The first Indian University in Qatar is all set to start classes on September 5, 2021. With a capacity to enrol 660 students, the campus of Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) is preparing for the big moment. The university is situated at Barwa Commercial Avenue on Industrial Area road at Ain Khalid.
The university will have a campus covering 6,300 square metres and 11 classrooms each with the capacity to teach 60 students. The University is known by the name, MIE – Savitribai Phule Pune University.
In an exclusive interview the President of the University, Hassan Chougule revealed the enrolment status of the university. “So far, over 50 students have been enrolled, one-third of them are female students. We are expecting in the first year about 200 students,” he said. He also added that the institute is ready with facilities like laboratories, a cafeteria etc. The students of any nationality who have passed the 12th grade or senior secondary school examination can apply for registration.
The newly opening Indian University Qatar will have highly qualified and experienced professors deputed from Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) to teach. “Professor Bimal Nath, a well-qualified and experienced professional in higher education has been appointed as Director/Principal of the University. For the first year, SPPU will depute most of the faculty members,” said Chougule.
The University also is making efforts to connect with the community through Arabic social media and bloggers, to enrol the students for the first academic year.
“In the first year, the registration will be only for students residing in Qatar. In future, if the Government of Qatar starts issuing student visas then the students from other neighbouring countries can also apply for admission. The problem is not the availability of universities but people need affordable higher education. We have conducted a survey in Qatar. The minimum fees in universities operating in Qatar are QR50,000 per year or QR25,000 per semester,” said Chougule.
الشارع التجاري يستضيف أول جامعة هندية في دولة قطر
The commercial Avenue hosts first Indian university in Qatar pic.twitter.com/O90pfNXHyW— The Commercial Avenue (@TCAQatar) July 14, 2021
The university aims for providing affordable higher education to the community of both residents and nationals. It is one of the major goals of the University.
“The fees in our university is QR28,000, QR30,000 and QR34,000 as per the academic programme,” he added. He also mentioned that there is a high demand for Asian Universities in Qatar. The University also provides bus service between the college and Freezone Metro station.
“For any new project, it will take time to get popularity but we are confident to enrol the targeted number of students by the time of opening because we are offering high-quality education at an affordable fee. Commerce and management programs are attracting the highest number of students. In the first year, we are offering four programs including Arts, Science, Commerce and Management which are approved by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education.” said Chougule.
“In Arts, we are offering Economics and Psychology; in Commerce International Banking, Banking and Finance; in Management, Marketing and Finance; and in Science, Data Science and Information Technology. These are four-year degree programs. The second program is BEd. because there is a huge demand for this program among Indian teaching community mainly working with Indian schools in Qatar.” he added.
“We have also decided in consultation with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education to offer part-time programs in the next few months. The proposed part-time programs are Executive MBA for graduates who are employed in Qatar,” he told about the possible future expansion of the university.
He also spoke about the potential of pharmaceutical and paramedical programs as full-time in Qatar. This is subject to approval from MoEHE and will only be implemented in future.
Ali Abdul Latif Al Misnad, Mohammed bin Hammam Al Abdulla and the DPS Indian Group headed by Hassan Chougule together form the local organisation called Milestone International Education (MIE). The students enrolled in MIE-SPPU can join any of the 900 colleges affiliated to (SPPU) Pune University. Hassan Chougule also added that every examination held in Qatar will be under a representative of Savitribai Phule Pune University. SPPU is one of the top 10 Indian Universities and the only open from the State of Maharashtra.
