Hamad bin Jassim Center and Carnegie Mellon recognize winners of programming competition
Two teams from Al Khor International School tie for first at Alice Middle East Programming Competition for middle and secondary students
DOHA, QATAR: A combination of impressive programming skills and creativity earned two teams from Al Khor International School first place at the Alice Middle East Programming Competition that took place in February. The Hamad bin Jassim Center for K-12 Computer Science Education at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar (CMU-Q), a Qatar Foundation (QF) partner university, hosted the annual contest.
This year’s edition brought together more than 100 students from eight private and government schools across Qatar. The students are all studying programming through a CMU-Q-created curriculum that uses the Alice Middle East software. Students created digital animations and games under the themes of climate change, health, cybersecurity, or traffic safety.
Michael Trick, dean of CMU-Q, said: “The Alice Middle East program was created to help students in Qatar develop the basic skills they will need to work and live in a connected, digital world. Each year, I continue to be impressed by the impact the program is having and the sheer talent shown by these students.”
The Alice educational software was originally developed at Carnegie Mellon’s main campus in the US. At the request of Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, chairperson of Qatar Foundation, Alice was adapted for Qatar by researchers at CMU-Q, who also created a curriculum in Arabic and English. The Alice Middle East curriculum was created with support from a National Priorities Research Program grant from Qatar National Research Fund.
Saeed Al-Hajri, CEO and Member of Board Directors of the Jassim & Hamad Bin Jassim Charitable Foundation, said: “Computing skills are fundamental for children who will spend their careers in a knowledge economy. We enthusiastically support the Alice Middle East Programming Competition, and we encourage all young people in Qatar to explore the world of programming and computing.”
In 2018, CMU-Q joined forces with Jassim & Hamad Bin Jassim Charitable Foundation to create the Hamad bin Jassim Center for K-12 Computer Science Education. Through CMU-Q’s Alice Middle East and Mindcraft initiatives, the Center promotes and supports computational learning among school children across Qatar.
Ali Alaboudy, ICT program manager at Qatar National Research Fund and a judge at the competition said: “Fostering computing science skills through initiatives and programs such as Alice is, we believe, essential to Qatar’s continuing development. I was impressed with the creativity these young students are already showing and their abilities to produce such high quality work under pressure. We had a tough time selecting the winners, as the results demonstrate.”
With the support of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, Alice Middle East is now part of the curriculum at all Qatar government schools that teach information communication technology. Nearly 5,000 students have benefited from the program to date.
AbuIssa Holdings generously provided the prizes for the competition.