Summary
The Hamad Bin Jassim (HBJ) Center for Computer Science Education at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar (CMU-Q) hosted the 2026 Alice Programming Competition, an annual event that this year drew 351 students from over 40 schools across Qatar. Sponsored by Doha Bank, the competition challenged participants to develop interactive games and animations centered on global sustainability themes, including food security, inclusive education, cultural heritage, and renewable energy. Now in its tenth year, the Alice Middle East initiative continues to foster computational thinking and programming skills among thousands of students annually through a partnership between CMU-Q and the Jassim and Hamad Bin Jassim Charitable Foundation.
DOHA, QATAR – June 4, 2026 – The Hamad Bin Jassim (HBJ) Center for Computer Science Education, a joint initiative between Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar (CMU-Q) and the Jassim and Hamad Bin Jassim Charitable Foundation, hosted the Alice Programming Competition 2026, under the sponsorship of Doha Bank. This high-energy event drew 351 students from more than 40 schools across Qatar. CMU-Q is a Qatar Foundation partner university.
A ten-year legacy
The competition was first held in 2016 with students from just nine schools in Qatar. Michael Trick, dean of CMU-Q, noted how the energy and enthusiasm for programming has grown over the past decade.
“A decade ago, we held the first Alice Programming Competition as a showcase of the new programming skills students developed with the Alice software. It is humbling to look at how Alice Middle East has grown over ten years. We have developed strong partnerships with the Jassim and Hamad Bin Jassim Charitable Foundation and the Ministry of Education and Higher Education and together we have reached thousands of students and inspired many of them to delve deeper into programming.”
Ali Ibrahim Al Gharib, CEO of the Jassim and Hamad Bin Jassim Charitable Foundation, emphasized that the partnership with Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar was driven by a vision to contribute to the development of Qatar’s educational landscape. The partnership aims to enhance the readiness of future generations for the demands of academia and the workforce, ensuring their active participation in a rapidly evolving digital world, he added.
“Today, we are immensely pleased to see the tangible impact we have made. We look forward to expanding and growing our efforts to reach an even greater number of students in the future,” Al Gharib said.
On his part, Hamad Al-Hajeri, HR Business Support Manager at Doha Bank stated “We were pleased, at Doha Bank, to sponsor this event, including providing a competitive cash prize pool. This sponsorship underscores a shared commitment to fuel early STEM innovation, cultivate human capital, and support Qatar’s ongoing transition toward a sustainable, knowledge-based economy.”
The Alice educational software was originally developed at Carnegie Mellon’s home campus in Pittsburgh to teach programming concepts to children. Researchers at CMU-Q localized the software for Qatar with the support of the Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF), including a curriculum and bilingual Arabic and English instructional paths. The HBJ Center at CMU-Q continues to support teachers who deliver the Alice curriculum. With the support of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, Alice Middle East introduces computational thinking to more than 5,000 students in Qatar annually.
A competition focused on global sustainability
This year’s competition challenged students across Qatar to use their computing skills and creativity to create games or animations in one of four key areas of global sustainability: food security and sustainable agriculture, inclusive education and accessibility, global cultures and digital heritage, or renewable energy and innovation.
More than 100 teams submitted interactive games and animations, and 34 were selected as finalists. During the final competition and showcase, a judging panel reviewed the projects and selected the winners. Judges represented key partners within Qatar: Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MOEHE), the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), Education Above All (EAA), Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), and the Qatar Computing Research Institute (QCRI).
Teams from Birla Public School took the top two spots in the advanced category, with Ash-Shahaniya Preparatory School for Girls rounding out the top three. In the beginner category, the top three spots went to Podar Pearl School, DPS-Modern Indian School and Birla Public School, respectively.
