Georgetown University Qatar Builds New Bridges to India

A team of experts from Georgetown University in Qatar’s Center for International and Regional Studies (CIRS) recently returned from a trip to Delhi that focused on creating institutional linkages between universities in India and Education City, as well as to explore and exchange research on topics on the Middle East and India through dialogue on geographic, social, and political and economic connections.

The CIRS team, which included both teaching faculty and staff members, took part in three separate programs at major organizations in India on the trip that ran from May 13 through May 17. They also organized an alumni reception for graduates and incoming students of the prestigious university who are currently living in India.

“One of the advantages of Georgetown’s Doha campus is its regional proximity to emerging global actors such as India. So through this trip, we are seeking to cement previous ties with our academic colleagues, and to forge new ones, between Qatar and India,” said Dr. Mehran Kamrava, Director of Research at CIRS, and Professor of Political Science. Amol Dani, GU-Q’s Chief Operating Office and trip participant, elaborated, saying: “Taking part in these conferences, as well as connecting with past and future GU-Q students in India, provides an excellent platform where everyone benefits. Furthermore, it strengthens Qatar’s position as a valuable hub of education and research that addresses the specific issues of this region.”

The trip began with the alumni event, followed by a meeting at the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), a not-for-profit think tank founded by many of India’s leading public figures and institutions of higher learning seeking to contribute to economic reforms and improving the government’s economic policies. The GU-Q attendees contributed to the energy discussion with a presentation titled “Nuclear Trends in West Asia”.

The following day saw the Education City team at the “Changing Dynamics in West Asia and the Persian Gulf” conference hosted by The Delhi Policy Group, an independent think tank which seeks to build a non-partisan consensus on issues of critical national interest in India. Georgetown contributed to the proceedings with two panels; “Iran and Security in the Persian Gulf” and “Trends in Egypt: Case for Concern”.

The final prong of the broad mission to develop ties with India was the “Joint Workshop on Internal and External Dynamics in the Middle-East Post-Arab Spring” organized by the Jindal School of International Affairs in Delhi. GU-Q’s contributions to the workshop, which was also attended by GU-Q students, included topics in security, Egypt’s revolution, sectarian issues stemming from the “Arab Spring”, and migration politics in the GCC. 

Georgetown University, which was the Knowledge Partner for the workshop, also took part in a faculty meeting between O.P. Jindal Global University senior management and Jindal School of International Affairs where they shared insights with their Indian colleagues.

The GU-Q team included Zahra Babar, Associate Director of Research at CIRS and Professor of Political Science, Dwaa Osman, Research Analyst at CIRS, Dr.Mark Farha, Assistant Professor of Government, Dr. Abdullah Al-Arian, Assistant Professor of History, Dr. Gary Wasserman, Professor of Government, Amol Dani and Dr. Mehran Kamrava. GU-Q’s CIRS provides a forum for scholarship and research on international and regional affairs.