QF partner Texas A&M at Qatar graduates 122 engineers
Published May 08, 2022
Texas A&M University at Qatar graduated 122 engineers during commencement exercises held 7 May at the Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiyah Arena (ABHA Arena).
A total of 138 students walked across the stage during the branch campus’s annual commencement ceremony, including 16 graduates from the Class of 2020 and the Class of 2021 who were unable to participate in in-person ceremonies because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Class of 2022 includes 103 students who graduated with bachelor’s degrees in chemical engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and petroleum engineering, and 19 students who graduated with master’s degrees in chemical engineering. The Class of 2022 includes 49 Qatari graduates and 64 female engineers, and represents 21 nationalities. To date, Texas A&M at Qatar has awarded a total of 1,388 degrees, with 43 percent awarded to Qatari graduates.
Her Excellency Buthaina bint Ali Al-Nuaimi, Minister of Education and Higher Education for the State of Qatar, was the night’s invited speaker.
In her remarks to the graduates, H.E. Al-Nuaimi said, “I urge you to take what you have learned here with passion and have a driven determination to use your knowledge and skills to make a difference. This is the beginning of the journey of giving back. We look forward to your contribution to the development of your country and hope to see you back here soon to share your success stories and inspire others.”
Fatima Al-Khayarin, a Class of 2022 petroleum engineering graduate, was selected to address her classmates and fellow graduates during the ceremony.
“As I stand here in front of you, my heart is filled with gratitude and a myriad of positive emotions when I contemplate just how far we have come,” she said. “To all graduates of the Class of 2022: Believe in yourself and know your worth because I genuinely believe that each one of us Aggies can do anything we set our minds to and become a force of positive change in our world. Remember, we are not just engineers; we are Aggie engineers, which means we live our values of Excellence, Integrity, Leadership, Loyalty, Respect and Selfless Service. At Texas A&M, we’ve gained an unwavering desire and commitment to greatness, and learned to do right things regardless of the circumstances.”
Dr. César Octavio Malavé, dean of Texas A&M at Qatar, congratulated the graduates on their resilience and resourcefulness in completing their degree, and their readiness to join a workforce that demands innovative thinkers to devise creative solutions to the world’s challenges of today and beyond.
Malavé said, “As you receive your diploma this evening and take steps toward your professional life, you take an obligation to uphold our Aggie core values — respect, excellence, leadership, loyalty, integrity and selfless service. We now look to you to fulfill your potential as engineering leaders for Qatar’s knowledge economy and for the global energy transformation we are witnessing. I am counting on you, Texas A&M is counting on you, and Qatar is counting on you, and I am confident in your success.”
After the degrees were awarded, Maryam Al-Bishri, a Class of 2011 graduate, inducted the graduates into The Association of Former Students, Texas A&M’s alumni organization that comprises the more than 525,000 graduates of the university and is known worldwide as the Aggie Network.
This year marks Texas A&M at Qatar’s 20th year of operation, and Malavé commented on the occasion during his remarks.
“This month is the start of Texas A&M’s 20th year in Qatar,” Malavé said. “This 20th year is indeed an important milestone, but it also is the doorway to a third decade of Texas A&M University’s alliance with Qatar Foundation. Our focus is on our students and their success. Tonight we renew our commitment to excellence in engineering education, and to research that brings value and economic impact to the State of Qatar. The best is yet to come — not only for Texas A&M at Qatar, but also for tonight’s graduates and the engineering students who follow them.”