University College London (UCL) Qatar is preparing to leave Education City by 2020, according to an assignment brief for the position of UCL Qatar’s director, created by global recruitment consultancy Harvey Nash.

According to the brief, UCL Qatar will end its 10-year contract with Qatar Foundation on June 30, 2020 and transfer its academic programs to Hamad Bin Khalifa University.

“Following a recent UCL Qatar Review, UCL now wishes to appoint a new Director for UCL Qatar … in order to complete the UCL Qatar contract in 2020 to the satisfaction of all signatories. This will involve working closely with Hamad bin Khalifa University (HBKU), a member of QF, to develop and implement a new Five Year Business Plan and to ensure a smooth transition of UCL Qatar’s activities to HBKU,” reads the brief.

In June, the position advertised in the brief was filled by Sam Evans CBE, Ph.D, who assumed the position of university’s new director.

UCL Qatar, located in the Georgetown University in Qatar building, welcomed its first class in 2012 and has since enrolled up to 230 students. The university offers a Master of Arts in Library and Information Studies and a Master of Arts in Museum and Gallery Practice, as well as several short courses for professionals in the cultural heritage field.

Last year, the London-based university also announced the closure of UCL Australia by 2017 due to “emerging changes in UCL’s strategic direction.” In 2014, talking about global impact of UCL, Dame Nicola Brewer, the university’s vice provost (international) said that the institute’s “relationships in Qatar need to be reviewed in light of a changed political context there.”

The administration of UCL Qatar did not respond to The Daily Q’s request to validate the assignment brief or comment on its contract with Qatar Foundation.

UCL Qatar is the youngest foreign institution in Education City, and if it departs by 2020, it will be the first branch campus to leave Education City and handover its programs to HBKU.

All branch campuses in Education City are established on the basis of a limited time contract with Qatar Foundation, which is subject to renewal. Currently, Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar’s contract expires in June 2022, while Texas A&M University at Qatar’s contract ends in June 2023. Earlier this year, Northwestern University in Qatar renewed its contract till 2028. Other universities did not respond to The Daily Q’s request to provide details on their contracts with QF.