GU-Q Experts Teach 28 Students in 1st module of HBKU’s Executive Master in Energy & Resources

Dr. Gerd Nonneman, Dean of Georgetown University in Qatar (GU-Q), and Dr. Mehran Kamrava, Director of GU-Q’s Center for International and Regional Studies (CIRS), recently taught the Georgetown portion of the first module of Hamad Bin Khalifa University’s (HBKU) new Executive Master in Energy and Resources (E&R) degree program.

The Georgetown duo guided the E&R master students through the complexities that shape the geopolitics of energy and resources around the globe by exploring how geography, politics, and strategy have intersected with concerns for access to, and use of, natural resources throughout history and today.

HBKU’s Executive Master in Energy and Resources degree is an interdisciplinary program developed in partnership with Georgetown, Texas A&M, and HEC that, in five intensive modules over 16 months, integrates three subject areas: geopolitics and public policy (Georgetown); technology (Texas A&M); and management and finance (HEC Paris). Georgetown’s introductory section on the geopolitics of energy and natural resources was part of the launch module of the new degree.

Dean Nonneman said: “It was a pleasure to teach this cohort of young, high-achieving professionals. This is a challenging program, and the students’ engagement was inspiring. These students come from a variety of professional backgrounds and organizations, from the energy sector to finance and Qatar Foundation, and from the private sector to the government. This allows for diverse perspectives during class discussions, which I found encouraged constructive dialogue, based on real life experiences, about the geopolitical challenges of Energy and Natural Resources both at the regional and global level.”

“Geographical settings and political processes are intertwined, more so globally than one would think,” explained Professor Kamrava. “Each influences and is influenced by the other, particularly when the fate of natural resources is at stake. This intense course on geopolitics takes the essential elements of successful energy and resource control to a higher level of discussion, and is particularly important when considering the incredible scale of resource governance that is necessary for Qatar to continue to grow as a knowledge-based economy.”

The inaugural model of the HBKU Executive Master in E&R degree also was composed of classes taught by leading faculty from Texas A&M University at Qatar and HEC Paris in Qatar.