On-Q, Winter/Spring 2014

Winter 2013 Spring 2014

8 From ’08 On-Q Catches up with Students in CMU-Q’s First Graduating Class Celebrating CMU’s 10 Years at

٢٠٠٨ ‫لقاء الثمانين دفعة‬ ‫التجمع األول لطالب جامعة كارنيجي ميلون‬ ٢٠٠٨ ‫دفعة الخريجين األولى لسنة‬

First Facu lt y an d St aff

Kids learn Arabic in

page 30

page 36

EDUCATION CITY SHARE MEMORIES ALADDIN PROJECT page 24

www.qatar.cmu.edu

Features

‫المجموع أكبر من‬

14 ٢٠٠٨ ‫لقاء الثمانين دفعة‬

24

8 From ’08

30

‫كيف أصبحت جامعة كارنيجي ميلون جزءا من‬ ‫النموذج التعليمي الرائد في مؤسسة قطر‬

Greater than the Sum

‫التجمع األول لطالب جامعة كارنيجي ميلون‬ ٢٠٠٨ ‫دفعة الخريجين األولى لسنة‬

How CMU Became Part of Qatar Foundation’s Pioneering Educational Model

History in the Making

On-Q Catches up with Students in CMU-Q’s First Graduating Class

Faculty and Staff Share First Memories of CMU-Q

CONTENTS

Winter 2013 Spring 2014

3 - 13

On the record.

Highlight

On:

40

Tartan Carnival

Business ‫استكشاف علوم الحاسوب‬

32

Rock-solid Investment

Research ‫برنامج عالء الدين التعليمي يساعد األطفال لتعلم العربية‬

Science

Pittsburgh 44 Subra Suresh the ‘‘Perfect Combination” for CMU

33 Exploring Computer Science

Student Life

34 Students of the World

36

Aladdin Project Helps Kids Learn Arabic

Alumni 45 Graduate Recognized by CMU Alumni Association

A publication of Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar A member of Qatar Foundation P.O. Box 24866 | Doha, Qatar www.qatar.cmu.edu Dean and CEO

Ilker Baybars, Ph.D. Executive Director of Marketing & Public Relations

In 2004, Qatar Foundation invited Carnegie Mellon to become part of one of the most innovative educational models ever created.

D. Murry Evans Assistant Director

Kara Nesimiuk Administrative Coordinator

Marissa Edulan

Manager of Alumni Relations/Media Support

Feras Villanueva

Manager of Multimedia and Graphic Design

Sam Abraham

Web Manager/Senior Multimedia Designer

Stephen MacNeil

Communications Manager/Senior Editor

Sarah Nightingale

MPR Advisory Board Chairperson

Dudley Reynolds, Ph.D. Members

Tom Emerson, Ph.D. Susan Hagan, Ph.D. Khaled Harras, Ph.D. Kenneth Hovis, Ph.D. Gloria Khoury Selma Limam Mansar, Ph.D. Editor

Sarah Nightingale Writer

Sarah Nightingale Proofreader

Ruth E. Thaler-Carter Photographs

Khalid Ismail, Adrian Haddad, Stephen MacNeil, Sam Abraham Layout

Empire Advertising Qatar For editorial inquires or reprints, contact the Marketing & Public Relations Department at mpr@qatar.cmu.edu Articles and photographs contained in this publication are subject to copyright protection.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission of the university.

We accepted the invitation and joined Education City because our goals as a global institution are aligned with the goals of the country: to prepare students who will meet the changing needs of society by working collaboratively and collectively to solve complex problems.

Over the past decade, our partnership with Qatar Foundation has flourished. We’ve grown from 41 students in two programs to 400 students in five bachelor’s degree programs: biological sciences, business administration, computational biology, computer science and information systems. Almost 300 students have graduated in our first five classes.

But our success must be measured by more than our growth in size. We must not only educate and graduate students, but we must create researchers, innovators, leaders and problem solvers. In other words, we must ask, ‘Are CMU-Q alumni making a difference in Qatar?’ and ‘Are our students being recognized for their intellectual achievements?’

I’m pleased to report that the answer to both of these questions is ‘yes.’ Our graduates are working for top organizations like Google, Microsoft, HSBC, Qatar Airways, Qatar Petroleum and Vodafone to name a few. I invite you to catch up with some of our first graduating class on page 14.

Our students are also being recognized at both the international and national level. The campus now boasts four Google Anita Borg scholars, and I was very pleased when Anma Al Zeyara, a Qatari computer science student, won first place in the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing conference in Minneapolis, USA, which was held in October and is one of the most prestigious technical conventions for women in computing. You can read about her experience on page 9.

Thank you for your continued support of Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar. We look forward to sharing many more of our achievements in the years to come.

Ilker Baybars Dean & CEO

On the record.

Winter 2013 Spring 2014

EVENTS June Innovative students from Pittsburgh and Doha put their knowledge into action by helping children in Bangalore.

July Through the Summer College Preview Program, 62 high school students experience university life.

August The university celebrates its 10th year in Qatar by welcoming more than 100 new students.

September A Carnegie Mellon graduate gears up to launch the first mobile app from Doha News.

October Amna AlZeyara wins first place in the undergraduate research competition at the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing conference.

November Professors Khaled Harras and Dudley Reynolds take home top awards at Qatar Foundation’s Annual Research Forum.

December The Ibtikar program challenges high school students to enhance life for the elderly in Qatar while experiencing Carnegie Mellon’s Information Systems program.

Carnegie Mellon Students Travel to India, Develop Technology for the Blind Eight Carnegie Mellon students—seven from Pittsburgh and one from Qatar—spent the summer in Bangalore after being selected for the 2013 iSTEP (innovative Student Technology ExPerience) internship.

The iSTEP program encourages students to work on technology research projects in underserved communities around the world. Aveed Sheikh, a business administration student at Carnegie Mellon Qatar, and his teammates worked with the Mathru Educational Trust for the Blind on several projects that support students using a computer to learn Braille.

“It was a wonderful learning experience to work with a multi-talented international Carnegie Mellon team to make a positive difference,” Sheikh said. iSTEP was created in 2009 by the Carnegie Mellon TechBridgeWorld research group to connect interns with real-world challenges. The organization was founded by Bernardine Dias, an associate research professor at Carnegie Mellon’s Robotics Institute. Read a blog of the students’ experiences here: istep2013.techbridgeworld.org

Winter 2013 / Spring 2014

On the record.

Record Numbers Experience Carnegie Mellon Filling out forms, writing essays and taking admissions tests can make applying for university a daunting task. Thanks to Carnegie Mellon Qatar, 62 high school juniors and seniors were better prepared to apply to top American or European universities after completing the Summer College Preview Program (SCPP).

The four-week program prepares students for the admission process and SAT exam, exposes them to college-level courses, and offers a glimpse of what university life will be like. While some students are still deciding what to study at university, others come to the program with an interest in one of Carnegie Mellon’s programs.

“We are really proud of all of the students who have participated in SCPP,” said Damian Dourado, manager of pre-college programs. “The students worked extremely hard and showed us that they have the capabilities and potential to go on and become successful Carnegie Mellon students.”

Historically, about 25 percent of SCPP participants enroll at Carnegie Mellon Qatar after completing the program.

Campus Scholars Represent Excellence at CMU-Q Narcis Jafarian, a senior in business administration, has been named a 2013 Andrew Carnegie Society (ACS) Scholar. Jafarian, along with 39 undergraduate seniors on the Pittsburgh campus, was chosen for her excellence in academics and campus leadership. Narcis joins Qatar campus seniors Hashim Moosavi, Haya Thowfeek and Haider Zali, who have been selected as this year’s Campus Scholars. These four individuals represent the best intersection of academic success, contributions to the community and student leadership.

Left to right: Narcis Jafarian, Hashim Moosavi, Haider Zali and Haya Thowfeek

4

“Superheroes” Ensure Orientation Success In much the same way Clark Kent transformed into Superman, more than 100 new students became Tartans during an August orientation that welcomed them to campus and introduced them to university life.

