Qatar Campus Expands Despite Current Economy

While Cornell faces a $200 million budget shortfall and University-wide budget cuts, the Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar is continuing to expand. The Qatari campus, which is largely funded by a non-profit organization established by the Qatari government, expects a larger budget and expanded research program next year.
Cornell’s campus in Qatar, a small nation on the Persian Gulf, was established in 2002. It has not yet reached its “full maturity,” said Stephen Cohen, the associate provost of Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City.
“Overall, the student body is still growing and faculty is growing,” he said.
The Qatar campus, which admitted 15 students in its first year, now admits about 55 new students each year. The numbers are not expected to fall next year, despite economic turmoil spreading around the world.
“Student enrollment is not really affected” by the financial crisis, Cohen said.
The campus’ budget will not be affected, either. The campus expects about $90 million for next year’s education budget, a five percent increase from this year’s budget, Cohen said.
The funding comes from the Qatar Foundation, a non-profit organization created by the Qatari government. The foundation runs Education City, an area outside Qatar’s capital that houses branches of several American universities, including Cornell’s. Texas A&M, Carnegie Mellon and Georgetown are among other universities located in Education City.
Far from reducing funding, new research is planned for Cornell’s branch in Qatar. There is some research underway already, Cohen said, but “we’re hoping to ramp up research considerably by the end of the calendar year.” Two million dollars was allotted for research this year, he said, but the campus expects a $25 million research budget by January 2010.
The campus itself is also growing.
“This place is new and construction is well underway in many areas,” Abeer Al Majali med ’09 stated via e-mail, citing new dormitories as one of the construction projects. Majali is a student on the Qatari campus.
five percent increase from this year’s budget, Cohen said.
The funding comes from the Qatar Foundation, a non-profit organization created by the Qatari government. The foundation runs Education City, an area outside Qatar’s capital that houses branches of several American universities, including Cornell’s. Texas A&M, Carnegie Mellon and Georgetown are among other universities located in Education City.
Far from reducing funding, new research is planned for Cornell’s branch in Qatar. There is some research underway already, Cohen said, but “we’re hoping to ramp up research considerably by the end of the calendar year.” Two million dollars was allotted for research this year, he said, but the campus expects a $25 million research budget by January 2010.
The campus itself is also growing.
“This place is new and construction is well underway in many areas,” Abeer Al Majali med ’09 stated via e-mail, citing new dormitories as one of the construction projects. Majali is a student on the Qatari campus.
The Qatar Foundation has been able to maintain — and even increase — funding of Cornell’s branch because Qatar’s economy continues to grow, despite the financial crisis sweeping the world.
Cohen explained how Qatar’s gross domestic product is continuing to grow. Qatar recently built new natural gas liquefaction facilities. The facilities enable it to export more natural gas despite falling prices in gas and oil, Cohen said. These exports increase the nation’s GDP, just at a slower rate than before, Cohen said.
Other nations on the Persian Gulf are not as fortunate. The financial crisis is hurting their economies, said Prof. Steven Kyle, applied economics and management. The countries had been receiving “a lot of money from oil, and oil prices are way down,” he said. Gulf nations also depend on tourism, which greatly decreases when economic conditions are poor.
George Mason University recently announced it will close its campus in the United Arab Emirates, a nation also on the Persian Gulf. The UAE’s economy suffered under the financial crisis because it did not have increased resource exports to rely on, as Qatar did. According to The New York Times, the university chose to close the campus when the UAE decided to reduce the campus’ subsidy.
In Qatar, students are aware of the financial crisis worldwide, but are not very afraid, Majali stated. Students who look for jobs on campus are able to find one. Most students work for the Qatar Foundation. Their pay has not changed since the financial crisis began and job applications are still available, she stated.
However, the city of Doha, the capital of Qatar, is experiencing effects of the financial situation.
“Rents have gone up, [and] so have prices of common items in general,” Majali stated.