CMU-Q computer science students take top spots at Qatar University Math Competition

For the second year in a row, CMU-Q students took the top three spots in the men’s category of the Qatar University Math Competition. A female CMU-Q student placed second in the women’s category. All of the students are in the Computer Science Program.

Igli Mlloja, a first-year student, won the competition. “I have always been passionate about math and I would advise students from all years, including freshmen, to participate. It’s a fun way to do math outside of the regular university coursework and there is sense of reward that follows.”

Keivin Isufaj and Fangjiao Xu placed second in the men’s and women’s categories, respectively, and Swapnendu Sanyal rounded out the men’s top three.

The Qatar University Math Competition included about 800 students in all categories. Niraj Khare, assistant teaching professor of mathematics, served as faculty advisor for the participating CMU-Q students.

“Our courses in mathematics and computer science, in particular, expose students to problems of various difficulty levels from many subfields and help them develop skills to find and write elegant solutions of these problems. These skills give our students an edge in many competitions that involve problem solving.”

CMU-Q and Qatar University often cooperate to further mathematics education in Qatar. The awards for the competition were given as part of Qatar University’s Math Day, which also included a presentation by CMU-Q’s Hasan Dermirkoparan, associate teaching professor of mathematics. Demirkoparan spoke about CMU-Q’s Pi Day Mathematics Competition for high school students within Qatar, which is offered in both English and Arabic.