the Georgetown University Faculty Council responsible for developing the community class curriculum.
She says many professionals are interested in going back to school and are excellent candidates for the program. Held on Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM, classes will begin the week of March 15, 2015 and end the week of April 19th, running for six consecutive weeks. Classes are open to both men and women over the age of 18 and successful participation will be recognized with a letter of completion.
Topics include comparative religious perspectives, Gulf studies, Arab politics, digital learning, Arabic poetry, great philosophers and world events, Islam and contemporary issues, the history of the Middle East, and of course, sport and exercise science studies.
And when it comes to the sports industry, Dr. Bibi has a lot to teach. He holds a Ph.D. in Kinesiology with a specialty in Sports and Exercise Sciences from the University of Connecticut. He is also a senior editor for the American College of Sports Medicine and literally senior-edited the ACSM’s Certification Book, an international industry standard and perennial bestseller. He brought this expertise to Qatar as the senior editor of the first edition of The State of Qatar National Physical Activity Guidelines. The course he will be teaching is titled “Sports Education and Exercise Science: Contemporary Issues & Relevance to Qatar.”
Dr. Bibi’s enthusiasm is infectious, and it’s hard not to be inspired as he describes this growing industry. “Qatar has invested so much in physical activity. The senior leadership in Qatar had the foresight and vision to invest in the essential building blocks of a healthy society and hence placed sports and exercise in the forefront. They understand how important physical activity is as a way to personal health as well as to promote national development. You’ll find the words ‘sports, sport education, workforce development’ in every central strategic plan, such as QNV 2030, Qatar Olympic Committee, Qatar Olympic Academy, Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, Qatar’s Tourism Authority, Aspire Academy, Aspetar, …to name but a few.”
The primary language of instruction is in English, but Dr. Bibi says Arabic speakers shouldn’t let this dissuade them if there is serious interest as he is also a native Arabic speaker. Classroom learning will be paired with special presentations from industry experts to give participants a front row seat to their insights and a sense of what these professional do on a day to day basis. He hopes to have young people, parents, and anyone interested in learning more about current and future career options in the sports industry and related fields. “In my previous role as the director of the new sports science program at Qatar University, I would often ask students why they are considering sports science as a major and career path this major. To my pleasant surprise, about one third of the students stated that it was their parents who had prompted them to look into the new field because they know there will be jobs in this field. The bottom line is that people see stability in Qatar and in this sector. And if there’s still doubt, I recommend taking this course. You will be convinced.”