Organized by senior students, the event involved a series of icebreakers as well as informational sessions on campus clubs, programs and resources. The theme, “The League of Tartans,” was a fun way to demonstrate how Carnegie Mellon students—or Tartans—are changing the world every day in the work they do both in and out of the classroom.

While the Office of Student Activities oversees orientation, four returning students were nominated as Head Orientation Counselors (HOCs). They were tasked with leading, developing and implementing the activities, including recruiting an additional 30 students to help with the program.

“This year’s theme, which is a play on comic superheroes, is a great way to show the new students that, while they are going to be studying 24/7, there are plenty of opportunities to have fun,” said Saba Singh, a business administration senior and HOC.

The students even worked the university’s founder into the theme, honoring Andrew Carnegie as “the superhero who started it all.”

Kevin D’Arco, student development coordinator, explained the benefits of the orientation program: “We want our freshmen to develop an understanding of the academic rigors of our campus and the resources that are available to them in their academic and meta-curricular pursuits, and, of course, to make some friends and get to know their peers.”

Winter 2013 / Spring 2014

5

On the record.

Carnegie Mellon Students Recognized for Research at QCRI A group of Carnegie Mellon students and recent graduates worked hard for eight weeks during the 2013 Qatar Computing Research Institute (QCRI) summer internship program. Their efforts paid off, with Carnegie Mellon interns taking the top three awards in a poster competition that wrapped up the experience.

Hashim Moosavi, a computer science senior, and Mona Thowfeek, a recent graduate of Qatar University, took first place for their project, which evaluated optical character recognition systems for historic Arabic documents. Second place went to information systems graduates Abhay Valiyaveettil and Humaira Tasnim, and third place to computer science senior Fahim Dalvi.

A total of 22 students interned at QCRI this summer—18 from universities in Qatar and four international students. Ahmed K. Elmagarmid, executive director of QCRI, described the importance of the program to Qatar Foundation’s research and development mission.

“It is essential for our country’s development to identify, teach and nurture students who are interested in, and have an aptitude for, science and research,” he said. “Our summer internship program is designed to prepare these young students for such opportunities by having them work closely with our scientists to solve real computing challenges.”

Other interns from Carnegie Mellon were Sidra Alam, Mohammad Sakib Mahmoud, Manoj Dareddy, Maahd Shahzad, Hanan Mohammed, Tasneem Jahan Ahmed and Reham AlTememy.

Alumnus, Students Develop Doha News App

According to Halbawi, the process took about five-and-a-half months, including learning the framework, design and development, and testing the app. Although this was his first attempt at creating a mobile app, Halbawi said his Carnegie Mellon education left him more than prepared for the job.

The popular online news site Doha News recently went mobile with an app developed by a team from Carnegie Mellon. Anas Halbawi, a 2013 computer science graduate, led the project with information systems students Noshin Nisa and Ali Naqi.

“At Carnegie Mellon, we were focused on learning the building blocks of programming, tackling problems and finding efficient solutions,” he said. “Those tools pave the way for development of any sort, regardless of the platform you are working on. When it came to the mobile application, I had the necessary skills that allowed me to pick up on the framework and begin developing the app.”

The Android app was released in early October, with an iPhone version to be released soon. The app has been getting around 80–100 installations per day, Halbawi said.

“People are happy with the fact that they can finally read one of their favorite news sources on their phones,” said Halbawi.

“The simplicity of the app was also a major hit. We worked hard on making the interface easy to navigate, giving way to a simple and user-friendly application. We were also fortunate enough to get constructive feedback from our users, which will allow us to customize future updates accordingly.”

Visit http://dohanews.co and click on the link to download the android app.

6

STEP

KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE Start out by deciding if you're going to release your app on Apple, Android and/or Windows phones. One way to go about that is by surveying your potential audience about the phones they use. Another popular way is by looking at the analytics of your website and checking what handsets are used by people who visit.

COME UP WITH A FEATURES LIST What is your app going to do? Start by jotting down all the ideas that come to mind and categorizing them into high, medium and low priority features. If you have a deadline to meet, you can postpone low priority features to future updates.

Remember that an app with a few perfected features beats an app with a thousand buggy ones.

STEP

DESIGN YOUR APP This will “make or break” your app since most users judge an app by its look and feel. User Interface design defines what the app looks like, such as background color and size of the icons. User Experience design defines how a user feels when interacting with the app. You can improve User Experience by making it simple to use and easy to navigate.

BUILD A PROTOTYPE Once you have a series of features and an idea of how you want the app to look, it’s time to build a prototype. The prototype will allow you to showcase the design and features, but shouldn’t be a fully-functioning app. It will serve the purpose of producing a concept in a short amount of time.

STEP

GET SOME FEEDBACK

START DEVELOPMENT

STEP

TEST, TEST AND TEST SOME MORE It's crucial that the app is tested throughout the development stage, and not just in the final stages.

Install the app on as many different phones as you have access to, since some phones behave differently than others.

Make sure that the app behaves as desired, the design renders on different screen sizes, and so on.

RELEASE TO THE STORES

Finish up the testing phase by asking some friends to install the app on their phones. Some of the app stores allow developers to publish the app in test mode where it can only be installed on a few devices. This will help you gather final feedback and fix any remaining bugs. You’re now ready to upload the app onto the App Stores and start advertising it.

STEP

STEP

Talk to friends, family or even strangers, show them the prototype and ask if they’re willing to give you some feedback.

Bear in mind that you might get a lot of crazy suggestions, so it’s important to note what’s feasible and what’s not.

Once you've done that, integrate the best suggestions into your prototype. Now you’re ready to put things into development.

Don’t just run to the keyboard and start coding--plan out the development stage to make the best use of your time. Sit down with your team and delegate the work, and don't forget to back up your code! During development, you might realize that some features or design elements aren’t as simple to produce as they seem. It’s not the end of the world. You can always eliminate the feature if it’s not high priority.

STEP

STEP

STEP

UPDATE YOUR APP You’re probably getting a lot of feedback now, some positive and some negative. People are complaining about an issue they’re facing, some feel like there needs to be more features and some love it. You will have to take those reviews into consideration and customize the app to suit users' needs. This will mean more designing, developing and testing to release updates.

How to Create Your Own App

By Anas Halbawi

Winter 2013 / Spring 2014

7

On the record.

University Celebrates Record Enrollment Carnegie Mellon marked its 10th academic year in Qatar by welcoming 118 new students at the annual Convocation Ceremony in August. Dean Ilker Baybars, who earned his master’s degree and doctorate from Carnegie Mellon, shared a few words of advice about the journey ahead.

“To be successful, you’ll have to join in—by attending talks, seminars and 32 conferences, and by participating in our programs in other countries and 84 volunteering at home or overseas. You are making a big commitment, but with big commitments come great rewards. You have made the right choice,” he said.

97

84

32

Biological Sciences

187

‫استهلت جامعة كارنيجي ميلون في قطر عامها‬ ‫ طالبا جديدا خالل حفل التخرج‬118 ‫العاشر باستقبال‬ ‫ وبهذه المناسبة ألقى عميد‬،‫السنوي في أغسطس‬

187 Business Administration

97

‫كارنيجي ميلون‬ ‫تحتفل بتسجيل‬ ‫رقم قياسي في أعداد‬ ‫الطلبة الملتحقين‬ ‫بالجامعة‬

Computer Science Information Systems

‫ الذي حصل على درجتي‬- ‫الجامعة إلكر بايبرس‬ ‫ كلمة‬- ‫الماجستير والدكتوراه من كارنيجي ميلون‬ ‫مقتضبة أسدى فيها النصح للخريجين بما يساعدهم‬ .‫على اجتياز الرحلة المقبلين عليها‬ ‫ "إذا أردتم أن تحققوا النجاح فعليكم‬:‫وقال‬ ‫بالمشاركة في المناقشات وحضور الندوات‬ ‫ والمشاركة في برامجنا بالدول األخرى‬،‫والمؤتمرات‬ ‫ لقد قطعتم على‬..‫والتطوع في الوطن وخارجه‬ ‫ ولكن مع العهود الثقال تأتي‬،‫أنفسكم عهوداً ثقا ًال‬ ".‫ لقد اخترتم االختيار الصحيح‬..‫المكافآت العظيمة‬

