Qatar University Student Life & Services Division (QU-SLS) graduated 20 out of 27 employees from its SLS professional development certificate programme at a ceremony recently.
The event was attended by QU Associate VP for Student Life and Services Abdulla al-Yafei, as well as QU faculty and staff.
The employees benefited from the seven-month training programme. It is the first batch of SLS employees in the training programme that was launched by the Student Life & Services Division in October 2015.
The course introduced student affairs as a professional area of study. It focused on the role and function of professionals in the field, the populations served, the college and university settings where the student affairs field is practised, the necessary skills and competencies for professional practice, and the current issues in student affairs.
It also provided the foundation for work and professional development in the field of student affairs and is based on 10 professional competency areas as defined by the two primary international student affairs professional organisations NASPA - Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, and ACPA - College Student Educators International. This is the first student affairs course conducted entirely in Arabic and endorsed by the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia NASPA area professional association.
Al-Yafei said: “The training programme demonstrates SLS  mission to offer various professional development opportunities and services that heighten its members’ skills and competencies while empowering them with the motivation towards lifelong learning. This serves as a testament to the enriching learning environment at QU that aims to ensure human and social development while promoting quality education towards a sustainable knowledge-based economy.”