The Middle East State of Qatar recognized this expertise in post-secondary education more than 10 years ago when it chose CNA to build and administrate its first comprehensive college of technology. Since then, College of the North Atlantic-Qatar (CNA-Q) has established its place as the premier institute of applied learning in the Middle East, helping Qatar make educational history and create a new future for its people. This past academic year at CNA-Q was a celebration of the 10-year milestone with Qatar, the partnership having met and surpassed the expectations of the original contract, and culminated with a three-year extension of the project.

Qatar has risen from the sands of its Bedouin pearl-diving lineage to become the richest country on the globe per capita, holding the world’s third largest natural gas reserves and confirmed oil reserves in excess of 25 billion barrels. Rather than resting on its laurels, Qatar has been meticulously structuring and planning for this rapid growth. The Al-Thani royal family—rulers of Qatar—have created a strong and well-defined National Vision 2030 to manage massive urban development, population growth, and economic footing by investing in its people. The foundation of this plan is education.

Blueprint for Success

If education is the foundation, CNA-Q is one of the architects, training graduates in careers that will be vital in the continued growth of Qatar. CNA is not only providing internationally recognized curriculum in the areas of business, health sciences, engineering, trades, and IT, but is also establishing for the country custom training in banking, security, oil and gas, and more. Just last month, CNA-Q launched new programs including those in banking, advanced care paramedicine, dental hygiene, and emergency management, as a direct result of consultation with local government and industry. The robust partnership with Qatar Petroleum continues to flourish, and new industry partnerships with the American Society of Safety Engineers, the Gulf Organization for Research & Development, Qatar Environment & Energy Research Institute, and the Qatar Olympic Committee secure CNA-Q’s position as the premier institute of applied learning for the country.

Indeed, the rapidly developing country’s successful 2022 World Cup bid will likely accelerate exceptionally large-scale infrastructure projects, such as Qatar’s metro system, light rail system, and the Qatar-Bahrain causeway. They are now completing the new Hamad International Airport, which has an annual passenger capacity of 24 million. As the infrastructure of Qatar grows, so does the necessity for a highly trained labor force.

And CNA-Q is ready.

When Canadian instructors Keith Williams and Carla Eskow submitted a research project funding proposal to the Qatar Foundation in the Middle East, they had no idea it would grow beyond their projected 25-page paper into a 73-page hardcover book with international distribution.

From Acacia to Ziziphus: Arabian Plants to Nourish the Body and Earth is a beautiful reference guide with colour photos of each plant profiled – some 21 species. It provides a summary of each plant, including where it grows, what it needs to thrive, its appearance and physical composition, and its medicinal and environmental properties. It also provides a scientific profile and references to scientific studies undertaken on each plant.

The project, led by Williams, a Biology instructor, and Eskow, Environmental Health Technology instructor at College of the North Atlantic’s (CNA) Middle East campus in Qatar, was titled Bioprospecting Qatar’s Plant Genetic Resources and encompassed research to explore connections between healthy environment and healthy communities. They began in June 2008.

“We started by identifying some of the key environmental and health challenges faced by Qatar, and we did this by reviewing government documents such as the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan and National Health Authority documents on causes of death,” explains Williams.

“We came up with ways in which plants could be used to treat some of those problems. For example, some plants are anti-cancer while others have the ability to sequester polyaromatic hydrocarbons from oil spills.”

As Williams and Eskow point out in the project’s synopsis, the development of the oil and gas industry in Qatar (which holds the world’s largest natural gas field and the third-largest reserves of natural gas and has the second-highest GDP per capita in the world) and the ensuing urbanization and industrialization of the country over the past 60 years have had a profound influence on the population’s health. This shift has resulted in the increased incidence of “diseases of affluence,” those that result from an increase in wealth.

“For example, in 2003, 65 per cent of the Qatari male deaths and 70 per cent of the Qatari female deaths were due to cardio-vascular illness, diabetes, malnutrition, neoplasms and traffic accidents…” state Williams and Eskow in the synopsis.

Before the urbanization of Qatar, the paper continues, the population’s diet was one consisting of camel milk, meat, dates, and wild plants. These wild plants have significant medicinal properties and – therefore, made considerable contributions to the well-being of the people of Qatar, and they can again.

Plants are still playing a role in modern pharmaceuticals, but, recently, the popularity of natural medicines is bringing Qatar’s plant life back into the light.

“Nutraceuticals, which are chemical compounds with health stimulating effects isolated from natural sources and herbal treatments, are enjoying a popular global resurgence as their efficacy is increasingly validated by scientific study (Wildman, 2006),” states the synopsis.