39% 61% 61%

8

39%

Qatari Other Nationalities (42 countries)

‫طالبة قطرية تفوز‬ ‫بالجائزة األولى‬ ‫في مؤتمر علوم‬ ‫الحاسوب‬ ‫ الطالبة ببرنامج علوم الحاسوب‬،‫فازت آمنة الزبارة‬ ‫ بالمركز األول‬،‫بجامعة كارنيجي ميلون في قطر‬ ‫في مسابقة بحوث الطالب الجامعيين بمؤتمر‬ ‫(جريس هوبر سيلبريشن أوف وومين) المنعقد في‬ .‫مينابولس بالواليات المتحدة‬ ‫يذكر أن مؤتمر (جريس هوبر) يقام تحت رعاية‬ ‫معهد أنيتا بورغ للمرأة والتكنولوجيا ورابطة علوم‬ ‫ ويعد واحداً من أبرز الفعاليات التي تناقش‬،‫الحوسبة‬ ‫ وتسليط الضوء على‬،‫قضايا المرأة والحوسبة‬ .‫إنجازاتهن واهتماماتهن البحثية‬ ‫ "تلك هي المرة الثانية‬:‫وفي هذا الصدد تقول آمنة‬

Qatari Student Wins Top Award

‫ وكانت كلتاهما فرصة‬،‫التي أحضر فيها هذا المؤتمر‬ ‫رائعة للقاء نساء أخريات والتعلم من رائدات ورواد‬ ‫ وكم أشعر بالسعادة الختياري كواحدة‬.‫هذا المجال‬ ‫ فقد ألهمني ذلك الفوز‬،‫من الطالبات الفائزات‬

Computer science senior Amna AlZeyara won first place in the undergraduate research competition at the 2013 Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. Organized by the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology and the Association for Computing Machinery, the Grace Hopper Conference is one of the most prestigious technical conventions for women in computing, bringing both their research achievements and career interests to the forefront.

“This is the second time I’ve attended this conference, and each time it has been an amazing opportunity to meet other women and learn from leaders in the field. Being selected as one of the winners has inspired me to continue my hard work toward becoming a computer scientist,” AlZeyara said.

AlZeyara was recognized for her work on Hala, a 3-D animated robot with Arabic facial features that interacts with visitors to Carnegie Mellon Qatar. Her project involved identifying and developing a series of facial expressions, which help engage users by enhancing the non-verbal aspects of human-robot communication.

Majd Sakr, associate professor of computer science, mentored AlZeyara on the project.

“Amna has taken on increasingly challenging research projects during her time at CMU-Q,” said Kemal Oflazer, director of the Computer Science program.

“We have all witnessed her remarkable development into a serious researcher and she is the first CMU-Q student who has been honored twice for her research accomplishments.”

In an earlier phase of the project, AlZeyara and Nawal Behih, an information systems student, received the Best Student Research Award at Qatar Foundation’s Annual Research Forum.

Winter 2013 / Spring 2014

‫مواصلة العمل الجاد حتى أصبح عالمة في علم‬ ."‫الحاسوب‬ ‫يشار إلى أن آمنة الطالبة بالسنة النهائية قد‬ ‫ُكرّمت تقديراً لعملها على مشروع "هالة" – وهو‬ ‫عبارة عن روبوت كرتوني ثالثي األبعاد ذي مالمح‬ ‫عربية ويتفاعل مع زوار جامعة كارنيجي ميلون في‬ ‫ وقد تضمن مشروعها تحديد وتطوير سلسلة‬.‫قطر‬ ‫من تعابير الوجه التي تساهم في االندماج عبر‬ ‫تعزيز الجوانب غير اللفظية للتواصل بين اإلنسان‬ .‫والروبوت‬ ‫ مدير برنامج علوم‬،‫ومن جانبه يقول كمال أوفالزر‬ ‫ "لقد‬:‫الحاسوب بجامعة كارنيجي ميلون في قطر‬ ‫أخذت آمنة على عاتقها تنفيذ مشاريع مثيرة للتحدي‬ ‫ وقد‬.‫بشكل متزايد طوال فترة دراستها بالجامعة‬ ‫شهدنا تحولها بشكل ملحوظ إلى باحثة ذات شأن‬ ‫وهي أول طالبة بجامعة كارنيجي ميلون في قطر‬ ."‫تنال التكريم مرتين إلنجازاتها البحثية‬ ‫ وتعد الجائزة األخيرة هي المرة الثانية التي‬،‫هذا‬ ‫تحظى فيها آمنة بالتكريم تقديراً لجهودها في إنجاز‬ ‫ ففي مرحلة سابقة من المشروع‬."‫مشروع "هالة‬ ،‫ طالبة نظم المعلومات‬،‫تلقت آمنة ونوال بحيح‬ ‫جائزة أحسن بحث طالبي بمنتدى مؤسسة قطر‬ .‫السنوي للبحوث‬

9

On the record.

Executives Complete Professional Development More than 60 executives from key Qatari organizations gathered at Carnegie Mellon Qatar last fall for executive education courses focusing on dynamic organizational leadership and investment management.

Attendees came from organizations with which Carnegie Mellon has built strategic partnerships, including the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics, Permanent Committee for Drug and Alcohol Affairs, Ministry of Interior, AlJazeera Media Network, RasGas, Qatar Finance and Business Academy, Al Faisal Holding, Ezdan Holding, and Commercial Bank of Qatar.

practical tools to address real business challenges.

“When it comes to corporate education, our mission is to disseminate practical knowledge and create a collaborative environment between Carnegie Mellon

faculty and business leaders,” he said. “Offering executive programs to professionals in Qatar is an integral part of our commitment to the development of human resources in line with Qatar’s National Development Strategy 2011–2016.”

The course on dynamic organizational leadership featured lectures by Thomas Emerson, distinguished career professor in business administration, and Starling D. Hunter, visiting associate teaching professor in business administration.

Muhammad Fuad Farooqi, visiting assistant professor of finance; John O’Brien, associate professor of accounting; and Maher Hakim, associate teaching professor of information systems, led the course on valuation and investment management.

Ilker Baybars, dean of Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, emphasized the importance of new methodologies and

ACHIEVEMENTS

Maha Al-Meer, a senior in business administration, was one of four Education City students selected for a competitive internship with the Economist Group in London. The internships were offered through a partnership between Qatar Foundation and the Economist Group, and gave students a hands-on experience with one of the world’s leading media groups.

10

Sabal Subedi, a freshman in business administration from Nepal, was selected as the second recipient of the H.E. Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad bin Abdullah Scholarship. The scholarship was established in 2012 following a $1 million gift to the university from an anonymous donor and will pay for four outstanding students to attend Carnegie Mellon Qatar for a full four years.

In an effort to make Arabic more accessible to people who don’t speak the language, Qatar Foundation International and Qatar Computing Research Institute (QCRI) have launched Madar Al-Huruf, a mobile application that introduces native English speakers to the Arabic alphabet.

Baljit Singh, a senior in computer science, implemented the iPad and iPhone versions of the app. Download the app here: http://goo.gl/zxn6tF

Faculty and Students Win Top Awards at Annual Research Forum Faculty and students from Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar were recognized with a number of top research awards at Qatar Foundation’s Annual Research Forum.

“I am proud of our faculty and students for their outstanding achievements. I am confident that their research will contribute to Qatar’s development by addressing some of the most important challenges in the country and region,” said Ilker Baybars, dean of Carnegie Mellon Qatar.

Khaled Harras, associate teaching professor of computer science, won the best oral presentation in the Computing and Information Technology category for a project designed to improve data usage on multi-interface mobile devices such as smartphones. Harras worked on the project, “OSCAR: An Incentive-Based Collaborative Bandwidth Aggregation System,” in collaboration with researchers from the Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology (EJUST).

