Qatar is striving to become the leading knowledge and technology hub in the Middle East and is investing heavily in infrastructure and development to achieve its goal, it has been claimed.

The American Chronicle reports that while many countries have been blessed by abundant, profitable natural resources, few nations have had that income stream supported by a visionary and intelligent leadership.

Over the last 15 years, the government has used revenues from Qatar's vast natural gas and substantial oil reserves to completely overhaul the country's educational infrastructure at all levels of development.

"The standardisation of Qatar University – the prime national institution of education – is an important milestone. The university has been brought on par with international universities in infrastructure, facilities, academic programs and systems of instruction," the paper reports.

Qatar University is also involved in partnerships with Texas A&M University in Qatar, delivering high level oil and gas training programmes that have been developed in collaboration with Schlumberger.

Oil and Gas Directory: Training and Development