- Title: QATAR: Palestinian-Lebanese girl is one of the world's youngest medical students
- Date: 2nd December 2009
- Summary: DOHA, QATAR (RECENT) (REUTERS) WEILL CORNELL MEDICAL COLLEGE IN QATAR VARIOUS OF IQBAL AL-ASSAD WALKING IQBAL AL-ASSAD AT COMPUTER IQBAL'S PROFESSOR, MARCO AMEDURI (SOUNDBITE) (English) PROFESSOR MARCO AMEDURI SAYING: "When we consider students for admission to the medical programme we look at a number of things. We look, first of all, for academic excellence for students who have performed very well in their high school education and then through the premedical programme or through an undergraduate programme. Then we look for other things, we look at their personality, we look at their maturity and their commitment to the profession of medicine. And we found all these things in Iqbal. And the fact that she is so young made it all the more remarkable.'' AMEDURI TEACHING IQBAL (SOUNDBITE) (English) PROFESSOR MARCO AMEDURI SAYING: "No absolutely not, she felt at home right from the beginning. She had gone through the foundation programme and through the premedical programme with us. But from the very beginning, from her first few days in Cornell, she was at home; she was one of our vocal students, one of our talented students. It was just wonderful to watch her grow and adapt to the school very quickly.''. PROFESSOR AND IQBAL (SOUNDBITE) (English) PROFESSOR MARCO AMEDURI SAYING: "I certainly expect a brilliant career from her, I think she is very talented and she is very committed. Our students have wonderful options, many of our students have gone into very prestigious residency programmes and I expect Iqbal to be very much following in that track and be a leader in clinical care and research and we hope one day even in the university as a faculty colleague." PROFESSOR AND IQBAL (SOUNDBITE) (English) PROFESSOR MARCO AMEDURI SAYING: "Observing as a teacher observes his students, I don't see any difference. I see her interacting very easily with the students. She is actually a student leader. All of the students feel very comfortable with her and she feels very comfortable with them. It's just a pleasure to see." PROFESSOR TEACHING IQBAL
- Embargoed: 17th December 2009 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Qatar
- Country: Qatar
- Topics: Education
- Reuters ID: LVA9XO82ZHF04UPSPMSPLPOUWHE2
- Story Text: Weill Cornell Medical College-Qatar (WCMC-Q) has enrolled one of the world's youngest medicine students. Iqbal al-Assad is a Lebanese student of Palestinian origin.
"When we consider students for admission to the medical programme we look at a number of things. We look, first of all, for academic excellence for students who have performed very well in their high school education and then through the premedical programme or through an undergraduate programme. Then we look for other things, we look at their personality, we look at their maturity and their commitment to the profession of medicine. And we found all these things in Iqbal. And the fact that she is so young made it all the more remarkable," said her professor, Marco Ameduri.
Iqbal al-Assad, whose family originally come from Gaza, was only 14 when she entered the premedical programme two years ago in WCMC but her teacher says she fit in straight away.
"She felt at home right from the beginning. She had gone through the foundation programme and through the premedical programme with us. But from the very beginning, from her first few days in Cornell, she was at home; she was one of our vocal students, one of our talented students. It was just wonderful to watch her grow and adapt to the school very quickly," said Ameduri.
And her teachers have high expectations of her after she leaves the college.
"I certainly expect a brilliant career from her, I think she is very talented and she is very committed. Our students have wonderful options, many of our students have gone into very prestigious residency programmes and I expect Iqbal to be very much following in that track and be a leader in clinical care and research and we hope one day even in the university as a faculty colleague," said Ameduri.
"Observing as a teacher observes his students, I don't see any difference. I see her interacting very easily with the students. She is actually a student leader. All of the students feel very comfortable with her and she feels very comfortable with them. It's just a pleasure to see," he added.
For Iqbal, however, her academic excellence is nothing out of the usual.
"It is certainly a beautiful feeling but normal. Both my parents and my friends treat me normally. My parents got used to the fact I have been skipping classes since I was young. I finished school when I was twelve. It is normal for them. They treat me like my siblings. My friends treat me the same and they don't look at me as younger than them. They discuss everything with me," said Iqbal al-Assad.
"I decided to study medicine at a young age. I am very close to my father and I discussed this issue with him many times. He noticed that I excelled in my education and encouraged me to study medicine. He told me I should serve my country Palestine, Lebanon and the whole world," she added.
And despite being significantly younger than her fellow students, she certainly has high ambitions for herself.
"I am planning to specialize in neurology and do cancer research. Neurology is my favourite course. I like it more than any field. As for cancer research, I noticed that many people are researching a cure for this disease and there are a lot of things to be revealed. I hope I can add something new to this research," said Iqbal.
Iqbal al-Assad is sponsored in Qatar by Sheikha Mozah, the wife of the Emir of Qatar. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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