Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar

Experience CMU-Q
2026-11-21 | Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar
Experience CMU-Q is a one-day workshop to introduce high school students to the disciplines at CMU-Q. Students choose one program for the day, and then participate in fun, hands-on activities to learn more about that field.
Registration is now open: https://www.qatar.cmu.edu/admission/before-you-apply/experience-cmuq/

Early Decision Deadline
2026-11-01 | Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar
The Early Decision application deadline for the 2027 application cycle is November 1.

Fall Break
2026-10-11 - 2026-10-15 | Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar
Fall Break; No Classes

Reboot the Earth
2026-09-23 - 2026-09-26 | Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar
Reboot The Earth is an in-person social coding hackathon that brings together students, developers, researchers and innovators to build AI-powered, open source solutions for sustainable agriculture.
Reboot the Earth is hosted by the United Nations and Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Hamad Bin Jassim Center for K-12 Computer Science Education.
Join us to collaborate, create digital public goods, and help advance the Sustainable Development Goals—one solution at a time.
Sign up to learn more
For more information, please visit: https://unite.un.org/en/reboot-earth

Experience CMU-Q
2026-09-19 | Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar
Experience CMU-Q is a one-day workshop to introduce high school students to the disciplines at CMU-Q. Students choose one program for the day, and then participate in fun, hands-on activities to learn more about that field.
If you can’t make this session of Experience CMU-Q, it will also take place on November 21.
Registration is now open: https://www.qatar.cmu.edu/admission/before-you-apply/experience-cmuq/

University Lecture: Hamad Mubarak Al-Hajri, Founder and CEO, Snoonu
2026-09-15 13:00 - 14:00 (Europe/Moscow) | Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar
Hamad Mubarak Al-Hajri, Founder and CEO of Snoonu will be speaking at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar as part of the Dean’s Lecture Series. His lecture “From Idea to Impact: The Snoonu Journey” will take place at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar.
The Dean’s Lecture Series is the principal forum for eminent industry practitioners and government officials to bring their knowledge and perspectives to Carnegie Mellon, and to broaden students’ understanding of important issues.
Confirm your attendance

Dean’s List Award Ceremony, Spring 2026
2026-09-07 13:00 - 14:00 | Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar
The Dean’s List ceremony is held twice each academic year to celebrate students who have demonstrated exceptional academic achievement in the previous semester.

Classes Begin
2026-08-23 | Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar
Fall Semester 2026 classes begin

First-year Convocation
2026-08-19 16:00 - 17:00 | Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar
The First-year Convocation is a formal ceremony that welcomes new students to the academic community at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar. This event marks the beginning of their journey as university students.
The event will be live streamed via Zoom.
zoom url: https://cmu.zoom.us/j/95969328278?pwd=[REDACTED]

First-year Orientation Week 2026
2026-08-17 - 2026-08-20 | Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar
CMU-Q’s first-year orientation welcomes new students and is designed to help the Class of 2030 navigate their academic journey, connect with peers and discover the community.

Summer College Preview Program
2026-07-19 - 2026-08-06 | Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar
The SCPP is an opportunity for students from Qatar to visit our campus and put their skills to the test within a community of other bright young scholars. For three weeks in the summer, you will work hard, but you will also learn about different career paths, experience the excitement of campus life and challenge yourself to meet the high standards of Carnegie Mellon University.
Learn more

Meeting of the Minds
2026-04-28 15:00 - 18:00 | Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar
Meeting of the Minds is an annual symposium at Carnegie Mellon University that gives students an opportunity to present their research and project work to a wide audience of faculty, fellow students, family members, industry representatives and the larger community. Through this experience, students learn how to bridge the gap between conducting research and presenting it to a wider audience.

