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FOR RQ 1 — What are the measures/policies being currently followed by Doha for the development and communication of its brand identity in regards to its commitment to education? (Place marketing and branding)
How did you find out about education prospects in Doha?
Personal contacts
Word of mouth (very popular response)
Siblings attending EC schools (this is slowly becoming more common, and has been increasing over the years)
Education city road shows and recruiting trips around the middle east
The internet – curious about what Qatar/Doha is because the country has been in the news lately for various reasons (world cup, oil and gas etc.), and then finding out about the schools
When researching the main campus of my school (e.g. Georgetown in Washington DC), although it’s a minority
School counsellors
Outreach programs
Social networks
(There has been no policy or structure to market education in Qatar. The ‘Think’ Campaign of Qatar Foundation was successful. There were plans to have the ‘Achieve’ Campaign launch in February, but that has not come to pass. The Achieve Campaign focused on promoting Education City locally and not internationally. It seems that Qatar is not very keen on marketing itself internationally any more. They don’t promote it as an educational hub. People think of Dubai still. There has been more of a shift to talk about Qatar Foundation being bigger than Education City – and in the past Education City seemed to be bigger than Qatar Foundation)Research Questions
What were the sources or factors that encouraged you to come here?
Financial aid (generous need-based and merit scholarships) – although that is becoming limited in the past years
Geographical location (proximity to home countries)
Networks (from schools and regions with alumni)
Visa processes are easier than the States (especially for students from Muslim countries)
Safety and security, Qatar is a very safe country
Parent’s pressure (No crime, limited access to alcohol, partying and drugs, Gender segregation). Parents have the largest say in where their kids go to study
Interest in the region (for a small number of people)
Sense of adventure (for a small number of people)
More access to conferences and opportunities for students (E.g. WISE, WISH etc.)
Emerging economy, could get work opportunities after graduation
Lots happening as Qatar is in the news a lot nowadays
Policy of flying in prospective students to visit the campus (although that is on the decline)
The brands of the universities offering their best courses sells
Cultural affiliations – muslim society with western education
What is it in the education of Doha that isn’t there in other universities?
It’s the same education degree as the States, without some of the negatives of the States (visa, drinking culture, location, safety and financial aid)
Faculty to student ratio (6:1)
Access to academics (for a small minority of very interested students)
Small class sizes
Generous resources
Smaller community
Lots of money invested in students
Free meals + free trips + exposure to conferences and research
Ease/Structured access to undergraduate research
Cross registration with other campuses
Generous financial aid
Funded study abroad experiences
Very comfortable student lifestyle compared to other schools
Lots of free activities that are accessible
Great infrastructure for students (entertainment, sports and recreation, academic, professional)
FOR RQ 2 — 2. How do the overall nation branding strategies of Qatar affect Doha’s brand image in regards to education? (perception of the city + reasons why city branding is complicated)
(although this RQ needs to be changed as per the tutor’s feedback in the proposal marking. Also, don’t we need a couple of more questions for the students?)
How has studying in Qatar changed your perspective about the country, which could have been previously dominated by international news?
Regional students are familiar with the environment
Some degree of culture shock with the display of wealth on campus. Lots of people come from places where “poverty is around them”
Positive changes – “Is this what Peace in the Middle East looks like?”
Most international students are Muslim and are culturally affiliated to Qatar
Negative issues are highlighted as well (extreme wealth and show off etc.)
It’s a safe place to study
FOR RQ 3 — What are the brand attributes that prospective students seek when choosing the city they want to study in? (Different ways to establish brand + difficulties of city branding)Research Questions
What were your expectations about studying here before joining the campus?
Regional students are familiar with the environment
Some degree of culture shock with the display of wealth on campus. Lots of people come from places where “poverty is around them”
Expected to have local colleagues who were not as smart as I am
Expected to have easier course load
Typical college experience
‘what do you think education in Doha provides you ?
I moved this question to RQ 4 because I think it is more relevant. I believe we should have a second question under this RQ though. Maybe something like ‘what were your criteria when selecting a school or city to study in and how Doha became your final choice?’ or something like that? Then we could take some answers from the question above: What were the sources or factors that encouraged you to come here?
FOR RQ 4 — How can Doha improve its brand image so that it has an impact on education? (designing the city + difficulties of city branding)
How does the reality of the campus differ from the expectations that you had before joining?
Its not too much fun on campus. Social life is horrible, very few things to do apart from sports and food. Campus is at the end of the city and transportation is not easy
It met expectations
Better community than expected
Legality – if you get into trouble here, you really get into trouble
Sense of entitlement
Students get spoilt here
It’s a bubble
Activities are planned and not organic
Not a “real” student experience. They are trying but it is not organic.
What do you think education in Doha provides you ?
To be part of an exciting country at an exciting time
Better education for cheaper
Safe environment
Lots of resources
What do you think can be done to make education in Doha desirable?
Financial Aid
Grants instead of loans to compete with NYU Abu Dhabi
Move it out of Doha
I don’t know
Easing restrictions to allow access to jobs upon completing the degree
More connections with universities outside the region
Creating formal connections from education into the workforce
Not reducing barriers, but actually promoting Education City students to the private sector in Qatar
Financial aid policy is generous, but poorly administered
Visas for parents
Emphasis on building a multi-cultural society
Promote that it is a safe place to study. Most westerners (the US and West Europe) think that it’s an unsafe place to be. Most Easterners (Asia and East Europe) think that it’s a safe place to be.
Smart foreign policy (the issues/involvement of Qatar in Egypt, Libya and Syria does not bode well for marketing itself as a great place to study)
(Anything positive Qatar does will be negated by the treatment of migrant workers – whether it wins the world cup or even the existence of great schools in the region. They need advocacy groups to lobby for Brand Qatar. They need to train local government officials on how to respond and react better to address critical social issues in the country. Marketing is possible, but its hard to balance the ill feelings of the Qataris. You can’t run a great institution and keep the Qataris happy. It’s a problem of word versus objective. We can market and get people to know about us, but when we can’t recruit internationals then we can’t meet our objectives (universities have been ‘encouraged’ to recruit more local students vs. internationals. This has not been positively looked at, as the recruitment should be based on merit and not nationality. Plus diversity in class is an advantage that should not disappear)…
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