PARTNERSHIP: From left, British Ambassador to Qatar Nicholas Hopton, HE the Minister of Energy and Industry Dr Mohamed bin Saleh al-Sada, British historian-writer Justin Marozzi and Director of the British Council in Qatar Martin Hope at the alumni meet.

By Anand Holla

Social networking is well and good, but networking that sparks off from personal interactions is still the king. The British Council and the British Embassy welcomed 140 alumni from 75 UK universities to La Cigale Hotel for the annual Qatar-UK alumni networking dinner, over the weekend.
The guest of honour was HE the Minister of Energy and Industry Dr Mohamed bin Saleh al-Sada, who is an alumnus of the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) and British Ambassador to Qatar Nicholas Hopton, a former student of Cambridge University.
The evening began with a networking reception and was followed by a speech from Hopton in which he emphasised the close relationship between the UK and Qatar and the ways in which UK alumni contribute to the friendly relationship between the two countries.
Hopton said, “At any one time there are over 2,000 students from Qatar in higher education in the UK, and the numbers are growing each year. We are proud of the strength of higher education in the UK and the recognition it enjoys for bringing advantages to graduates. Building on the strong links the UK alumni network in Qatar already has with the United Kingdom and the shared experience of living and learning in the UK, we hope that the members of the network continue to act as ambassadors working towards further strengthening the UK-Qatar partnership.”
The alumni were then treated to a speech by British journalist, historian and traveller Justin Marozzi about his forthcoming book which will tell the history of 15 cities of Middle East. Marozzi gained a double starred first from Cambridge University and has published five travel and history books including a history of one of the world’s great cities, Baghdad: City of Peace, City of Blood.
He took the alumni on a journey through the highpoints and most dramatic moments of Arab and Muslim civilisation, focusing on one city per century, moving forward chronologically from Makkah in the seventh century to Doha in the 21st, via some of the greatest Arab and Muslim cities in history: “For Baghdad: City of Peace, City of Blood, I studied one city over almost 12 centuries. For my next challenge, I thought I would study the 15 cities in the Middle East over 15 centuries; maybe I have gone mad but I do like a challenge!”
The range of alumni present at the event was extremely diverse representing a wide range of disciplines – engineering, law, business, education, archaeology, architecture, science and sports management.
One alumnus, Azlan Pa’wan, from Coventry University said, “I’m an entrepreneur and looking to build a strong network in Qatar. I have only been here a few months and the networking dinner was a good opportunity for me to get to know other professionals in the country. It was nice to engage people from countries all over the world and exchange thoughts and ideas.”
The British Council currently has 500 alumni registered in its network and has announced an exciting programme of events for the year ahead. Martin Hope, Director of the British Council in Qatar, said, “We hope to build a strong community of UK alumni in Qatar. Our ambition is to grow the Qatar UK alumni network from its current 500 members to 2,000 over the coming years.  The only qualification for membership is to have studied at a UK university and we encourage all UK alumni in Qatar to join us.”
The UK and Qatar have an important, long-standing relationship, strengthened through the strong individual connections that many Qataris enjoy with the UK through their attendance at academic institutions. The British Council Qatar would like to connect with anyone who has worked or studied in the UK to join our group of alumni.
It was in March 2013 that the Qatar UK Alumni Network was launched in the presence of the Prince of Wales and HE Dr Mohamed bin Saleh al-Sada. The alumni network offers a range of activities that will provide its members with many opportunities to meet and exchange experiences; to learn and develop their careers; to support and mentor recent graduates and to inspire the next generation of leaders in Qatar.