One belief that global education
would become national power
Hi. I’m John CRIST, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at George Mason University Korea (GMUK). I first learned about IGC from officials at the Qatar Foundation who were in sustained consultation with the founding leadership of IGC. I visited South Korea in 2015 and I was impressed with the new and beautiful campus and the serious commitment that IFEZA was making to transnational education. Six months later, when the academic dean’s position came open to GMUK, I leaped at the opportunity to apply. There are several factors, taken together, that have made Education City the success. Without a doubt, the enormous wealth that flows from Qatar’s abundant oil and gas resources provided great assurances to global partners about the long term viability of establishing a campus in Qatar. The fact that Qatar is a monarchy permitted bold decision-making unencumbered by the usual obstacles to big infrastructural projects in democracies which must contend with many competing interests and legal constraints. Finally, Qatar’s Education City benefited greatly from a strong vision within the royal family. I think it is worth taking note about the unstinted support on research infrastructure, research faculty and universities in Qatar Education City. Recently, with the amendment of the law, I believe it would invigorate the industry-university cooperation. Nevertheless, the reason for high expectation of IGC in the future compared to Qatar Education City is that IGC envisions a sustainable model of development, one in which the collaborating campuses will increasingly support their own operations, unlike Qatar Education City that depends on funding. IGC was founded 15 years later than Qatar Education City. Take pride in IGC’s substantial track record of accomplishments and success.
