Qatar students showcase programming skills at Carnegie Mellon 

More than 80 students from around Qatar competed in the Alice Programming Competition at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar (CMU-Q), a Qatar Foundation partner university. There were 34 teams of middle and high school students from 12 schools participating.

The competition was hosted by the Hamad Bin Jassim Center for K-12 Computer Science Education, a collaboration between CMU-Q and the Jassim and Hamad Bin Jassim Charitable Foundation. The center’s mission is to foster knowledge and inspire curiosity in computing among the students in Qatar schools through a slate of programs, workshops and training sessions for teachers.

Michael Trick, dean of CMU-Q, was impressed by the quality of student work on display: “This competition demonstrates how computing is ultimately about people. You each started with the same programming tools, but you created an incredible variety of final projects.”

“Some of you may choose to study computer science, or you may be interested in an entirely different career path,” said Trick as the prizes were announced. “Regardless, please keep learning about computing. This knowledge will help your career, no matter what you pursue.”

Presenting the prizes were Dean Michael Trick, Fawaz Al-Shammari, Fawaz Idrissi and Khaled Harras, director of the HBJ Center.

Congratulating the students, Fawaz Al-Shammari, director of support services at the Jassim and Hamad Bin Jassim Charitable Foundation, said: “The Alice Middle East Programming Competition enhances the status and scientific objectives of the Hamad Bin Jassim Center for K-12 Computer Science Education, which are to improve the skills of school students and encourage them to innovate and create in various fields.”

Al-Shammari added, “The Hamad Bin Jassim Center is one of the most important development projects for the Foundation, one it is proud of. It stands as an excellent model for qualitative transformation in the work strategies of charitable institutions, which adopts sustainability in all development fields and supports students at various educational stages to acquire different tools to keep pace with changing labor market needs, of which technology is an essential element.”

For the competition, the students were challenged to create a video or game using the Alice programming software. The projects were evaluated by judges and prizes awarded for beginner and advanced levels. Judges included faculty members from CMU-Q, as well as representatives from Annahda School for Girls, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar General Insurance and Reinsurance Co., Qatar Science and Technology School for Boys, and Tawar Games.

Fawaz Idrissi, CEO of Blue Salon, attended the event and presented the prizes to the winning teams. He said: “Loved the enthusiasm, creativity and energy of the event. In my opinion, every team should consider themselves as a winner and I hope this will help them to sharpen their edge for the next challenge.”

Teams from Mesaieed International School placed first in the advanced category and second in the beginner’s category. Teams from Birla Public School placed second in the advanced category and first in the beginner’s category. In third place were Qatar Science and Technology Secondary School in the advanced category, and DPS-Modern Indian School in the beginner’s category.

Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar offers undergraduate degree programs in biological sciences, business administration, computer science and information systems. All students at CMU-Q take programming in their first year.