It seems the time was ripe for this book. Also, the one-year project enabled a group of six students to participate; they helped collect data on a total of 170 of Qatar’s 310 documented plants. Williams and Eskow developed a worksheet for students to evaluate the most beneficial plants in treating diseases such as cancer, HIV, diabetes, heart diseases and fertility issues. Other plants were chosen for their ability to significantly offset the effects of environmental challenges such as pollution, climate changes, and soil and habitat destruction. Plants that scored highest in treating these problems made it to the book, along with some other noteworthy flora.

One such plant, profiled on pages 14-17, is the Calotropis procera. Among its many valued attributes is its capacity to be used as a biofuel, its antioxidant and anti-diabetic qualities, its cancer-combating properties and the fact that it contains enough latex rubber and fibre to make a variety of organic products such as bags, fishing nets and robes. It also is comparable to wood in the manufacturing of pulp and paper. As an added bonus, the plant is attractive enough to be used as ornamental horticulture for one’s home or garden.

Upon the completion of the project one year later, the group gave a formal presentation to a variety of stakeholders in associated fields, including petroleum, medicine and architecture. One such company was the GHD Group, one of Qatar’s largest consulting firms, and a member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. They offer a range of services including urban development, engineering and environmental services, among others. Manager Tony Russell attended the presentation and was impressed with the research and the book.

“The innovative combination of outcomes [in the book is] very relevant for our rapidly developing urban environments, providing cultural and ecological identity along with all the positive effects local plants provide,” says Russell.

“It’s important to realize the contribution local Qatar plant species effectively deliver in terms of traditional medicine benefits, healthy food alternatives for humans and sustainable forage food and shelter for local fauna, plus the vital role local plants have in preventing desertification.”

As Qatar’s oil and gas industry thrives and its population (some 1,500,000) continues to grow, so will its urbanization. It is the hope of Eskow and Williams that the knowledge found in their book and amongst the valuable traditions of Qatari people will once again be tapped to also build on the health of the Qatari nation.

It’s no surprise Qatar has reached the status of the richest country on the globe. With its vast oil reserves discovered in the 1930s and with the world’s third largest natural gas reserves, this Persian Gulf emirate has become a major player in the world’s petrochemical market. Just last year, Qatar took its place at the top of the CIA’s World Factbook list of wealthiest nations, with an estimated gross domestic product of $102,700 per capita, and a population expected to reach nearly two million this year.

What may not be widely known is the meticulous planning that has structured the growth of the country in its social development and environmental management. For the Al-Thani royal family, rulers of Qatar, their strong and welldefi ned “National Vision 2030” plan aims to manage its massive urban development, population growth and economic status by investing in its people. The foundation of this plan is education.

“Education is one of the basic pillars of social progress. To meet the challenge, Qatar is establishing advanced educational and health systems, as well as increasing the effective participation of Qataris in the labor force,” states the vision document. “Qatar aims to build a modern world class educational system that provides students with a first-rate education, comparable to that offered anywhere in the world.”

And Canada has the expertise to share. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Canada is the most educated country in the world. Some 50 percent of the Canadian adult population has completed post-secondary education, the highest rate in the OECD.

Qatar recognized Canada’s prowess in that field more than 10 years ago when it chose the College of the North Atlantic, Newfoundland and Labrador’s public college, to build and administrate its fi rst comprehensive college of technology. Since then, the College of the North Atlantic- Qatar (CNA-Q) has risen to the top of the educational crop in the Middle East, helping the country make educational history and create a new future for its people. The institution has hosted world-class conferences, forged precedent-setting international program accreditations, built an outstanding applied research reputation and has students and graduates receiving global recognition for their work.

Going Green in the desert

After winning the prestigious Qatar Foundation Research Excellence Award in December for their project Green Home: Designing and Fabricating Occupancy Sensors, CNA-Q student Addullah Kayyali (right) said that he and his research partner Manir Al-Faisal owe a great deal to their institution of study. “We have friends in other universities who are doing engineering research, but I think we have an advantage over them because we are a technical institution,” says Abdullah. “It’s been a treasure. We would be working and suddenly realize we needed a specific piece of equipment. Then we realized we do have it—in a lab next door or down the hall.” The two electrical engineering technology students’ project on green home automation was one of nearly 400 submissions from other institutions in Qatar (including Qatar University) and only one of 20 chosen for oral presentations. And it has been recognized more than once.

“The Green Home initiative,” says CNA-Q President Ken MacLeod, “which has won top awards for student researchers for the past two years, is a prime example of the quality applied research opportunities available to faculty and students at CNA-Q. This marks the second time in less than a year that students working with engineering technology instructor Ovaise Murtuza have won awards.” Murtaza’s Green Home Sustainable Energy and Home Automation research project has facets beyond the home energy monitoring and automation sensors created by his award-winning students. Since applying for a research grant from the Qatar Foundation in 2008 to study energy effi ciency for a typical villa in Qatar, Murtuza has identifi ed that the placement of air conditioners and the usage of LED lights, along with automated aspects of everyday living, will cut down on costs in a substantial way.

