Doha: The 12th Annual Qatar Foundation Convocation will oversee the induction of more than 750 students into the QF alumni community, next week. It will demonstrate how QF invests in the future by investing in the talent, creativity, energy, and aspirations of youth.

Aysha Khalifa Al Romaihi is one among such outstanding students who will graduate today (May 7). While, studying at HEC Paris in Qatar, a Qatar Foundation partner university, she has been working as a Business Development Manager at Qatar Business Incubation Centre (QBIC)  and visiting other countries to showcase Qatar’s business start-ups a couple of months before her final project. As she gets ready to graduate at QF’s Convocation ceremony, Al Romaihi shared her experience of studying an academically demanding course, working at QBIC – and discovering that she was capable of accomplishing more than she could have imagined was possible. 

 “I am the Business Development Manager at  QBIC, and my scope of work includes helping start-ups and aspiring businesses network and collaborate with other entities. While extremely satisfying, there were gaps in my knowledge, and I knew that if I wanted to be more effective in helping other businesses in Qatar, I had to further my education,” she said.  

Her brother Ghanim is an alumnus of HEC Paris in Qatar. When he learned that Aysha wanted to continue her studies, he advised her to join the same university.  “QF has brought world-class education to our doorstep. So, for me, the choice of HEC Paris in Qatar was a no-brainer – any institute of higher education that partners with QF is bound to offer resources and teaching of the highest quality,” said Aysha. 

Studying a Master of Strategic Business Unit Management degree at HEC Paris in Qatar has been an incredible experience for Aysha. 

She said, “I admit that it was extremely demanding to juggle both my work and my studies, to the point that, at the beginning of the course, I wondered if I would be able to complete it or not. But my brother continued to motivate me; he kept saying: “Aysha, you can do it.” 

“At HEC Paris in Qatar, we had some of the best faculty in the world. Our instructors were experts from institutions like Stanford University and Harvard University. They were not just academics, they were people with business experience. And rather than lecture, they shared their experiences, and case studies from across the world.  

“I consider myself blessed to have had an opportunity to study at a QF partner university; to be among peers and professors who are so inspiring.  The course content was relevant to my job at QBIC, and the market in Qatar as a whole; almost immediately after a module was over, I could apply the knowledge I learned in that session to my work at QBIC,” she added.

In her role as the Business Development Manager for QBIC, Aysha visited Moscow in December 2018, as part of the conclusion of the Qatar-Russia Year of Culture. 

“It was a great experience and a tremendous success. The fact that I could help my country showcase its entrepreneurial ventures at such a significant event gave me immense satisfaction,” said Aysha.