Spring break
2026-02-22 - 2026-02-26 | Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar
CMU-Q Spring Break; No Classes

Pi Day Mathematics Competition
2026-02-14 | Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar
The Pi Day Mathematics Competition is an opportunity for high school students in Qatar to explore the fun side of mathematics. Teams of four students compete in two rounds of mathematical problem solving. The preliminary round will determine the top four teams. The top four teams advance to the final round.
Important dates:

Registration opening: January 8
Registration deadline: February 1
Confirmation to Schools: February 8
Preliminary Round: February 14
Preliminary Round Results: February 19
Final Round: March 14

For more information on how to register, please visit CMU-Q’s Pi Day Mathematics Competition page

Qatar Mathematics Research Forum: Mathematical Horizons Symposium
2026-02-09 12:30 - 16:30 | Moot Boardoom
The Mathematical Horizons Mini-Symposium, organized by the Qatar Mathematics Research Forum (QMRF), brings together leading researchers to discuss recent advances in several areas of Mathematics. Through a series of invited talks, the event explores exciting topics like mathematical models of sustainability, physics-informed neural networks, wrinkling and geometric mechanics.
Schedule

12:30–1:00 p.m.
Lunch and Informal Networking
1:00–2:00 p.m.
Talk 1: Henrik Shahgholian: Exploring the Sustainability Landscape: A Mathematical Perspective

2:00–3:00 p.m.
Talk 2: Rafayel Barkhudaryan: Physics-Informed Neural Networks for Fully Nonlinear PDE’s
3:00–3:30 p.m.
Coffee Break
3:30–4:30 p.m.
Talk 3: Francesco Dal Corso: Bifurcations and wrinkling instabilities (and restabilization) in ultra-thin parallelogram-shaped hyperelastic membranes

RSVP to attend
Talk 1: Henrik Shahgholian: Exploring the Sustainability Landscape: A Mathematical Perspective

About the speaker: Full Professor of Mathematics at KTH Royal Institute of Technology (Sweden), widely recognized for his extensive contributions to the field of Partial Differential Equations (PDEs), specifically focusing on free boundary problems. He has over 140 publications, including 2 books and he frequently collaborates with other distinguished mathematicians, such as Luis Caffarelli and Alessio Figalli, on advanced elliptic equations and free boundary regularity.
Abstract: In this talk, I will share my personal journey in exploring sustainability through a mathematical lens. My goal is to show teachers and students why we must bring the conversation about our planet into our classrooms and academic meetings. We will focus on raising awareness of how even the most basic mathematical concepts can help us make sense of large-scale environmental challenges.This presentation is designed at the simplest level possible, avoiding complex formulas to focus on core ideas. We will look at how math acts like a map, helping us track how energy and resources move through our world. By using simple math models, we can learn how to design systems that last and discover better ways to care for our environment.The talk provides an overview of existing discussions on sustainability rather than stating final results or proposing fixed solutions. Please do not see this as a talk to attend passively; instead, I invite you to engage with your own suggestions,
Talk 2: Rafayel Barkhudaryan: Physics-Informed Neural Networks for Fully Nonlinear PDE’s
About the speaker: Dr. Rafayel Barkhudaryan, Vice-Rector for Scientific Affairs at Yerevan State University, is an expert in numerical analysis, scientific computing, and PDE methods. With leadership roles at major mathematical institutions and international research experience, his work combines theoretical rigor and computational insight.
Abstract: Physics-Informed Neural Networks (PINNs) provide a mesh-free framework for solving partial differential equations by embedding the equations into the training process. This talk focuses on fully nonlinear PDEs, with particular emphasis on convergence. We discuss theoretical and numerical aspects of convergence, key challenges arising from nonlinearity, and illustrate results on representative examples.”

Talk 3: Francesco Dal Corso: Bifurcations and wrinkling instabilities (and restabilization) in ultra-thin parallelogram-shaped hyperelastic membranes
About the speaker: Dr. Francesco Dal Corso at the University of Trento conducts research on the mechanics of solids and structural instability, including elastic localization, strain gradient effects, and geometric mechanics. His contributions connect mathematical modeling with experimental and theoretical insights into wrinkling and structural phenomena.
Abstract: Wrinkling is a commonly observed out-of-plane instability in membrane structures due to their extremely low bending-to-stretching stiffness ratio. It has been extensively investigated for symmetric membrane geometries and boundary conditions that induce planar non-uniform stress states by preventing the lateral contraction at the edges, and is also known to potentially display self-restabilization. This presentation outlines a recent investigation into an initially flat, parallelogram-shaped hyperelastic membrane, focusing on the influence of the inclination angle defining the membrane shape as a deviation from the rectangular geometry. It is shown that wrinkling can occur either centrally or at the two opposite obtuse-angled corners—even for small inclination angles—during stretching with unconstrained lateral contraction, a condition under which the flat configuration for the rectangular counterpart remains always stable.
Three distinct evolutions of the wrinkling pattern are numerically identified, all ultimately leading to corner localized wrinkles. This final state may arise (i) directly, without a prior bifurcation, or after the appearance of central wrinkling that either (ii) restabilizes or (iii) separates and migrates toward the corners. A closed-form expression for the critical wrinkling condition is derived by combining a perturbation approach with an energy based method in the framework of linear elasticity. This provides an accurate estimate of the onset and pattern of central wrinkling. The present findings reveal new pathways in wrinkling pattern evolution and introduce a novel approach to unconventional boundary value problems, with potential applications ranging from lightweight structural systems to flexible electronics