“Everything is subtle so you can’t see it at first … but we’ve been monitoring how much energy is used and the cost associated. We’ve measured daily, weekly, monthly and so on, and it appears we’re saving 40 percent of the cost,” says Murtuza.

And this is just the beginning; Murtuza and his students are working on measuring water usage for showers and devising clever ways to reuse water, such as output for gardens. And he has his eye on the big picture. “We’re hoping for funding for the next phase—to create a green villa from scratch. That’s the dream.”

Murtuza has used his automation research for other projects, such as intuitive traffi c lights that sense when vehicles are approaching and react accordingly.

“This will essentially rid us of traffi c jams and allow a steady flow; no more waiting at a red light with nothing moving,” says Murtuza.

New technologies such as these are allowing CNA-Q to help with another pillar of Qatar’s vision—protecting the environment.

In keeping with that, and always an institution to move forward, CNA-Q is establishing a lab at the campus dedicated to advanced environmental and energy research, and plans to join forces with external research partners in future developments.

“With 2.8 percent of Qatar’s burgeoning GDP earmarked for research,” says MacLeod, “CNA-Q can be a conduit to one of the most generous publicly funded research funds on the planet, where ‘no good idea goes unfunded.’”

Given that Forbes’ recent listing of the 10 Best Countries for Business places Canada at the top, this collaboration couldn’t be more promising. The generous distribution of wealth, knowledge and labor is creating a wave of forward momentum from shore to shore and raising the bar for a robust economy and sustainable future for both nations.

Words like “diversity” and “trailblazing” resonated off the walls and into the consciousness of the captivated audience. It became apparent to me that the term “diversity” as a denotation is replacing “equity” in this new age. And when guest keynote speaker Hege Marie Norheim, senior VP of Statoil Norway, spoke of diversity as a quality assurance investment, it just made sense.

“Norway has the world’s highest percentage of women in the workplace – we make up 70 per cent,” said Norheim. She revealed that Norway’s government requires at least 40 per cent of its members to be women, and that 50 per cent are. Having so many women in the workplace and at the helm has made a huge impact.

“Working women were asking the question of responsibility in having children,” said Norheim, “and realizing that it is not a gender issue, but a workplace issue,” she said, going on to reveal that Norway now offers universal childcare for children from ages one-six and after school until they reach 10 years of age. “This childcare system is the highest-social-economic return of all investments in Norway.”

Conference co-chair Caron Hawco couldn’t be more pleased with Norheim’s presence. Hawco said, “She is incredible – she flew in one day and out the next just to be here.” It takes 16 hours each way. That’s one example of the dedication she and many like her are bringing to the industry. There are people here from Schlumberger in Paris, Exxon in Houston, all corners. “Hege Marie Norheim was so open and sharing about her experiences in the industry … they all were,” said Hawco. “When you go to oil and gas conferences, you don’t generally see that caring-and-open style from speakers – it’s often much more formal.”

And it wasn’t just women raising the collective consciousness; Hawco says that when the organizing committee was planning this event, they knew it was important to have men at the table. “We knew we wouldn’t attract a great deal of men, but this could not be a room of women,” she says. “We targeted those male leaders who effect change in the industry, the ‘who’s who’ of companies on the horizon in Newfoundland and Labrador. And you know what? They stayed, they participated, they took notes … they recognized the value. One male company president said to me, ‘I have some homework to do,’” laughs Hawco.

She broached the subject of a labour shortage in North America1 and the fact that there is a pool of talent that would provide a ready solution – women. According to the United Nations (UN), there is a direct link between increased female labour participation and economic growth; “It is estimated that if women’s paid employment rates were raised to the same level as men’s: America’s GDP would be nine per cent higher; the euro-zone’s would be 13 per cent higher; and Japan’s would be boosted by 16 per cent.”

Also according to the UN’s Facts & Figures on Women, Poverty and Economics, women’s nominal wages are 17 per cent lower than men’s; we earn only 10 per cent of the income and own only one per cent of the world’s property, even though we perform over 65 per cent of the world’s work and produce 50 per cent of the food.

John Connors, executive manager of the Council of Marine Professional Associates (COMPASS), led a very frank discussion at the conference about the need for more women in the labour force. “This shortage of personnel is practically a crisis,” he said.

“From its inception,” says Connors, “COMPASS adopted the stance that the marine transportation industry must be of equal opportunity in Canada, and they wanted to lead the way with its progressive-gender equity program.”

“We didn’t hope to develop gender equity in the industry; we planned it,” he said, “and COMPASS expects to set the standard for Canada and provide a template for other jurisdictions.”

“The Fueling the Future: Women in Oil and Gas” conference was informative and inspiring and set the stage for what is to come. I believe we collectively felt the tide turning with the realization that the concept of gender equity – diversity in the work place – has reached its time. Our strength in this industry will come not from innovation of technology, but from a revolution of thought and action. Powerful stuff.