In the Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities category, Dudley Reynolds, teaching professor of English, received a best poster award for his project, “Human Capacity Building: The Challenge of Learning to Learn.” The study investigated how Qatari middle school students learn to read scientific material in Arabic and English; the results will inform professional development opportunities for teachers. He worked on the project in collaboration with researchers from Texas A&M University and Qatar University.

Carnegie Mellon students and recent graduates also took home three awards in two categories: Hanan Mohammed Alshikhabobakr and Syed Ali Hashim Moosavi, with Fathima Thowfeek from Qatar University, won first place in the Computing and Information Technology category for their poster, “Exploration of Optical Character Recognition of Historical Arabic Documents.” Naassih Gopee won second place in the same category for his poster, “Contextual Spellchecker to Improve Human-Robot Interaction.”

In the Social Sciences and Humanities category, Maryam Al-Subaie won second place for her poster, “Qatari Colloquial Arabic: A Sociolinguistic Study of Language Change.”

More than 1,100 abstracts were submitted to this year’s conference, which encouraged researchers to focus on Qatar’s grand research challenges, including food and water security, Arabic culture and language, and the nation’s cyber infrastructure. The winning projects were selected by a committee of international scholars and researchers.

Programming Showcase The students in fall semester’s Principles of Computing class signed up without any programming experience and left with their own amazing videogames. Eleven teams of students showcased their work in the course, which introduces business administration students to computer science, at a December event in which their software was put to the test by other students and judged by faculty and staff.

Winter 2013 / Spring 2014

11

On the record.

Ibtikar Competition Enhances Life for Seniors Through Technology

With the number of senior citizens expected to double in the next decade, Qatar will face important challenges when it comes to caring for its elderly citizens.

High school students took on the challenge of improving quality of life for the nation’s senior citizens during Ibtikar, an information systems outreach program that engages young people to design creative solutions to tackle important socio-cultural challenges.

“We came up with this year’s theme of enhancing life for the elderly as it is important for us, as an institution, to take on issues of national importance and we felt that students would be able to relate to the topic,” said Selma Limam Mansar, director of the Information Systems program. “The familiar theme enabled students to create solutions driven by an innovative information technology-based approach.”

The Ibtikar winning team, The Solution, from Doha College, addressed one of these issues: loneliness amongst the elderly. Their proposed technology integrated all existing social media apps into one easy-to-use application, which would enable senior citizens to maintain relationships with family and friends more confidently.

12

“The elderly population is rising every year, and it was great to create technology that will make a difference to their lives,” said winning team member Dulshan Jayasekera. “We began the project by conducting some market research, so we were fairly certain that we were creating something that would be meaningful for our families and for Qatar.”

The competition began with a November workshop in which 22 teams from 14 high schools learned about the challenge ahead. The teams had four weeks to develop their idea, which they presented in video format to a panel of information systems professors, senior students and designers.

Publications and Presentations Books Iliano Cervesato, associate teaching professor of computer science. The Deductive Spreadsheet, 2013, New York: SpringerVerlag.

Adam Hodges, visiting assistant professor of English, edited Discourses of War and Peace, 2013, New York: Oxford University Press.

Articles and Book Contributions Omar AlZoubi, postdoctoral research associate. “Worked-Out Examples in Computer Science Tutoring,” Artificial Intelligence in Education (with Barbara Di Eugenio, Lin Chen, Nick Green and Davide Fossati).

Daniel Phelps, assistant teaching professor of information systems.

“A Study of Performative Hactivist Subcultures and Threats to Businesses,” Information Security Journal: A Global Perspective (with Michael Workman and Robert C Hare).

Hasan Demirkoparan, assistant teaching professor of mathematics. “Chemomechanics and Homeostasis in Active Strain Stabilized Hyperelastic Fibrous Microstructures,” International Journal of Nonlinear Mechanics (with Tom Pence and Alan Wineman).

Presentations Omar AlZoubi, postdoctoral research associate. “Affect Detection and Classification from the Non-Stationary Physiological Data,” 12th International Conference on Machine Learning and Applications, Miami, Florida, USA (with Davide Fossati, Sidney D’Mello and Rafael A. Calvo).

Omar AlZoubi, postdoctoral research associate. “Predicting Students’ Performance and Problem Solving Behavior from iList Log Data,” 21st International Conference on Computers in Education, Denpasar Bali, Indonesia (with Davide Fossati, Barbara Di Eugenio, Nick Green and Lin Chen).

Melissa A. Deschamps, director, Office of International Education.

“Cultural Adjustment and American Life,” Pre-departure workshop organized by EducationUSA adviser at the American Embassy in Doha, Qatar.

Valentin Ilyin, associate teaching professor of computational biology. “Computational Tools for Genetic Mutations Studies at Molecular Level,” Texas A&M University at Qatar’s Advanced Scientific Computing (TASC) group workshop, Doha, Qatar.

High School Students Explore Biology Carnegie Mellon Qatar’s Biotechnology Explorer Program gave 40 high school students a chance to experiment with being biological scientists.

The program, offered twice in fall, offers a first-hand lab experience and a glimpse of Carnegie Mellon’s undergraduate degree program in biological sciences.

Each year, the Biotechnology Explorer Program is based on a real-world scenario, and aims to show how molecular biology is used to address important and exciting challenges. In this year’s simulation, the students spent the day as scientists investigating the cause of a deadly form of food poisoning that broke out on an airplane flight.

With help from biological sciences professors and current students, the participants used microbiology techniques to isolate various bacteria, study them using microscopy and determine the disease-causing agent.

Past themes in the Biotechnology Explorer Program have included a crime scene investigation using DNA analysis and a disease outbreak that highlighted how our immune systems fight infections.

Winter 2013 / Spring 2014

13

8 From 14

C

arnegie Mellon Qatar’s first graduation—on May 5, 2008— will always be one of the most important days in the university’s history. But to truly appreciate its significance, you have to go back another four years, to fall 2004.

When Carnegie Mellon Qatar opened to its first 41 students, they were all eager to learn, but none of them really knew what to expect.

’08 Winter 2013 / Spring 2014

As Chuck Thorpe, the founding dean, recalled, “I remember distinctly that I mentioned the phrase ‘hard work’ often in my first speech, and I promised we would work with the Class of 2008 to help them achieve their goals, but we had no idea how things would really work out.”

Carnegie Mellon Qatar’s pioneers rose to the challenge and, through plenty of hard work and an equal amount of fun, the first students became the first alumni. Since then, they have continued to pave the way for those who follow them through their work and graduate studies.

Now, 10 years after they came to Carnegie Mellon, On-Q catches up with eight students from the class of 2008.

