CMU-Q students emphasize learning aspect of internships
First Internship Showcase features students who interned in tech, business, medical and consulting
Students at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, regardless of program, are exposed to real-world problem sets throughout their education. This summer, 46 students used those practical skills to gain experience in the workplace through internships. Nine students shared their experiences with fellow students at the CMU-Q Internship Showcase, the first held at CMU-Q.
The forum was an opportunity for students, particularly freshmen and sophomores, to learn about the importance of internships in a Carnegie Mellon education.
“CMU-Q prepares you really well for doing an internship, because you have all the basic knowledge. For example, CMU-Q taught me a lot about design thinking as a foundation for solving problems, and it turns out that McKinsey uses design thinking for their brainstorming solutions,” remarked Ibrahim Soltan, who interned at McKinsey and Company.
Several employers attended the event to provide their perspective. Christoph Weber, managing director of Hochtef ViCon, supervised Sabal Subedi’s internship: “One of the things that impressed me most with Sabal is that we could give him a task and he was able to work on it alone. He came when he needed help, but you didn’t have to guide him every step of the way. That is something we are looking for in interns, because we are looking for somebody who actually helps us in our day-to-day work or on special projects.”
The students emphasized the hands-on nature of their internships; several made significant contributions to the companies where they worked, developing business plans, rewriting code or conducting biological research.
Mounir Sheikh, who interned for a Google team tasked with business development in sub-Saharan Africa, said: “My experience at Google allowed me to affect the next billion people coming online, and studying at CMU-Q is also a reflection of how big my impact can be. No matter where I go, I know that I will make sure I am positively benefitting my community.”
Students also heard from three women in the Biological Sciences program who spent the summer at Qatar Biomedical Research Institute (QBRI), including Alya Al-Kurbi: “One of the most beneficial things is that we had the chance to meet leading researchers and senior scientists in Qatar. So after we graduate and apply for real jobs, we have all these scientists who know who we are, what we did and what we are capable of doing.”
Also presenting at the event were Farjana Salahuddin (Ooredoo), Yaseer El Sayed (Meddy),Sherif Rizk (United Development Corporation), and Asma Al Naama and Reem Hasnah, who also interned at QBRI.