The Faculty of Education's English for Academic Purposes (EAP) Program is the only U of C program that prepares academically qualified students to meet the English Language Proficiency requirement for admission to the University of Calgary's undergraduate and graduate degree programs.

In January 2008 EAP-Q was launched in the City of Doha, Qatar as a joint initiative between the Faculty of Nursing and the Faculty of Education. The following is a personal account from John Botting, EAP-Q's acting academic coordinator, of what it is like to be a part of this new initiative.

Despite being early spring, the air in Doha sits warm on the skin, almost hot. Today, the metal handle on the front door to my pink villa, having squared off against a white sun all afternoon, nearly burned my hand. At night, if dust is blowing eastward through the city from the desert or moisture is crawling westward from the bleached blue Arabian Gulf (a.k.a. Persian Gulf), then the orange streetlights set the sky ablaze.

The Qatar economy, fueled by natural gas exports, is scorching. Construction cranes pull columns of buildings to their full height. Thin, migrant men wearing scarves around their faces and blue coveralls somehow manage to dig ditches. Heavy American hitters like Weill Cornell Medical College, Carnegie Mellon, Texas A&M et al have been drawn here like campers to a bonfire. Farther down the road is the little upstart, the University of Calgary-Qatar, lone among Canadian universities in the Middle East.

UC-Q's Faculty of Nursing Program has exploded in its first year, with each enrolment intake doubling and tripling. Activity here is feverish, opportunities for educational development spectacular. In the grand scheme of things, it is truly impressive that the University of Calgary adds its expertise and initiative to this part of the world.

By John Botting, Acting Academic Coordinator
English for Academic Purposes
Joint initiative between Faculty of Nursing and Faculty of Education
University of Calgary-Qatar