A Canadian college, with palm trees - Special to the Globe & Mail

[CNAQ09]

With its Qatar campus, College of the North Atlantic is among the leaders in schools looking to expand in the Middle East

Joey Coleman
Nov. 16, 2009 04:20 PM EDT

It's a typical Canadian postsecondary campus with all the components you expect for thousands of students; among 22 buildings, there are cafeterias, lounges, recreation facilities, classrooms, and labs; the only thing missing is snow.

Located in Doha, the capital city Qatar, this Canadian campus offers all the value of a Canadian education in the middle of a desert state. While many U.S. universities and some Canadian MBA programs have expanded into the Middle East during the past five years, a college is among the leaders for Canadian expansion into this region.

Newfoundland and Labrador's College of the North Atlantic opened the doors to its Qatar campus in 2002. Starting with 300 students, the campus has grown to house 4,004 students from 36 different countries.

It all started in 1999 when the Government of Qatar, as part of its vision of becoming the higher education hub of the Middle East, approached Canadian and American community colleges and requested proposals to open a satellite campus in the oil-and-gas-rich emirate. The emirate quickly decided it wanted to import the Canadian model and set about touring numerous Canadian colleges looking for the right one. With the similarities between the Newfoundland-and-Labrador and Qatari economy, CNA had the experience and programs the Qatari government was looking for.

"It came down to relationships," says Jean Madill, president of CNA, of the Qatari decision to import CNA, "We share similar backgrounds with fishing and offshore oil."


CNA was awarded a ten-year contract with a budget of $1.7-billion to open the campus. CNA earns a yearly management fee that returns to Canada, but the main benefits to Newfoundland and Labrador come from the networking and employment opportunities stemming from having a highly visible presence in the country. Of the 600 faculty and staff employed at CNA-Q, over 200 are from the province, with the remaining staffing split between 100 local hires and the majority of others coming from other Canadian provinces.

The Qatar campus has improved CNA's international reputation and enabled the college to continue expanding its international footprint. CNA has 1,800 students enrolled in programs offered in partnership with institutions in China.


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