Dr Mazen Hasna and Dr Sunhyuk Kim at the signing ceremony.

Qatar University College of Arts and Sciences (QU-CAS) and Korea University (KU) College of Life Sciences and Biotechnology have signed an agreement for joint exchanges in Masters’ and PhD programmes at both
institutions.
QU vice-president and chief academic officer Dr Mazen Hasna and KU vice-president Dr Sunhyuk Kim signed the agreement.
Present on the occasion were CAS dean Dr Eiman Mustafawi, KU professors Yowhan Son and Jinho Jung, CAS associate deans Dr Hassan Abdulaziz (academic affairs), Dr Steven Wright (planning and quality assurance) and Dr Khalifa Hazaa (outreach and engagement), head of the Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences Dr Fatima al-Naemi and a number of CAS faculty members.
The agreement aims to establish a formal partnership between both colleges and develop a mechanism for mutual recognition of approved dual-degree programmes at the Masters’ and PhD level.
Its focus will cover graduate programmes in the CAS Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, namely its MSc in Environmental Sciences and PhD in Biological and Environmental Sciences. Students graduating from the programe will be awarded a degree from both universities.
Commenting on the agreement, Dr Hasna said: “I am delighted to see the large number of students, especially Qataris, who joined the two graduate programmes. The department’s close relations with the Ministry of Environment has also served to attract several of its employees to pursue their postgraduate degree at both levels. I hope this agreement will contribute to expanding our research activities and draw more students to this unique programme.”
Dr Kim said, “The signing of this dual agreement reflects the ongoing relationship that has developed between Qatar University and Korea University following the MoU signed between the two colleges in 2013. We are further expanding our academic links by providing our graduate students with an excellent opportunity to study jointly at both institutions. We appreciate that there is growing interest among students in Qatar to study in Korea since Korea University welcomed three undergraduate students from Qatar University in the summer of 2013 and 2015.”
Dr Mustafawi noted that both CAS and KU students are gaining “a unique opportunity of studying in environments of strong cultural traditions and in academic institutions that are the national pride of their respective societies”. She added that the agreement would promote research productivity in the field of environmental sciences.