Advances in the desert.

Elite American universities go on the Persian Gulf in the academic offensive. You have discovered a new target - the daughters of rich oil sheiks. Because their families do not leave in the U.S., thought the universities: If you are not with us, we go to you.

 

Who in the petro dollar in the Gulf monarchies to keep something on, sends his children to study in Britain or the USA. Conservative families send only sons. In some progressive clans are also the daughters a chance - always in the hope that the young women after four semesters in the West in the domestic market nor marriage market.

DPA
Students in Qatar: In one of the richest countries in the world studying 3000 men - and 6000 women

The fact that most Arab families in the Persian Gulf prefer their daughters in the vicinity of know, or at least in an Islamic environment that has ensured that the number of students in the Gulf states now often higher than the students. At the State University of Qatar, one of the richest countries in the world, currently studying about 3000 men and 6000 women.

Also at the faculties of the new Education City on the outskirts of the Qatari capital Doha in the middle of the desert sand is, women are well represented. About half of them bear Abbaya headscarf and the traditional black garb of Women of the Arab Peninsula.

U.S. elite universities to open branches in the Persian Gulf

But everything else is different. Who is one of the six mini-entering universities from which these elitist Education City is, feels rather like a five star hotel or an art museum than a university. Each of these universities is the small branch of a prestigious U.S. university. Each of them has only one to two faculties.

The Qatar, when the "parent universities in the U.S. only the raisins herausgepickt. They have especially selected courses to which these universities owe their reputation. At Georgetown University Doha is only taught international politics. The Qatari subsidiary of the Northwestern University offers courses of study as a journalism and communication. The branch of the Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, offers business and computer science at. At Texas A & M University in Doha to study the budding engineers. Medicine teaches the Weill Cornell Medical College. Only for the Study Islamic law, the Qatar foreign aid brought no, unlike some other states who are from the Cairo Al-Azhar University to assist them.

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The architecture of the university building is very spectacular: flower-right front, left, Space Shuttle, in between palm trees. In the small lecture halls, there are seats made from the finest wood and Internet jacks at each place. Nowhere have to be made for knowledge, or struggling to places such as at a German Massenuni.

The relationship between students and professors in some departments is at 5 to 1 The graduates of this elite incubator will one day either to the executives of Qatar or elsewhere include the fame of this small Arab country increase, so far mainly because of its enormous oil and gas reserves and is known as the home of the news channel Al-Jazeera.

The Qatar Foundation, which will Scheicha Mosah, the wife of the Emir Chalifa bin Hamad al-Thani, the Education City gepalnt and - as is usual in Qatar - within the shortest time a reality. 2002 started the first student, whose parents just need to pay high tuition fees as of the respective US-Unis. Last year the first graduates have been adopted.

More English-teaching and critical thinking

According to Mark Weichold, the dean of the dependance of the Texas A & M University in Doha, then uses the "very special Uni-experiment" in Doha, not only the locals, about 50 percent of the students, but also the professors from the U.S., by which some, as the call came, first asked: "Where in God's name is Qatar?"

The ambitious wife of the Emir has been achieved has not yet satisfied. On the university campus are further plans. "Negotiations with other universities in France and Britain are running," says Ahmed Hasnah, the academic team of the Qatar Foundation is one.

To Qatar as many conditions for reception of the new elite universities to meet, it was also three years ago to reform the public school system has been tackled. The children are now better get English lessons and in critical thinking training.