The Public Administration Program of Doha Institute for Graduate Studies (DI) School of Public Administration and Development Economics (SPADE) has succeeded in obtaining the academic accreditation of the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA).
The program includes two tracks Master of Public Administration and Executive Master of Public Administration. The accreditation is for a renewable seven-year period.
The NASPAA accreditation of the Public Administration Program is the first in the Gulf and second in the Middle East. This accreditation is a great accomplishment for SPADE, especially after receiving the accreditation from NASPAA for the Public Policy Program last year.
Recently NASPAA announced the accreditation for four programs for the first time including Master of Public Administration at Doha Institute of Graduate Studies (Qatar), Master of Public Administration at Beijing Normal University (China), Master of Public Administration at North Carolina Central University (US) and Master of Public Administration at University of Central Oklahoma (US).
Addressing a press conference yesterday, Dr. Abdelwahab El Affendi, DI Acting President said: “Receiving the accreditation for the Public Administration Program is an accomplishment for the program, the School and the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, as an ambitious and distinguished graduate institution regionally and globally.”
“This achievement is credited to the academic and administrative team at the school, especially since the accreditation was granted without any additional conditions for the next seven years.”
Dr. El Affendi said: “The fact that this unique success has been achieved regionally in less than a year after receiving accreditation for the Public Policy Program underlines the effectiveness of strategic planning at DI and SPADE, and on the great awareness of international standards of excellence represented in the performance of the school in all areas of academic accomplishment.”
Talking to The Peninsula on the sidelines of the press conference, Dr. El Affendi said that DI was set to launch Ph.D degree program for most of its programs this year. “We are launching Ph.D programs this year in most of our programs. It will be officially launched this year for receiving applications while the study will begin in October 2022.”
He said that DI, in past, had launched new academic programs in human rights as well as Double Executive Masters in Public Administration and Business Administration (MBA - EMPA), in partnership with the European Institute of Management and Technology in Berlin. “DI believes in quality and standards therefore we do not expand our programs too quickly,” he added.
At the press conference, Dr. Tamer Qarmout, Head of the Public Administration Program expressed his pride and happiness in obtaining NASPAA accreditation. “Receiving the accreditation is a major achievement for SPADE, where a new phase has taken place. It is characterised by leadership and excellence in keeping pace with the best international experiences in developing the educational process, to maintain the development aspirations and needs of the labor markets in Qatar and the Arab world”.
He said that integrated programs are offered to fulfill the DI mission and what the State of Qatar aspires to in its National Vision 2030, as well as what every scholar and researcher wishes in the Arab world.
