Dr.
Mark H. Weichold, the Dean of Texas A& M University at Qatar, was recently awarded the inaugural Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah International Energy Award for ‘Lifetime Achievement for the Advancement of Education’ at the Doha Energy Forum’s 2013 event gala. T he award recognizes Weichold’s contributions and achievements in the advancement of education in Qatar. Dr Weichold believes in changing people’s lives, and hence imparting education was the perfect vocation for this visionary. He talks to Campus about his dreams and ambitions for young people.
After a career working as an engineer, how did you decide to branch into education? Do you ever regret not being hands-on in a profession that makes you change and improve lives... or do you think this is a continuation of the same vocation? I’m a practising engineer and I’ve worked for Motorola and General Dynamics and other places. Principally, I’ve been a professor since 1982. I do see myself as being hands-on and making a difference and changing people’s lives. In fact, probably back in the 80s, one of my students was asking me basically the same question: “Why become a professor instead of a practising engineer?” My answer to him is one I still feel good about today, and that is, if I really want to make a difference in engineering, I would educate lots of engineers because then instead of just one person, me, being out there, I have hundreds of my students out there.
How different are students on the Campuses where you have taught? It is almost surprising to see how similar the young people are in all these campuses. Young people, no matter where you are, have new and different ways to look at things, and I find that very exciting. I like to think it keeps me on my toes and keeps me fresh. It’s always rewarding for me to see the way a student’s face lights up, whenever the engineering concept we are working on clicks.
Was it your decision coming to Qatar? Were you aware of the country, and what were your initial impressions? When Qatar Foundation first approached Texas A&M, I was part of a team that came over here on the very first visit and the group that set up the campus and everything, so I was very much aware of it. When we first got here, Education City was not nearly as large and as built up and developed as it is now. At that time, the Qatar Foundation headquarters building was in place, Qatar Academy, VCUQ, and Cornell’s building was still under construction. It was exciting to see the plans that Qatar Foundation had. There was a master plan then with certain buildings and layouts, and if you see the master plan now, it has grown to five or six times the size of what was planned back then.
As the dean of such a prestigious university, do you have time to interact with the students? How is the campus atmosphere different here than in Texas? I don’t have as much time as when I was a professor, obviously, because
Why did U become a professor? Because if I really want to make a difference in engineering, I would educate lots of engineers, because then instead of just one person, me, being out there, I have hundreds of my students out there. every day as a professor I would see my class but, on the other hand the opportunities that I have as a dean to interact with students are on a different level. At least once a month I meet the student body president. Hearing what the students have on their minds, what their concerns are, is very important to me. Also, working with the student leaders is a very rewarding part of my job. The similarities between the students here and in Texas is remarkable. One thing that is different here is that about 38% of the students are female and in Texas it’s about half. So that creates a different environment here. Qatar Foundation has been an outstanding partner with us and has provided us with some excellent laboratories and classrooms, and from that perspective, the environment here is different as well. The opportunities that our students here have for state-of-the-art equipment are far better than what we have at College Station in Texas.
What advice can you give students, in terms of making it a fun and learning experience? The advice I would give to both the students and the sponsors of an internship program is to make the job assignment a real assignment. Give the students a real project. It may not be the most long-term or advanced project, but make it real. And if the student seeks out that kind of project, and if the internship sponsor provides, it that will produce an outstanding experience for the student.
How important is it for students to gain work experience before they graduate? It’s very important to have work experience. One of the things that I think is unique about our program here is that by the time our students graduate, 80% of them have some kind of internship or work experience. Having that hands-on feel is very important for an engineer. That’s why we have so many of our engineering courses associated with laboratories, so the students learn theory in the classroom but then they go into a laboratory and actually conduct experiments.
2013
issue 18
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