QUT should be welcoming more students from the Gulf in the coming year, now the university has been approved by the Supreme Educational Council of Qatar (SEC) as a study destination for its scholarship students.
Qatar SEC joins a growing list of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) governing bodies that have approved QUT for their scholarship recipients, the other countries being the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain.
The large number of scholarships is partly responsible for the significant increase in new students from this region.
Semester 1, 2007, saw 121 new students from Gulf countries start courses at QUT and another 107 students are set to join in Semester 2 - most of whom are studying English language programs at the International College (QUTIC) before undertaking Bachelor or Master degrees.
Dubai Municipality scholarship recipient Waleed Al Marzouqi has studied at QUT for almost five years and found the English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and Foundation courses he took prior to his Bachelor degree, very valuable.
“It was the basis that allowed me to do much better in my degree course…I always advise my successor friends that the way to succeeding in the university is working hard during the EAP and Foundation,” he said.
Waleed from the UAE said his Bachelor course met his needs for a quality education and cost of living.
“Studies done by the training section at the Municipality showed the best Quantity Surveying course is offered by QUT, compared with other universities in Australia and worldwide,” he said.
“By comparison with the UK it was found that Australia costs less in terms of university fees as well as living costs.”
Below is a complete list of the GCC scholarship governing bodies that QUT has an approved status with:
UAE - Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE)
UAE - EDAAD Scholarship
UAE - Dubai Municipality Sponsorship
UAE - Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA)
UAE - Abu Dhabi Police Sponsorship
Saudi Arabia - Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE)
Saudi Arabia - Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia
Qatar - Supreme Educational Council (SEC)
Qatar - Qatar Petroleum
Kuwait - Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE)
Kuwait - The Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET)
Oman - Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE)
Bahrain - Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE)
Bahrain - Bahrain Training Institute
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