DOHA, QATAR – Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar will host the 3rd International Conference on Information and Communication Technology and Development (ICTD2009) at its new building in Education City April 17 through April 19. Technology researchers, scholars, practitioners and social scientists will come together to discuss and present the latest developments in information and communication technology accessible and relevant to developing countries.
"The ICTD conference this year has expanded in several dimensions. We have added workshops, panels and demos to compliment the oral and poster presentations in the program and increased the diversity and number of the participants significantly compared to past years," says Assistant Research Professor of Robotics at Carnegie Mellon University and ICTD2009 Conference Chair M. Bernardine Dias, Ph.D.
This will be the first time the conference is being held in the Middle East. Qatar is committed to transforming itself into a modern country that relies on sustainable development and becoming a regional leader in science, technology and research. As an emerging leader in the knowledge economy, Qatar wants to use technology in a way that can help the entire region by increasing meaningful access to developing communities. Hosting the 3rd ICTD conference will help enable Qatar to achieve that vision.
"The Middle East is one of the most rapidly evolving and developing parts of the world, both economically and socially. It is important that we have substantive conversations about how ICT can positively impact developing nations take place here. As Qatar and the rest of the region develop, ICT must remain an integral part of our strategic planning. ictQATAR will continue to champion the adoption of ICT here, connecting people to the technologies that will enrich their lives and inspire confidence in their future," said Dr. Hessa Al Jaber, Secretary General of the Supreme Council for Information and Communication Technology (ictQATAR). ictQATAR, an organizing sponsor of ICTD2009, was established in 2004 to regulate Qatar's telecommunications market and champion the adoption of ICT in Qatar.
Carnegie Mellon is a world-renowned institution, with established leadership in the fields of technology, computer science, engineering and the arts. Carnegie Mellon's interdisciplinary partnerships with colleagues in such fields as public policy, business, international relations and social sciences further strengthen the collective wealth of resources it can offer to extend the benefits of technology to developing communities. By hosting the ICTD conference at Carnegie Mellon Qatar and leveraging its strong computer science curriculum and relations in the region, it offers an opportunity to identify ways in which technology can make a difference in underserved communities and how Carnegie Mellon Qatar can contribute to advancing developments in the ICTD field.
"Our sponsors have been tremendously generous in enabling us to offer a large number of scholarships to participants from around the world, and the two notable keynote speakers have also raised the prominence of the conference significantly. We are grateful to all of our sponsors, speakers, organizers, and participants for helping to ensure the success of this conference, and we look forward to the discourse at ICTD2009 leading to significant outcomes that meaningfully impact the lives of people in developing communities through the innovative use of ICTs," said Dias.
Carnegie Mellon University is the hosting organization for the ICTD 2009 conference, with the TechBridgeWorld research group at Carnegie Mellon taking the lead organizing role. The Supreme Council of Information & Communication Technology (ictQATAR) is the organizing partner of the conference. Al Jazeera Children's Channel is the media partner. Platinum sponsors are the Qatar National Research Fund, Qatar Telecom (Qtel) and International Development Research Centre (IDRC) in Canada. ExxonMobil and Microsoft are Gold
sponsors. IBM and Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon Qatar are Bronze sponsors. The technical sponsors for the conference are the IEEE and ACM professional organizations.
ABOUT CARNEGIE MELLON
With more than a century of academic excellence and innovative research, Carnegie Mellon University is a global leader in education with real-world applications. Consistently top ranked, Carnegie Mellon offers a distinct mix of programs to its 10,000 students around the globe. Core values of innovation, creativity, problem solving and collaborative teamwork provide the foundation for everything we do.
At the invitation of Qatar Foundation, Carnegie Mellon joined Education City in 2004. Here, Qatar Foundation has created a world-class center for scholarship and research that is the ideal complement to Carnegie Mellon's tradition of innovation through collaboration. Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar offers its highly regarded undergraduate programs in business administration, computer science and information systems to students in Qatar and the Gulf Region.
related links: ictd2009.org