CMU-Q at Web Summit Qatar
2026-02-04 12:30 - 13:15 | Doha Exhibition Convention Center, Qatar
From Campus to Company: Two University Spinouts, Two Founder Paths
What changes when the founder is a student, versus a professor? In this university-led session, Dr. Maher Hakim hosts two startups born at the same institution – Carnegie Mellon University Qatar – to compare their paths from idea and/or technology to market.
The panel will explore speed, credibility, access to labs and talent, fundraising readiness, and how universities can better support both types of founders – without slowing them down.
Expect practical lessons on teams, IP, mentors, and the first “real” customers—told from two different founder journeys.
For more information, visit Web Summit Qatar 2026

Maher Hakim
Distinguished Career Professor
Dr. Hakim is a sought-out expert and educator in technology innovation and entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship financing and venture capital. He is a Distinguished Career Professor at Carnegie Mellon University. Dr. Hakim is the founder and CEO of Innovation Foundry – a consultancy firm delivering innovation-related advisory services to corporations, government agencies, venture capital firms, and startups. Additionally, he is the Chief Advisor of Innovation and Enterprise at Qatar’s Research, Development and Innovation Council, and a Partner at 212 – a venture capital firm based in Istanbul focused on regional startup investments in digital technologies.
Previously, Dr. Hakim was the executive director of UC Berkeley’s tech innovation hub, the managing director of Qatar’s Science and Technology Park, and the head of Carnegie Mellon University’s Center for Innovation Entrepreneurship in Doha, Qatar. Dr. Hakim taught innovation and entrepreneurship at Carnegie Mellon University Qatar, the University of California Berkeley, and the European Innovation Academy. His prior experience included launching and building several technology startups and leading innovation groups in Autodesk, Infor and First Advantage.
Dr. Hakim invested in numerous tech startups, supported efforts to build innovation ecosystems around the globe, and mentored and coached startup founders and tech investment professionals. He is a technologist by education and holds a PhD in Computer-Aided Engineering and Management from Carnegie Mellon University.
Mohammad Hammoud
Associate Teaching Professor, Computer Science
Dr. Mohammad Hammoud is an Associate Teaching Professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar (CMU-Q). He earned his Ph.D. and M.S. in Computer Science from the University of Pittsburgh, USA. His research spans a wide range of interests in artificial intelligence (AI) and computer systems, with a current focus on developing effective models and scalable distributed systems for real-world AI and natural language processing (NLP) applications.
At CMU-Q, Dr. Hammoud teaches a diverse set of courses, including AI for medicine, distributed systems, principles of computing, and entrepreneurship. Beyond academia, he is the Founder and CEO of Avey, a rising AI startup based in Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP). Avey has invented and pioneered a novel and universally accessible AI-powered medical diagnostic and coding ecosystem, reflecting Dr. Hammoud’s commitment to advancing real-world and impactful AI applications.
Abed Al Karim Khattab (BA, 2016)
Founder, HeliumDoc & Sentralife
Abed is a leader and entrepreneur at the forefront of healthcare innovation and digitization in the MENA region. He is the General Manager of HeliumDoc, a leading digital health platform in GCC and Africa, and the Founder of Sentralife, a public safety technology company, leveraging technology to improve and save lives in Qatar.