15

8 From ’08 ‫جنان طبرة‬ ‫عراقية نشأت في المملكة المتحدة‬ ‫والخليج العربي‬ ‫تخصص إدارة أعمال‬ Araboh.com ‫مؤسسة موقع‬

،‫ لم تكن جنان طبرة من المغرمين باللغة العربية‬،‫حتى سنوات قليلة مضت‬ ‫ ومثلما هو الحال مع كل عربي ُقدّ ر له أن يعيش‬،‫نظ ًرا لنشأتها في سكوتالندا‬ ،‫ فإن تعلم العربية كان أمراً من الصعوبة بمكان‬،‫طفولته خارج العالم العربي‬ ‫ وأخيرا وجدت نفسها‬.‫ انتقلت عائلتها إ لى الخليج‬،‫وخالل سنوات دراستها الثانوية‬ ‫ ولكن كان‬،‫تعيش حيث أصبح يتعين عليها ممارسة اللغة العربية في كل يوم‬ ‫ فقد كان نفورها من حصة اللغة‬.‫عليها أن تواصل الجهد من أجل تعلم اللغة‬ ‫ كما كان ينتابها اإلحراج كلما تعين‬،‫العربية هو األكبر مقارنة بباقي الحصص‬ .‫عليها أن تقرأ بصوت عال وتشعر بالخزي من خط يدها السيء‬ ‫وخالل عامها األول في جامعة كارنيجي ميلون التحقت جنان بفصل جورج وايت‬ ‫ حيث كان هناك تشديد على أهمية "إعداد منتج فعلي " من خالل‬،‫لريادة األعمال‬ ‫ وقد استوحت جنان من تلك الرسالة ضرورة االستفادة من‬،‫إنشاء مشاريع جديدة‬ ‫الصعوبات التي واجهتها وتغيير الطريقة التي تتعلم بها أجيال المستقبل اللغة‬ .‫العربية‬ ‫ والذي‬،Araboh.com ‫ استطاعت جنان اطالق الموقع‬،‫وقبيل تخرجها بفترة وجيزة‬ ‫ وبحلول‬،‫يعد بمثابة مكتبة إلكترونية ومركز لطالب ومعلمي اللغة العربية‬ ‫ نقلت جنان مشروعها إلى الواليات المتحدة األمريكية وأصبح موقع‬،2010 ‫عام‬ ‫ من أكبر مراكز توزيع منتجات وكتب تعليم اللغة العربية في‬Araboh.com .‫العالم‬ ‫ حصلت جنان على درجة الماجستير في سياسة التعليم الدولي‬،2012 ‫وفي عام‬ ‫ وباإلضافة إلى إطالق‬،‫من جامعة هارفارد معززة الخلفية العلمية لمشروعها‬ ‫ استطاعت جنان أن تقدم بعض الخدمات االستشارية‬،Araboh.com ‫مشروع‬ ً‫ كما نجحت مؤخراً أيضا‬،‫فيما يتعلق بمناهج تعليم اللغة العربية حول العالم‬ ‫ نجمة‬- ‫ على الهاتف المحمول‬Araboh.com ‫في تقديم أول تطبيقات موقع‬ .‫ األسلوب األول من نوعه في تعليم القران الكريم للشباب‬- ‫القرآن‬

Jinanne Tabra Iraqi, raised in the UK and the Gulf Business Administration major Founder of Araboh.com

Until a few years ago, Jinanne Tabra wasn’t a big fan of Arabic. She was raised in Scotland and, like many Arabs growing up overseas, learning her mother tongue was a challenge. During her high school years, Jinanne’s family moved to the gulf, where her Arabic was finally put to use. But she still struggled. Arabic was her least favorite class in school—she was embarrassed to read it aloud and ashamed of her childish handwriting.

During Jinanne’s junior year at Carnegie Mellon, she enrolled in Professor George White’s Entrepreneurship class, where he stressed the importance of “making meaning” through business startups. That message inspired Jinanne to put her own struggles to use and change the way future generations learn Arabic.

Shortly before graduating, Jinanne launched Araboh.com, an online bookstore and learning hub for students and teachers of Arabic. By 2010, she had moved the business to the United States and Araboh had become the world’s leading distributor of Arabic educational products.

In 2012, Jinanne completed a master’s in international education policy at Harvard University to complement her business background. In addition to heading up Araboh, she provides consulting services on Arabic curricula around the world and recently launched Araboh’s first mobile app—Quran Star, a firstof-its-kind method of teaching the Quran to young people.

16

‫انيربان الهيري‬ ‫هندي نشأ في قطر‬ ‫علوم الحاسوب‬ ‫كبير أخصائي التكنولوجيا المساعدة‬ ‫في مركز مادا‬

‫بينما اعتاد معظم الطالب على الشكوى والشعور بالتوتر من الدراسة في‬ ‫الجامعة‪ ،‬استطاع انيربان الهيري أن يتجاوز التحديات الصعبة في الدراسة‬ ‫الجامعية وأن يحرز نجاح ًا في جامعة كارنيجي ميلون‪.‬‬ ‫كان انيربان يعاني من ضمور في النخاع الشوكي والعضالت من النوع الثاني‬ ‫وهو مرض وراثي يسبب ضموراً وتلف ًا كام ً‬ ‫ال للعضالت‪ ،‬ولكن على الرغم من‬ ‫ذلك‪ ،‬فقد استطاع أن يستكمل دراسته في مجال علوم الحاسوب بجامعة‬ ‫كارنيجي ميلون وأن يحقق هدفه في مساعدة ذوي االحتياجات الخاصة‪.‬‬ ‫وفي عام ‪ ،2008‬وبعد مرور بضعة أشهر فقط على تخرجه طلبت وزيرة المعلومات‬ ‫واالتصاالت والتكنولوجيا القطرية حصة الجابر‪ ،‬من انيربان االنضمام إلى فريق‬ ‫الخبراء المنوط بهم تقديم االستشارات للحكومة القطرية حول كيفية مساعدة‬ ‫ذوي االحتياجات الخاصة لتمكينهم من استخدام التقنيات التكنولوجية الحديثة‬ ‫التي يُمكن من خاللها تغيير أسلوب حياتهم‪.‬‬ ‫وانيربان هو صاحب فكرة مركز مادا متعدد الخدمات المتخصص في تعريف ذوي‬ ‫االحتياجات الخاصة بأحدث التقنيات التكنولوجية والدعوة إلى تحسين الخدمات‬ ‫والتطبيقات المقدمة لهذه الفئة‪ ،‬وقد تم بالفعل افتتاح مركز مادا في يونيو عام‬ ‫‪ 2010‬بدعم المجلس األعلى لالتصاالت وتكنولوجيا المعلومات في قطر (أي سي‬ ‫تي قطر)‪.‬‬ ‫وبصفته كبير أخصائي التكنولوجيا المساعدة في مادا‪ ،‬فإن مهمة انيربان تتمثل‬ ‫في تحديد التكنولوجيا المناسبة وتوظيفها بما يالئم ذوي االحتياجات الخاصة؛‬ ‫ففي كل عام يقدم يد العون لما يزيد عن ‪ 600‬شخص لتحقيق أهدافهم الفريدة‬ ‫واالستفادة من قدراتهم عبر التكنولوجيا المساعدة‪.‬‬

‫‪Most students deal with their share of stress at university, but‬‬ ‫‪Anirban Lahiri overcame enormous challenges to succeed at‬‬ ‫‪Carnegie Mellon.‬‬ ‫‪Anirban Lahiri‬‬ ‫‪Indian, raised in Qatar‬‬ ‫‪Computer Science‬‬ ‫‪Senior assistive technology‬‬ ‫‪specialist at Mada‬‬

‫‪Anirban has spinal muscular atrophy type 2, an inherited disease‬‬ ‫‪that causes muscle damage and weakness. Despite this, he pursued‬‬ ‫‪a computer science degree at Carnegie Mellon to fulfill his goal of‬‬ ‫‪helping other people with special needs.‬‬ ‫‪In 2008, a few months after he graduated, Hessa Al-Jaber, Qatar’s‬‬ ‫‪minister of information, communication and technology,‬‬ ‫‪asked Anirban to join a panel of experts who were advising the‬‬ ‫‪government on how to help disabled people access life-changing‬‬ ‫‪technologies.‬‬ ‫‪It was in this group that Anirban first conceptualized Mada—a‬‬ ‫‪“one-stop shop” connecting people with special needs to the‬‬ ‫‪latest technologies and advocating for improved services and‬‬ ‫‪best practices. With the support of Qatar’s Supreme Council for‬‬ ‫‪Information and Communication Technology (ictQATAR), Mada‬‬ ‫‪opened in June 2010.‬‬ ‫‪As Mada’s senior assistive technology specialist, Anirban’s job is‬‬ ‫‪to identify and customize the right technologies for people with‬‬ ‫‪disabilities. Each year, he helps more than 600 people with unique‬‬ ‫‪goals reach their potential through assistive technology.‬‬

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‫‪Winter 2013 / Spring 2014‬‬

