Leaders of the Arab world

The Qatar Leadership Academy (QLA), to be located in a new campus in the Al Khor area, north of Doha, has been established under a partnership between the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development and Qatar's armed forces.

The new institution will work in collaboration with the US-based St John's Northwest Military Academy, a prestigious institute for leadership training established in 1884, and the International Baccalaureate organisation.

It will also work with Aspire, a Qatar-based sports academy.

Shaikh Jouan Bin Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of QLA, announced the launch of the academy with the mission statement - "Shaping tomorrow's generation today".

"The objective of the academy is to promote all-round personality development of young Qataris as well as non-Qataris, ages 11 to 16 years, by training them in fields such as academics, sports and leadership."

The academy will provide comprehensive training for a five-year programme ranging from grades six to ten.

The four key aspects of the QLA are Islamic and Arabic culture and values programme, an internationally recognised baccalaureate programme, a leadership course and a sports programme.

The leadership programme has been adapted from those at St John's Northwest Military Academy in Wisconsin, USA. Cadets will work in platoons under a company leader.

During the course, cadets will be engaged in a number of activities such as leadership skills, military organisation and structure, communications, physical fitness, first aid and health, map reading and marksmanship.

The purpose of the sports programme is to maximise each cadet's full potential by building knowledge, skills and attitudes that will help them lead a healthy lifestyle.

Some of the sports activities are soccer, hockey, basketball, volleyball, badminton, handball, swimming, gymnastics and marksmanship.

The academic programme of QLA will include three languages, which are Arabic as the main language, English and another foreign language.

It will also include history, geography, sciences, probability and statistics, mathematics, arts, design and information technology.

Arabic and Islamic studies will be accorded top priority. There will be a mosque and a Muslim cleric on campus, so that cadets can perform daily prayers. The cleric will also be available to counsel and advise cadets.

According to a statement issued by QLA, the academy aims to instill in the cadets values such as honesty, integrity, excellence, ambition, courage, loyalty, duty, determination, respect, co-operation and teamwork.

"We believe the cadets should be proud of their mother tongue and their religion. Through Islamic studies, cadets will nurture their moral and ethical values while enriching both, their mind and spirits," it said.

"Many young men today lack discipline, proper values and the respect for themselves and others. The cornerstones of the education offered at QLA will provide the answers to the worries that many parents have today."

Graduates from QLA may enrol in any of the Qatar Education City's institutes, continue with their military training or attend other international institutions.

International relations seminar
The American University of Sharjah is offering a seminar organised by the School of International Service at American University (AU) in Washington, DC.

Part of AU's Summer Institute programme it is being offered for the first time in the UAE through the Department of International Studies at AUS.

The month-long programme, which began on June 4, is being attended by a diverse group of students, including those from AU, George Washington University, and AUS.

The seminar, which is currently offered in Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Cuba and Ghana, is a graduate-level introduction to the complexities of the Middle East.

Most participants are international relations majors and will receive full credit for the seminar and the language training at their respective universities.

Scholarship available
Lina El Labban, the educational advisor at the American Embassy in the UAE, is offering a scholarship from the University of California, Irvine, to one outstanding student.

It is a 50 per cent discount on the tuition in any of the following programmes:

All other fees apply. Interested students can contact El Labban on the email ellabbanla@state.gov and send her their TOEFL scores.

Eman Goma/ A mass communications student from the American University of Sharjah