With Qatar now in Phase 4 of its re-opening, we spoke to all six colleges at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU). In our second in a series of two features, the deans of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, the College of Science and Engineering, and the College of Health and Life Sciences share their thoughts on lessons learned from the pandemic, reasons to be hopeful and cautious, and their predictions for what the future may hold in their respective fields.

Dr. Amal Mohammed Al-Malki, Founding Dean, HBKU College of Humanities and Social Sciences

As life returns to some semblance of normality, we should take stock before the effects of the pandemic become distant history. While I am sure that the memories of COVID-19 won’t be easily forgotten, they will differ. We can confidently claim that we have learned some key lessons. One is that the world has never been smaller, and that commonalities across nations override their differences. When one part of the world suffers, we all suffer. As our prophet (PBUH) said: “When one limb suffers, the whole body responds with wakefulness and fever.” 

In this new reality, communication has been paramount. Crisis management carried out by organizations and governments relied on clear communications, striving to reach all sectors of society. In our multicultural environment, it was intercultural communication, breaking down health messages into different languages, that facilitated the containment of the virus. When drafting important messages, cultural considerations play a significant role in understanding and acceptance by audiences, who only then can be held accountable for their community’s safety. 

Another vital lesson is that we are all in it together, regardless of our different levels of social or economic privilege. COVID-19 exposed inequalities in our communities that already existed but were heightened by either the lockdown or other changing aspects of daily life during the pandemic. We were introduced to the most vulnerable and disadvantaged, those lacking the luxury of social distancing, those who have lost their livelihoods, and those whose abuse by others intensified during the lockdown. In this crisis, the intersections between individual and collective spaces have grown. We can no longer turn a blind eye to these injustices. It is our duty to expose, address, and stop all practices of injustice, to leave our communities better places after we are gone. 

Dr. Mounir Hamdi, Founding Dean, HBKU College of Science and Engineering 

COVID-19 has seen us advance our capacities in conducting online classes, utilizing new platforms and interactive tools that we have continuously improved by involving our students and faculty to gain feedback and recommendations. We have learned tremendously by consistently developing various areas, ultimately graduating eight PhD and more than 60 Master’s students this academic year.  

In the past months, the college has also forged ahead with knowledge-exchange and research. We conducted an entire array of webinars, supporting the State of Qatar’s institutional responses to the pandemic. To name just a few research projects, our scientists explored smart masks capable of detecting certain diseases, such as COVID-19; we designed tracing apps, apps for parents to monitor their children’s mental health in this period, and created digital architecture, enabling robots to autonomously disinfect both indoor and outdoor areas. Meanwhile, the Qatar National Research Fund’s rapid response call regarding COVID-19 saw us being awarded four corresponding research grants.  

Levels of collaboration soared. We worked closely with Hamad Medical Corporation on COVID-19-related issues, including methods to clean n95 masks for reuse, design of ventilator components, data analysis, and modelling of the disease’s spread. We also worked with the Ministry of Transport and Communication, directly supporting the country’s IT sector on both COVID-19-related and unrelated questions.

In short, we have done well by upholding the university’s and the college’s business as normal and contributing to the State of Qatar during this stressful time, whilst simultaneously being as flexible as possible. Still hoping for this pandemic to end, it has nevertheless made us stronger and more resilient. Most of what we have learned will be equally valid in the future. 

Dr. Edward Stuenkel, Dean, HBKU College of Health and Life Sciences

Qatar’s entry into Phase 4 of returning to pre-pandemic lifestyles seems cause for reflection. Perhaps the foremost lesson learned is that our well-being is completely vulnerable to the biological world. This relates not just to the fear of contracting an illness through normal-life activity; the impact extends beyond the individual. The dangers of climate change are often downplayed as not being immediate, whereas COVID-19 continues to pose an immediate threat. 

The pandemic also taught us the essential value of science and medical professionals. Their guiding actions have offset otherwise towering health impacts. Healthcare practitioners and biomedical scientists are acting selflessly for the world, developing testing strategies, addressing hospitalization and primary health care, and centrally, advancing rapid discovery of a vaccine. Collaborative actions extend further, as governments and the private sector implement societal and operational mandates for the safeguarding of populations, businesses, and the economy. The partnerships we have seen have worked, and we are en route to success.

Moreover, COVID-19 has stimulated a rethinking of society, including education, business, the importance of family and friends, and critically, attention to one’s health. Everyone learned that our existence depends on adaptability. Some communities have even flourished under a surge of new solutions, while students are not only learning online, but there is now an enhanced capability of imparting knowledge to underprivileged children remotely. 

We are entering a bright, highly digital stage. Healthcare itself is rapidly advancing into the digital forum, interacting with, assessing, and diagnosing patients online. Likewise, the pandemic has promoted international progress, promising a more interactive and productive future, as nations and people realize the value of sharing information to tackle global problems that affect all humans.