Qatar University's Qatar University (QU) Foundation Programme (FP), Deanship of General Studies organised its periodic event, 'Academic Excellence Week', through Zoom platform.

The four-day long event was held from 11 May until 14 May, 2020, under the supervision of the FP Academic Excellence and Professional Development (PD) Committee.

The event aimed to highlight the most important technological educational tools and the skills teachers need during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The event brought together over 4,000 participants, 85% of them from Qatar and 15% from 30 countries around the world.

Director of FP Dr Hezam al-Awah said that 'The Academic Excellence Week' event is one of the most important activities that the programme is keen to hold continuously for its faculty members. The 'Academic Excellence Week' as it includes topics and training workshops for innovative methods of excellence that enhance the education, with the participation of researchers and experts from a number of universities inside and outside the country.

Dr al-Awah added, "The professional and academic development of faculty members, aims to ensure that faculty are up to date with the latest methods of distance education".

Unpacking a Text by Scott Thornbury - Qarar University Foundation Program Academic Excellence Week - Zoom

The efforts of the FP to advance the educational process are in line with the Qatar University strategy, where excellence in education is an important pillar designed to achieve the desired transformative education model at Qatar University, he added.

The event addressed topics on Unpacking a Text, Best-Practice Approaches for Teaching Online While Preserving Mental Health, Staying Grounded in Difficult Times: a psychologically intelligent guide to keeping calm, Making the Most of Online Teaching, Perceived Levels of Critical Thinking Competence and Preference of Learning Platforms, Where Arabic and English Intersect, Five Digital Classroom Tools for Innovative Teachers, Intercultural communication:

Teaching and Learning Pragmatics Using Movies, Principles for Designing Blended Language Courses, Cognitive Disabilities in Education: How the brain works, Creating a 21st Century Skills Learning Experience, Math Games: Fun Fridays, and Teaching Math Beyond the Facts.

One of the highlights of the math talks was the presentation titled "Age could be driving variable Covid-19 epidemic trajectories worldwide: Mathematical modeling analysis" presented by Dr Hussein Ayoub from Qatar University. The talk discussed the changing epidemiological pathways of Covid-19 around the world through mathematical modeling analysis.

Participation exceeded expectations as there were very positive feedback from both speakers and attendees on the quality of the effectiveness in terms of the topics presented and the professionalism of the organisation.

It is worth noting that the FP 'Academic Excellence Week' has been organised, semiannually and periodically, for many years, aiming to provide specialised training for the FP faculty members to ensure keeping pace with developments in the field of language and mathematics education. It is also open for other QU members. Moreover, conducting the 'Academic Excellence Week' virtually, this year, allowed international participation for the first time. This results in effective academic interaction among the participants during the sessions.