Challenges of the Knowledge Society: Exploring the Case of Qatar

Qatar’s Permanent Constitution and National Vision 2030 constituted the turning point in Qatar’s transition toward knowledge society. Articles 22-49 of Qatar’s Permanent Constitution together with the 4 pillars of Qatar’s National Vision 2030 explicitly refer to the importance of knowledge acquisition, production and dissemination, and promotion of human socio-economic development. Qatar has remarkably invested in education, human capital, R&D, and ICT. Institutions such as Qatar Foundation (QF) and its entities like Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF), Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP), in addition to Qatar University and ictQatar are in the heart of Qatar’s knowledge society construction. Moreover, Qatar has capitalized in importing existing organizational capacity, faculty and staff, and accumulated reputation of a number of eminent global higher education institutions such as Georgetown University, Texas A&M University, and Weill Cornell Medical College. Despite many years of substantial investments in human capital, ICT and the relevant infrastructures, Qatar’s transition toward knowledge society is facing serious challenges. These challenges relate to reform and development of education and training to make knowledge as a principal driver of growth, diversification of the economy to ensure endurance of adequate revenues to fund projects, resolve the expatriate and workforce issues to ensure equilibrium and efficiency, efficient management of growth and uncontrolled expansion to avoid duplication of works and waste of recourses, good governance across government and private sectors projects to cope with modernization, professionalism and transparency, balancing between modernization and preservation of traditions to respond to globalization without losing the identity, balancing the rights of the present and future generations to uphold justice, and sustain the environment to make it healthy for living. The aim of this paper is threefold: Outline the main features of Qatar society, highlight the status quo of Qatar knowledge society and explore the major challenges for it.