Meeting of the Minds research symposium goes virtual, opens up new audiences

DOHA, QATAR—Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, a partner university of Qatar Foundation, transformed its annual research symposium, Meeting of the Minds, into a digital showcase of student work.

Meeting of the Minds was started at Carnegie Mellon’s main campus 25 years ago as an opportunity for students to present their work to the community, and it has been an annual event at the Qatar campus since 2007. While the pandemic restrictions prevented an in-person event, it was critical that CMU-Q find a new mode for students to share their projects.

Michael Trick, dean of CMU-Q, notes the importance of sharing research with the community: “At Carnegie Mellon, our research is driven by challenges and questions in the real world. We encourage our students to communicate their complex, sometimes very technical, projects to a general audience. It is the connection between research and people that makes our approach to research distinctive.”

There are 27 student projects showcased on the Meeting of the Minds website, including project abstracts, posters and faculty advisors.

In past years, judging panels of both external and CMU-Q experts have critiqued the projects and determined award winners. This year, CMU-Q opted for a more collaborative approach.

“While awards have their place, this year our students have overcome the obstacle of a pandemic to finish their projects and present their work beautifully,” said Trick. “At its essence, research is about collaboration, and the Meeting of the Minds website reflects the Carnegie Mellon culture of mentoring, teamwork and innovation, especially in challenging times.”

The Meeting of the Minds 2020 showcase can be found at meetingminds.qatar.cmu.edu.