Dispatches from Qatar: finding your feet in a foreign land

Active interior of UCL, Qatar

Qatar: Six months after moving to Qatar to open UCL's campus in the Middle East, Brett Kershaw talks about building UCL's reputation through outreach projects. I'm now been living in Doha for almost six months. UCL’s Qatar Campus is growing steadily in terms of our staff numbers (17 at last count) and most importantly, we're now beginning to gain wider recognition as an active entity here. There are now just under five months until we enrol our first students, with the admissions process still in full swing. It's somewhat daunting knowing how much work still lies ahead, but very satisfying at the same time to look back on what we've achieved.

So what's been happening? Profile-raising has been high on the agenda over the last couple of months, and it has come in many forms, from participation in exhibitions, to media advertisements, to our social media profiles. Visibility is the key for us now. Even being one of the world's highest ranking institutions does not guarantee that people in some parts of the world will be familiar with who you are. So it takes a lot of work and persistence to establish your brand. We recently held a press conference to officially announce our arrival, and generate some additional media coverage. It was my first time being grilled by journalists, and it was weirdly enjoyable! Fortunately, the local media are very supportive, and this means I am frequently arranging interviews between academic staff and journalists, whether in newspapers, magazines, on the web or radio. People are beginning to take note.

A big part of why we are here is not only to offer degree programmes – it's just as much about outreach and engagement. As a campus specialising in cultural heritage, archaeology and museum studies, we very much want to make these subjects accessible and appealing to the local community; we want this society to be proud of their roots and celebrate their past at a time when so much emphasis is on the future. At the end of March we launched the UCL Public Lecture Series. One of our academic members of staff, Dr Timothy Power, gave a talk on The Dome of The Rock in Jerusalem – its significance in Islam and what it represents to the Palestinian people. It's the first in a series of lectures that I hope will not only be highly interesting, but also very relevant to the regional population.

Branch campuses such as our own are here to serve a local need and to fill a gap in the education system. But there is a greater element. In Qatar’s case, it's an educational revolution. The ambition quite clearly is to establish Qatar as the regional hub of world-class education and study. Clustering eight of the world's most prestigious institutions together in one city makes a huge impact on the future prospects of the local people. More broadly for us, the education we provide, combined with the ambition of Qatar Museums Authority, will create future leaders to further establish Doha as a capital of culture.

But first and foremost, we seek highly qualified, motivated students. Though recruiting Qatari students is important to us, our goal is to establish UCL Qatar as the leading centre of excellence in the region for the study of archaeology, conservation and museology. And this means attracting the brightest students from across the region and beyond. Our programmes have been carefully tailored to focus on the Gulf and the Islamic World and as such they should greatly appeal to students whose interests relate to the cultural heritage issues of this region. I recently undertook profile raising visits to Egypt and Jordan and have a further one planned in Kuwait. Apart from being the most effective way to promote your degree programmes internationally, it is an opportunity to explore areas for collaboration with other universities and with cultural heritage organisations.

As our applicants begin to accept their offers, our emphasis will turn towards securing student accommodation, and acquiring the necessary information to be able to guide international students through the immigration process. There's lots that we're still learning – every day brings new challenges – but there's no room for complacency where the student experience is concerned. Our Head of IT Services, Patrick, is busy establishing our network system and Philip, our Lab Technician, is doing his best to ensure all is in place for the arrival of our students. There's no rest, and it's gruelling. Our opening ceremony (a customary grand event in this part of the world) may, hopefully, be the time to breathe a sigh of relief. But until then, we continue apace.

Now regardless of the industry you work in, a move across the world can be hard at times because you have to establish a new life in that environment, as well as find your feet at work. So for me, my time here has been very much about discovering Qatar too. Among the gems is Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art. An intimate venue, it currently features an exhibition entitled Saraab (Mirage) by renowned Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang.

Whether it's doing something arty, sporty or social, I'm fortunate that my new friends here include Egyptians, Palestinians, Sudanese, Bahrainis, an Azerbaijani... you just wouldn't get that kind of diversity in Deptford. That's not to say I haven't made any British friends, but I don't want to depend on that. I've always preferred to get to know a range of people from all different backgrounds, it's a lot more fun. 
(This is an article write by Brett Kershaw in The Guardian)