As part of its efforts to continuously share knowledge gained from Qatar’s FIFA World Cup 2022™ preparations, the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) is partnering with the Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) to offer an online course under the title, “Sustainability and Major Sports Events”.

The course will be delivered in collaboration with the Josoor Institute, launched with the purpose of building the capacity of sports and events industries in Qatar and the MENA region, and edX, a non-profit online learning platform founded by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Sustainability has played a central part in the build-up to Qatar 2022 ever since Qatar won the right to host the major sports event in 2010. This includes a strong commitment to incorporate the five pillars of sustainability – human, social, economic, governance and environmental – in all aspects of tournament readiness and the human legacy the event will have on Qatar and beyond.

“After running the course successfully last year, in which more than 900 people from around the world registered, we wanted to continue this collaboration with HBKU because we truly believe in the power of Qatar 2022 in creating a substantial shift in the way major sports events incorporate sustainability in every aspect of their delivery,” said Engineer Bodour Al Meer, Sustainability & Environment Senior Manager at the SC.

“From water and waste management to ensuring that the infrastructure we are building leaves a long-term legacy for all our communities, we strive to make sure that sustainability informs every aspect of our work. It is a culture and body of knowledge that we want to share with the rest of the world,” added Al Meer.

For their part, HBKU sees the course as an opportunity to continue the work they are doing to provide world-class educational content through a series of innovative online courses that will be delivered through their recently launched HBKUx platform.

“With the launch of HBKUx, we are proud to be the first university in the Middle East to offer a robust online learning platform that makes quality academic programmes and courses accessible to millions of learners around the world,” said Dr Susan Karamanian, dean of the College of Law at HBKU.

“Partnering with an organisation like the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy allows us to provide our students with unprecedented access to thought leaders who are working on delivering one of the world’s largest sports events,” added Dr Ala Al-Fuqaha, Acting Associate Provost for Teaching and Learning at HBKU.

In order to receive the certification, students must complete two different courses, one on planning and the other on implementation. The courses explore the concept of sustainability in the context of major sports events and help students learn how to formulate and write a sustainability strategy. In addition, students are taught how to track the progress and impact of a sustainability action plan, ensure that procurement processes and practices are sustainable, plan for and deliver legacy and long-term impact, and create, target and deliver an effective communications campaign.

“Imparting the tremendous amount of knowledge gained from the experience of organising a major event like Qatar 2022 is one of the most important parts of the legacy this tournament will leave,” said Talar Sahsuvaroglu, the SC’s Sustainability and Environmental Subject Matter Expert, who will be one of the many instructors to deliver the courses.

Registration for the programme is now open through the Hamad Bin Khalifa University website.