8 From ’08 ‫رشا مكشار‬ ‫لبنانية نشأت في قطر‬ ‫إدارة أعمال‬ - ‫تعمل بنظام التعاقد الحر‬ ‫مسئول قسم الخريجين في قطر‬

‫ وجدان مؤسس الجامعة أندرو كارنيجي والذي أعرب عنه ذات‬،‫تجسد رشا مكشار‬ ً ‫ قائ‬،‫مرة‬ ‫ بدأت رشا في استكشاف‬،‫ "قلبي متعلق بالعمل" فمنذ أن تخرجت‬:‫ال‬ .‫العديد من خيارات العمل بهدف إيجاد أنسب عمل لها‬ ‫ حيث‬،‫ عملت رشا مكشار لدى شركتين صغيرتين ناشئتين‬2008 ‫في عام‬ ‫استطاعت التعرف على الكثير من الحقائق حول إدارة األعمال وأن تعمل عن قرب‬ ‫ ومن هنا وقع االختيار عليها للعمل في (دار بلومزبري‬،‫مع اإلدارة العليا للشركتين‬ ‫ حيث شغلت منصب‬،‫ مؤسسة قطر للنشر) في مرحلتها التأسيسية أيض ًا‬.‫مسؤول النشر في المؤسسة‬ ‫غير أن عودتها إلى المدينة التعليمية قد أعطى رشا فرصة حقيقية الستكمال‬ ‫ حيث تمكنت من الحصول على درجة الماجستير من كلية قطر للعلوم‬،‫دراستها‬ ‫ وتناولت رسالتها اكتشاف الفروق بين التمويل التقليدي والتمويل‬،‫اإلسالمية‬ .‫اإلسالمي‬ ‫ حرصت رشا على االلتحاق بمؤسسة "فكرة" وهي‬،‫وسعي ًا وراء ما تحب مرة أخرى‬ ‫مجمع فكري قام بتأسيسه مجموعة من الشباب في قطر ومنهم بعض خريجي‬ ‫ بأن صارت تعمل بنظام‬- ‫ ثم صنعت تغييراً أكبر في حياتها‬،‫كارنيجي ميلون‬ ‫ فبهذه الطريقة يمكنها االستفادة من مهاراتها في إدارة األعمال‬،‫التعاقد الحر‬ .‫ومواهبها اإلبداعية في مجموعة متنوعة من المشروعات المحببة إلى قلبها‬ ‫وفي هذا العام رُشحت رشا مكشار للعمل بقسم خريجي جامعة كارينجي‬ ‫ وبحكم عملها كمدير لالتصاالت فإن رشا تهدف إلى التواصل‬،‫ميلون في قطر‬ ‫وإعادة التواصل مع الخريجين من خالل الفعاليات واألنشطة التي تعود بالنفع‬ .‫على المجتمع‬

Rasha Mkachar personifies a sentiment of the university’s founder, Andrew Carnegie, who once said, “My heart is in the work.” Since graduating, she’s explored several career options in a quest to find the perfect fit.

Rasha Mkachar Lebanese, raised in Qatar Business Administration Freelancer, Qatar Alumni Chapter officer

Carnegie Mellon Qatar researchers recognized for work on mobile devices

18

In 2008, Rasha worked with two small startups, where she was exposed to many facets of business while working closely with top management. From there, she was hired as a publishing associate by Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing, also during its startup phase.

Being back in Education City gave Rasha the chance to continue her studies. She pursued a master’s degree from the Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies, where she explored the differences between conventional and Islamic finance.

Following her heart again, Rasha joined FIKRA, a think tank started by a group of young Qataris, including another Carnegie Mellon graduate. Then, she made an even bigger change—becoming a freelancer. As a freelancer, she’ll apply her business acumen and creative flair to variety of projects that are close to her heart.

This year, Rasha was elected to Carnegie Mellon Qatar’s Alumni Chapter. As the communications director, Rasha aims to connect and reconnect alumni through events and activities that give back to the community.

‫نورا السبيعي‬ ‫قطر‬ ‫علوم الحاسوب‬

‫كبير محللي األعمال – قطر للبترول‬

‫ فإن تكرير البترول الخام وتحويله إلى‬،‫من التنقيب والحفر إلى النقل والتسويق‬ .‫منتجات مفيدة يمر بسلسلة توريدات غاية في التعقيد‬ ‫ فمنذ حصولها‬،‫تعمل نورا السبيعي في إدارة تلك األنشطة بشركة قطر للبترول‬ ‫ تولت قيادة‬2011 ‫ في عام‬SAP ‫على شهادة نظام تخطيط موارد المؤسسات‬ ‫ ومنها تطوير نظم تخطيط موارد المؤسسات وتدريب‬،‫العديد من المشروعات‬ ،‫ وإلى جانب مهام وظيفتها اليومية‬.‫المستخدمين وتنسيق عمليات التعاقد‬ ‫تشارك نورا في العديد من المشروعات العمالقة وتحضر المؤتمرات وتمثل‬ .‫الشركة في العديد من اجتماعات شركات النفط والغاز‬ ‫ فلقد لعبت نورا العديد من‬،‫وشأنها شأن العديد من خريجي كارنيجي ميلون‬ ،‫ بفضل ما تتمتع به من مهارات التواصل الجيد وخبراتها العملية والفنية‬،‫األدوار‬ ،‫ومن حسن الحظ أن تعليمها قد أهلها الستيفاء جميع متطلبات الوظيفة‬ ‫ أصبحت‬،‫وبصفتها رئيس الهيئة الطالبية ومستشار قسم اإلرشاد وسفير الطالب‬ ‫ كما‬،‫نورا مهنية محترفة دون أن تفقد قدرتها على جعل اآلخرين يبتسمون‬ ‫تعلمت أيض ًا كيفية تكوين شبكات العالقات المهنية والتواصل وتحدي األوضاع‬ ‫ وفوق‬،‫ مما أهلها أن تخلق لنفسها مكان ًا في مجال يهيمن عليه الذكور‬،‫القائمة‬ ‫ فلقد أهلت كارنيجي ميلون نورا لتعلم كيفية التعامل مع حاالت التوتر‬،‫كل ذلك‬ ‫والضغوط في العمل من خالل تجاهل األشياء غير الضرورية وتحديد األولويات‬ .‫والتركيز على ما نحتاج إلى القيام به بالفعل‬

From exploration and drilling to transportation and marketing, refining crude oil into useful products involves an extremely complex supply chain.

At Qatar Petroleum, Nora Al Subai is there to help manage it.

Certified in the SAP business management software since 2011, Nora takes the lead on a number of projects, including developing the SAP system, training users and coordinating contracts. Aside from her day-to-day duties, Nora is also involved in high-level projects, attends conferences, and represents Qatar Petroleum in inter-company oil and gas meetings.

Like many Carnegie Mellon graduates, Nora wears a lot of hats— tapping into her people skills one day and her technical expertise the next. Fortunately, her education prepared her for the demands of the job. As student body president, head orientation counselor and a student ambassador, Nora also became a professional without losing her ability to make people laugh. She learned how to network, communicate and challenge the status quo, which can help level the playing field in her male-dominated field. Above all, Carnegie Mellon prepared Nora in how to deal with stress, by stripping down the non-essentials, prioritizing and focusing on what has to get done.

