Golden girl: Carnegie alumna earns education honor

Fatima Al-Emadi recently received a gold medal Education Excellence Award from Qatar's Ministry of Education and Higher Education. A graduate of Carnegie Mellon University Qatar (CMU-Q), Al-Emadi praised the university for giving her an education that transitions well to the working world.

“CMU-Q helps integrate us into corporate life from the beginning,” Al-Emadi said. “The four years you spend here are a good transition between academics and the work force. We are exposed to professional events and networking opportunities that provided us with soft skills that we wouldn’t necessarily receive from a textbook.”

Al-Emadi works in Islamic finance at Qatar First Bank. Islamic finance is a subject emphasized in CMU-Q’s teaching and research.

“Very few business schools, even in the region, prepare their students with sufficient understanding to work in a financial sector with two vastly different models,” John O’Brien, CMU-Q’s associate dean, said. “For those who look to careers in Islamic banking, they will need the tools to help the industry tackle obstacles of contractual complexities, customer understanding, structure of transactions and translating Sharia law into regulations that best honor the spirit of the law.”

The education award was patronized by the Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.