The College of the North Atlantic Qatar (CNA-Q) has become the second-largest university in Qatar.

With a strength of nearly 2,500 students, the university is now next only to Qatar University (QU), said a report in Peninsula.

The college currently has over 2,000 students and another 400 to 500 are all set to join when the new academic session starts on August 29, CNA-Q president Dr Harald Jorch was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

The college is the first and the sole branch campus of the Canada-based College of the North Atlantic (CNA) in the Middle East. More than 1,000 courses ranging from engineering to security guards' training are being offered at the sprawling campus of the college, located in Duhail next to QU.

The college was established following an agreement between the Qatari government and the College of the North Atlantic in Newfoundland, Canada.

About 75 per cent of the existing students are Qatari nationals and 60 per cent of the total students are males. The college has students from 30 nationalities.