1 Human Resources and Social Development Canada’s 10-year Outlook for the Canadian Labour Market (2006-2015) reveals a shortage for all sectors either current or future; the oil and gas industry is listed as both.

But the College of the North Atlantic (CNA) has taken its 45 years of know-how in providing accredited, industry-linked programming for its own province and country, and successfully applied it to delivering custom training in the Persian Gulf to one of the richest countries in the world.

CNA made history in 2001, securing the largest international education contract ever awarded to a Canadian educational institution (U.S. $500 million), when it was chosen by the Middle East State of Qatar to establish a world-class technical college in its capital city of Doha.

Just as CNA’s graduates are in demand throughout the globe, whether it be with Voisey’s Bay Nickel Company, the United Nations or Stephen Spielberg’s DreamWorks in Hollywood, it makes sense that the reputation of the college would follow. And CNA has followed through in spades.

As we approach the 10-year anniversary of this union, its progeny has grown far beyond expectations. Since opening its doors in 2002, the College of the North Atlantic-Qatar (CNA-Q) has gone from a student enrollment of 300 to 3,000 and from a staff complement of 50 to well over 600; it has expanded to add a number of programs, custom-designed for the needs of the State; and it has generated more than $45 million in revenue for the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, which was reinvested back into the public education system. In addition, CNA-Q employees are in essence CNA employees and continue to pay their provincial and federal taxes back home, to the tune of $2.2 and $7.5 million respectively.

But more so than producing substantial benefits to CNA’s provincial operations, the province of Newfoundland and Labrador as a whole, and indeed, the country, this experience – the Qatar experience – goes deeper. This melding of cultures has had particularly significant consequence for those Canadians who staff the campus, and their families who have accompanied them to the Middle East.

There are young single people, married couples and retirees drawn to this beautiful place called Qatar. Canadians are getting married and having babies there, travelling to exotic locales they had only dreamed of, and gaining international teaching experience that will serve them admirably in future professional endeavors.

Keith Bonnell taught mathematics at the campus for five years before returning to Newfoundland in 2009. It wasn’t long before he and his wife decided to go back to Qatar, returning this year. He thinks back to their initial interest in the opportunity and refers to the “collective of pleasant anticipations and expectations” that draws many people there, such as the attractive package of pay and benefits, the opportunity to immerse self and family in a new exotic culture, world travel, escape from the harsh Canadian winters and the value of a career in international education. However, he adds, what brought them there was becoming a very small part of what was keeping them there.

“We had fallen in love with the soul of the place, with its very essence… as time passed, our day-to-day experiences on campus and in the city and country were subtly weaving themselves in the fabric of our very being. These experiences and this place were actually becoming an integral part of who we are and how we define ourselves, both individually and as a collective of professional colleagues at our college,” says Bonnell.

Some 500 Canadians are currently working at CNA-Q. They and their families are developing a global mindset that will broaden their horizons and open doors for the rest of their lives.

Julianna Deveau, 12, was three years old when her parents took jobs at CNA-Q. They were among the first group of CNA employees to work at the new campus. In the five years they were there, Julianna and her younger brother, Alex, had the opportunity to travel with their parents to exotic places such as Egypt, Kenya, Belgium and Germany.

“In Africa we went on a safari and got really close to lions and crocodiles,” she says, her eyes lighting up, “and in Egypt, we walked into a pyramid right to the tomb. I thought I would see a mummy!”

The family lived in a villa in Doha, inside one of several gated communities CNA-Q arranges for their employees with families. Julianna says it was great to have a pool, gym and playground in her community, along with the After School program, where she could hang out with her best friend, Mackenzie. Her mom, Mary, remembers how relaxed an atmosphere it was, and how ideal a place to raise her family.

“The kids had so much freedom in the community – bike riding, swimming, back and forth to friends’ houses,” says Mary. “We had to teach them about safety when we came back here to Canada!”

The ripple effect of the project is beyond measure; and the benefits to the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, and Canada are far-reaching.

To mention a few: It created a fresh focus for Newfoundland and Labrador as a tourist destination; the reputation of the province has grown, as CNA became well known for best practices in international education, resulting in partnerships with universities in the UK, U.S. and the Caribbean; accrediting bodies such as the Canadian Medical Association have expanded their accreditation reach to include CNA curriculum abroad; through partnerships with CNA and Qatar, Canadian colleges and universities can access substantial funding for applied research; and myriad untapped business opportunities exist in Qatar for Newfoundland and Labrador firms in the area of oil and gas and the import/export of goods and services.

With the collective strength of Newfoundland and Labrador’s burgeoning industries in oil and gas, mining, manufacturing and now in education, these currents of change are bound to carry us to every shore in this global village we call earth.