University Lecture: Google Cloud
2026-02-03 13:00 - 14:00 | Assembly Area
Ghassan Kosta, Regional General Manager of Google Cloud, will be speaking at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar as part of the Dean’s Lecture Series. His lecture “AI & Cloud: Driving Digital Transformation in Qatar and the Middle East” will take place at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar.
The Dean’s Lecture Series is the principal forum for eminent industry practitioners and government officials to bring their knowledge and perspectives to Carnegie Mellon, and to broaden students’ understanding of important issues.
Confirm your attendance

Dean’s List Award Ceremony
2026-02-02 13:00 - 14:00 | Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar

Lifelines Hackathon
2026-01-31, 2026-01-24 | Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar
Lifelines Hackathon is an event where university and high school students from diverse backgrounds come together to design impactful solutions to pressing humanitarian challenges. Past hackathons explored themes such as health, education, crisis management, media and awareness.
This year’s themes are health and sustainability.
Registration will open on January 7, 2026.
Registration will open on January 7, 2026.
For more information on how to register, please visit: https://lifelinescmuq.org/

Lifelines Hackathon
2026-01-30 | Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar
Lifelines Hackathon is an event where university and high school students from diverse backgrounds come together to design impactful solutions to pressing humanitarian challenges. Past hackathons explored themes such as health, education, crisis management, media and awareness.
This year’s themes are health and sustainability.
Registration will open on January 7, 2026.
For more information on how to register, please visit: https://lifelinescmuq.org/

University Lecture: H.E. Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari, Minister of Finance
2026-01-27 13:00 - 14:00 | Assembly Area
H.E. Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari, Minister of Finance – State of Qatar, will be speaking at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar as part of the Dean’s Lecture Series. His lecture “The State of Qatar: Future Economic Outlook and the Multiple Roles of the Ministry of Finance” will take place at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar.
The Dean’s Lecture Series is the principal forum for eminent industry practitioners and government officials to bring their knowledge and perspectives to Carnegie Mellon, and to broaden students’ understanding of important issues.
Confirm your attendance

University Lecture: Is a Science of Humans Even Possible?
2026-01-26 13:00 - 14:00 | Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar
Richard Scheines will be speaking at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar as part of the inaugural Richard Scheines Distinguished Lecture in the Humanities and Social Sciences.
Richard Scheines is the Bess Family Dean of the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University.
About the lecture:
In this talk, Dean Scheines contrasts the well-established science of inanimate objects with the challenges of developing a scientific understanding of humans, who have intentions, possible free will, and unpredictability. Dean Scheines discusses whether the assumptions underlying physical science apply to humans and whether the humanities may be better suited to understanding human nature.
Please register to attend.

Lifelines Hackathon
2026-01-22 | Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar
Lifelines Hackathon is an event where university and high school students from diverse backgrounds come together to design impactful solutions to pressing humanitarian challenges. Past hackathons explored themes such as health, education, crisis management, media and awareness.
This year’s themes are health and sustainability.
Registration will open on January 7, 2026.
Registration will close on January 14, 2026.
For more information on how to register, please visit: https://lifelinescmuq.org/

University Lecture: Qatar Fund for Development
2026-01-20 13:00 - 14:00 | Assembly Area
H.E. Fahad Al-Sulaiti, Director General of Qatar Fund for Development, will be speaking at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar as part of the Dean’s Lecture Series. His lecture “The International Strategy of the Qatar Fund for Development” will take place at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar.
The Dean’s Lecture Series is the principal forum for eminent industry practitioners and government officials to bring their knowledge and perspectives to Carnegie Mellon, and to broaden students’ understanding of important issues.
Confirm your attendance

Regular Decision deadline
2026-01-15 | Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar
The Regular Decision application deadline for the 2026 application cycle is January 15.

Experience CMU-Q
2026-01-10 | Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar
Experience CMU-Q is a one-day workshop to introduce high school students to the disciplines at CMU-Q. Students choose one program for the day, and then participate in fun, hands-on activities to learn more about that field.
Applications are now open

Winter break
2025-12-21 - 2026-01-01 | Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar
The university will be closed for winter break.

Qatar National Day
2025-12-18
The university will be closed in celebration of Qatar National Day.

World Summit AI Qatar
2025-12-09 - 2025-12-10 | Doha Exhibition Convention Center, Qatar
Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar will be participating in the World Summit AI Qatar on December 9, 10, 2025. Organized in partnership with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, the World Summit AI Qatar will gather global AI tech leaders, startups, investors and academia.
Learn more: https://qatar.worldsummit.ai/
