From Persian Gulf to Cayuga Lake
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Notes from Qatar
September 4, 2008 - 11:00pmThis summer when I was in Ithaca researching genetics, I learned that Cornell has been traditionally very good at hockey, lacrosse and rowing (among other sports). Cornellians take pride in this fact, and why shouldn’t we? Hail Cornell! Well, there is one more reason to be proud when it comes to sports, although it might be on a smaller scale. This February, Cornell's Doha Campus — the Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar (WCMC-Q) — fielded its cricket team in the Education City Cricket League and won the finals against Texas A&M Qatar. GO BIG RED!!
Wait a second. What is this Education City and WCMC-Q? Some 7000 miles and eight time zones east of Ithaca sits Cornell's second medical campus (the other being in New York City). And, indeed, that’s where this article is being written from. WCMC-Q, located on the outskirts of Doha, was established in 2001 by Cornell University and the Qatar Foundation, an organization that promotes education and research in the tiny Gulf state of Qatar. Besides WCMC-Q, Qatar Foundation has also brought Texas A&M, Carnegie Mellon, Georgetown, Virginia Commonwealth and Northwestern universities to Education City in Qatar.
Academics at WCMC-Q include mainly premedical and medical programs. The two-year premedical program involves courses such as Physics, Biochemistry, Genetics and Psychology 101, which are identical to those taught at the Ithaca campus. As a matter of fact, the premeds in Doha are part of the same class that Dr. James Maas teaches each fall semester. His lectures are video-streamed to Doha and he visits Qatar every fall to meet his students.
The four-year medical program, on the other hand, replicates the curriculum taught at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York. Cornell has become the first American university to offer its MD degree outside of the United States. This year, the first batch of medical students graduated from WCMC-Q.
Despite being plunged in academics, we manage to find some time to nurture our human spirits. The WCMC-Q student body participates regularly in sports such as football, cricket and basketball. The student body organization at WCMC-Q, the Medical Student Executive Council (MSEC), oversees various clubs for activities like cooking, art and poetry. MSEC, along with the Student Affairs Deptartment, also organizes events like Basant, a kite flying festival, International Night, a display of the cultural diversity at WCMC-Q, and a coffee house for showcasing our non-academic talents, among other happenings.
Unfortunately, there are some things that we don’t have in WCMC-Q. To start with, the century plus of Cornell history is lacking in WCMC-Q’s comparatively new building. There are no secret societies, nor is there a festive Dragon Day. Also missing is any student-run newspaper like the Cornell Daily Sun. However, this year, a program called IthaQatar Ambassadors was put in place to help the student bodies of Cornell’s Ithaca and Doha campuses meet each other and bring Ithaca and Doha closer than they appear on the globe.
However, is a two-month visit by a small fraction of students from WCMC-Q enough to let the student bodies know each other? You know the answer. So we have decided that students from WCMC-Q will contribute articles, pictures and occasional news from Qatar in Notes From Qatar. So keep an eye out for Notes From Qatar, and let us know what you think about it! Until next time, warm regards and a BIG hi from all of us here in WCMC-Q!