Winter 2013 / Spring 2014

Nora Al Subai Qatari Computer Science Senior Business Analyst, Qatar Petroleum

19

8 From ’08 ‫محمد المحيميد‬ ‫قطر‬ ‫إدارة أعمال‬ ‫ شركة الديار القطرية‬- ‫مدير االلتزام الضريبي‬

،‫يشغل محمد المحيميد منصب مسئول االلتزام الضريبي بشركة الديار القطرية‬ ‫الشركة العقارية التي تتولى تنفيذ العديد من المشروعات ولها العديد من‬ ‫ وفي وقت فراغه يمارس المحيميد هوايته‬.‫الفروع في جميع أنحاء العالم‬ .‫المفضلة بإخراج أفالم الهواة‬ ‫يشار إلى أن محمد لم يلتحق بأي فصول أو دورات تدريبية لتعلم إعداد الملفات‬ ‫ لكنه اكتسب من الجامعة‬،‫الضريبية أو حتى صناعة األفالم في كارينجي ميلون‬ ‫حرَفية المهنية والنزاهة وحل المشكالت واإلبداع‬ ِ ‫مجموعة من المهارات تشمل ال‬ ‫ حيث أن هذه القيم منحته القدرة على مواجهة‬،‫واالبتكار والقدرة على التواصل‬ .‫التحديات والتكيف مع التغيرات‬ ‫ فلقد كانت مهمة محمد الوظيفية هي أن‬،‫وبصفته مديراً لاللتزام الضريبي‬ ‫يجعل الشركة تمتثل للقوانين الضريبية المعمول بها داخل الدولة التي يُعرض‬ ‫بها الفيلم وعلى مر السنوات تولى محمد العديد من المسئوليات بما في ذلك‬ ‫ وربما كانت هذه المسئوليات بصفة خاصة‬،‫تجريب بعض الخطط والهيكلة‬ ‫هي أكثر ما يحبه محمد في الوظيفة الموكل بها حيث أنه بات مسئو ًال عن وضع‬ ،‫استراتيجيات التي تستفيد من مزايا المعاهدات الضريبية المختلفة بين الدول‬ ‫ ترى أن إدارة هذه المشروعات يسمح له بالبحث عن خيارات‬،‫وكأنها لعبة األلغاز‬ .‫وتقديم أنسب الحلول للشركة‬ ‫ فلقد تم عرض الفيلم القصير لمحمد‬،‫وبينما كانت صناعة األفالم مجرد هواية‬ ‫ وبعد مواصلة العمل وابتكار طرق‬،‫ في مهرجان تريبيكا السينمائي‬2011 ‫في عام‬ .‫جديدة يبدو أن مشروع ًا آخر لمحمد يلوح في األفق‬

Mohamed Al-Mahmeed is a tax compliance officer at Qatari Diar, a real estate company with projects and subsidiaries worldwide.

When he’s not keeping the tax man happy, he’s an amateur filmmaker.

Mohamed Al-Mahmeed Qatari Business Administration Tax Compliance Manager, Qatari Diar

Carnegie Mellon Qatar researchers recognized for work on mobile devices

20

Mohamed didn’t take classes in tax preparation or filmmaking at Carnegie Mellon, but he left the university with an important skill set that includes critical thinking, integrity, problem solving, creativity and the ability to communicate. These values have empowered him to take on challenges and adapt to change.

As his company’s tax compliance manager, Mohamed’s job is to keep Qatari Diar in line with the tax laws in the countries where the firm operates. Over the years, he’s been entrusted with increasing responsibility, including dabbling with planning and structuring.

For Mohamed, this is the most interesting part of his job, as he gets to devise strategies that take advantage of the various tax treaties between countries. Much like solving a puzzle, managing these projects allows him to research the options and present the most attractive solutions.

While filmmaking is just a hobby, Mohamed’s first short film was screened at the 2011 Doha Tribeca Film Festival. After working on—and reworking—a few new ideas, another project is now taking shape.

‫مصطفى حسنين‬ ‫مواطن نيوزلندي من مواليد قطر من والدين باكستنين األصل‬ ‫إدارة أعمال‬ ‫مساعد مدير القبول في جامعة كارنيجي ميلون في قطر‬

‫يحب مصطفى حسنين مشاركة القصص والحكايات عن أيام دراسته بجامعة‬ ‫ ولحسن الحظ أن ذلك كان جزءاً من مهام وظيفته‬،‫كارنيجي ميلون في قطر‬ ‫وأن المستمعين هم طالب المستقبل الملتحقين بالجامعة والذين دائم ًا ما‬ .‫يكونون شغوفين بمعرفة المزيد عن الجامعة‬ ‫ويشغل مصطفى منصب مساعد مدير القبول بجامعة كارنيجي ميلون في‬ ‫ حيث يساعد الطالب المستجدين ويقوم بعمل المقابالت الشخصية‬،‫قطر‬ ‫ كما أنه مسئول أيض ًا عن إدارة العمليات‬،‫ومراجعة استمارات االلتحاق بالجامعة‬ .‫اللوجستية وتنفيذ األعمال األخرى التي يقوم بها القسم‬ ‫ عمل مصطفى حسنين لمدة سنة في مكتب القبول في‬،‫وبعد تخرجه‬ ‫ بعدها تمت ترقيته ليتولى‬،‫بيتسبرغ قبل عودته لقطر وتوليه منصب مماثل‬ ‫ أفاده كثيراً عندما يتعامل‬،‫ وكونه من خريجي الجامعة‬،‫منصب مساعد المدير‬ ‫مع المتقدمين وذلك لقدرته على التواصل بشكل مباشر ونقل خبراته للطالب‬ .‫المستجدين كطالب مثلهم وشرح كيفية تطورت الجامعة‬ ‫ يتذكر وضعه كشاب ضمن حفنة من‬،2004 ‫وعندما يتحدث مصطفى عن عام‬ ‫ وفي هذا الوقت كان الطالب يأخذون فصو ًال في‬،‫الشبان في فصل يعج باإلناث‬ ‫ ولقد استمتع مصطفى‬،"‫مبنى وايل كورنيل ويتقابلون في "الردهة الصفراء‬ ‫بكونه جزءاً من الحكومة الطالبية يشارك في برنامج النقاش مع تناول الغداء‬ ‫ كما استمتع أيض ًا بكونه أحد األعضاء المؤسسين لنادي إدارة األعمال‬،‫والبيتزا‬ .‫ والذي ذاع صيته اليوم بشكل كبير‬CMBA

Mustafa Hasnain likes to share stories about when he was a student at Carnegie Mellon Qatar. Luckily, it’s part of his job—and the people listening are future students, eager to know as much as they can about the university.

Mustafa is the assistant director of admission at Carnegie Mellon Qatar, where he helps recruit students, conducts interviews and reviews applications. He also manages logistics and operations within the department.

After graduating, Mustafa worked for a year in the Office of Admission in Pittsburgh before returning to Qatar to take a similar position. He was recently promoted to assistant director. Being an alumnus is an advantage when Mustafa is working with applicants, since he is able to share firsthand some of his experiences as a student and demonstrate how the university has grown.

Mustafa Hasnain New Zealand citizen, born in Qatar to Pakistani parents Business Administration Assistant Director of Admission, Carnegie Mellon Qatar

For instance, Mustafa remembers being one of a handful of guys in a class full of women back in 2004. At that time, the students took classes in the Weill Cornell building and hung out in the “Yellow Lounge.” Mustafa enjoyed being part of the student government, starting the Pizza and Politics lunchtime debate program, and being a founding member of the CMBA business administration club—all of which are still going strong today.

Winter 2013 / Spring 2014

21

‫‪8 From ’08‬‬ ‫مها عابدين‬ ‫قطرية‬ ‫علوم الحاسوب‬ ‫مشروعات برامج إدارة األعمال ‪PMO‬‬ ‫في شركة شل قطر‬

‫ربما كانت مها عابدين أحد األشخاص الذين حالفهم الحظ للعمل لدى شركة‬ ‫شل قطر قبل التخرج والتزال تعمل لدى عمالق الطاقة منذ ستة أعوام‪.‬‬ ‫بعد تعيينها "كمديرة للتغيير" كان من أولى المهام المنوط بمها تطوير إحدى‬ ‫كبرى مشروعات تكنولوجيا المعلومات في الشركة‪ ،‬ثم انتقلت إلى إدارة عقود‬ ‫تكنولوجيا المعلومات وتقرير المشروعات‪ ،‬والتي أهلتها إلى شغل منصب مدير‬ ‫مكتب إدارة المشروعات بالشركة‪ .‬في البداية عملت مها بمشروعات في قطر‬ ‫بعدها انتقلت إلى منطقة الشرق األوسط وشمال أفريقيا‪ ،‬ووظيفتها الحالية‬ ‫أهلتها لتكون مسئولة عن مشروعات‬ ‫كمدير لمشروعات برامج إدارة األعمال ّ‬ ‫تكنولوجيا المعلومات في شتى أنحاء العالم‪.‬‬ ‫وباعتبارها مسئولة عن برامج إدارة األعمال‪ ،‬يتمثل الواجب الرئيسي الملقى على‬ ‫عاتق مها في ضمان تنفيذ مشروعات تكنولوجيا المعلومات واسعة النطاق في‬ ‫شركة شل قطر في الوقت المحدد لها ودون تجاوز الميزانية المقررة‪ .‬هذا وتأتي‬ ‫اإلثارة ‪ -‬والتحديات أيض ًا ‪ -‬من مجموعة متنوعة من المهام اليومية‪ ،‬والتي‬ ‫تشمل تدريب مديري المشروعات الجدد ومراقبة أعمالهم ورفع التقارير حول‬ ‫مستوى تقدمهم إلى اإلدارة العليا وتحليل المشاكل والمخاطر‪.‬‬ ‫ومن ضمن الخبرات المفضلة لدى مها عابدين في جامعة كارينجي ميلون‬ ‫انضمامها إلى مجتمع ‪ close- knit‬باإلضافة إلى تواصلها بشكل مباشر مع‬ ‫أسرة الجامعة وتعيش مها اآلن حياة زوجية سعيدة مع طفليها االثنين وتتوقع أن‬ ‫تستكمل دراسة الماجستير في إدارة المشروعات من جامعة ليفربول هذا العام‪.‬‬

‫‪Maha Abdeen felt fortunate to land a job with Qatar Shell right‬‬ ‫‪before graduation and is still working for the energy giant six years‬‬ ‫‪later.‬‬ ‫‪Recruited as a “change manager,” Maha’s first task was to revamp‬‬ ‫‪one of the company’s biggest IT projects. She then moved to‬‬ ‫‪managing IT contracts and project reporting, which led to a‬‬ ‫‪position in the Project Management Office. Maha first worked‬‬ ‫‪on projects in Qatar, soon progressing to the MENA Region. Her‬‬ ‫‪current position as an Enterprise PMO puts her in charge of IT‬‬ ‫‪projects across the globe.‬‬

‫‪Maha Abdeen‬‬ ‫‪Qatari‬‬ ‫‪Computer Science‬‬ ‫‪Enterprise PMO, Qatar Shell‬‬

‫‪As an Enterprise PMO, Maha’s main duty is to ensure that Qatar‬‬ ‫‪Shell’s large-scale IT-enabled projects are implemented on time‬‬ ‫‪and on budget. The excitement—and the challenges—stem from‬‬ ‫‪a variety of day-to-day tasks, which include training new project‬‬ ‫‪managers and overseeing their work, reporting progress to top‬‬ ‫‪management, and analyzing issues and risks.‬‬ ‫‪Among Maha’s favorite experiences at Carnegie Mellon was being‬‬ ‫‪part of a close- knit community. In addition to keeping in contact‬‬ ‫‪with her university family, Maha is now happily married with‬‬ ‫‪two children. She expects to complete her master’s in project‬‬ ‫‪management from the University of Liverpool this year.‬‬

‫‪22‬‬

‫ياسمين عبد الرحمن‬ ‫مصر‬ HSBC ‫ بنك‬،‫محاسبة بنكية‬ ‫إدارة أعمال‬

‫نظراً لتعاملها مع عمالء من شتى بلدان المنطقة في ظل اقتصاد عالمي متغير‬ ‫ مصر يوم‬HSBC ‫ ال يمر على ياسمين عبد الرحمن المحاسبة ببنك‬،‫باستمرار‬ .‫يشبه أخاه‬ ‫ وأصبحت مؤخراً أحد‬،2012 ‫تم ترقية ياسمين لمنصب شريك مساهم في عام‬ ‫ حيث تدعم العالقات التي تربط‬HSBC ‫أعضاء مجموعة المؤسسة المالية‬ ‫ ولقد جاء منصبها الجديد نتيجة‬،‫البنك بغيره من المؤسسات التمويلية‬ ،‫ وفي جامعة كارنيجي ميلون‬، HSBC ‫للعمل الجاد طوال خمس سنوات ببنك‬ ‫استكملت ياسمين تدريبها العملي في مركز السدرة للطب والبحوث وفي‬ ‫ وخالل فترة إقامتها في‬،‫ والذي عملت به فور تخرجها‬HSBC ‫شركة شل وبنك‬ ،‫الدوحة البالغة عام ًا ونصف أجرت ياسمين عدداً من المعامالت رفيعة المستوى‬ ‫مثل صفقة االندماج بين شركة المالحة القطرية والشركة القطرية للنقل البحري‬ .‫ مليار دوالر أمريكي‬2.3 ‫بقيمة‬ ‫ قضت ياسمين فترة ثالثة أشهر من العمل مع الفريق‬،2010 ‫وفي أبريل عام‬ ‫ وهو الفريق الذي يدعم مجموعات‬- ‫المصرفي لالستثمار في بنجالور بالهند‬ ‫ وبعودتها إلى منطقة‬،‫الخدمات المصرفية االستثمارية في شتى أنحاء العالم‬ 2012 ‫ قضت عامين في دبي قبل االنتقال إلى القاهرة في عام‬،‫الشرق األوسط‬ ‫حيث قامت بإنجاز أولى مشروعاتها المتمثل في استحواذ فرانس تيليكوم على‬ .‫ مليار دوالر‬4.3 ‫شركة موبينيل لالتصاالت بقيمة‬ ‫ إال أن ياسمين تحرص‬،‫وعلى الرغم من ساعات السفر ورحالت العمل الطويلة‬ ‫على االستمتاع بإجازاتها بشكل جيد؛ فقد اعتادت ممارسة رياضة المشي مع‬ ‫زوجها محمد جمال الدين وصديقة الدراسة لينا المنشاوي وفي الفترة األخيرة‬ .‫قامت بالخروج لرحلة استكشافية إلى نيبال‬

With clients from all across the region and an ever-changing global economy to follow, no two days are the same for Yasmine Abdelrahman, an institutional banker at HSBC Egypt.

Yasmine, who was promoted to an associate in 2012, recently became part of HSBC’s Financial Institution Group, where she supports the bank’s relationships with other financial institutions.

Her new position is the result of more than five years of hard work for HSBC. At Carnegie Mellon, Yasmine completed internships at Sidra Medical and Research Center, Shell, and HSBC, which led to a job upon graduation. During her year-and-a-half stint in Doha, Yasmine worked on a number of high-profile transactions, including a $2.3 billion merger between Qatar Navigation and Qatar Shipping.

Yasmine Abdelrahman Egyptian, moved to Qatar as a teenager Business Administration Institutional Banker, HSBC Egypt

In April 2010, Yasmine spent three months working for HSBC’s investment banking team in Bangalore, India—a team that supports the company’s investment banking teams all over the world. Back in the Middle East, she spent two years in Dubai before moving to Cairo in 2012, where her first project was the $4.3 billion acquisition of Mobinil Telecom by France Telecom.

Despite her long hours and work travels, Yasmine doesn’t slow down during her time off. With her husband Mohamed Gamal ElDin and fellow classmate Lina El-Menshawy (BA’08), she has taken up hiking, recently spending eight days on an adventure trip in Nepal.

Winter 2013 / Spring 2014

23

Greater than the Sum How CMU became part of Qatar Foundation’s pioneering educational model

Illustration of Carnegie Mellon on map of Education City

24

‫المجموع‬ ‫أكبر من‬

‫كيف أصبحت جامعة كارنيجي ميلون جزءا من النموذج‬ ‫التعليمي الرائد في مؤسسة قطر‬

‫دانة آل مفتاح‪ ،‬طالبة تدرس نظم المعلومات في جامعة كارنيجي ميلون‪،‬‬ ‫وتتوجه مرتين في األسبوع‪ ،‬إلى جامعة تكساس آي أند إم لدراسة الكيمياء‪ .‬أما‬ ‫ناصح جوبيع‪ ،‬المتخصص في علوم الحاسوب بجامعة كارنيجي ميلون‪ ،‬فيدرس‬ ‫الفرنسية في مستوى متقدم بجامعة جورجتاون‪.‬‬ ‫ثمة مكان واحد فقط في العالم يجعل هذا ممكن ًا‪ ..‬إنه المدينة التعليمية في‬ ‫الدوحة‪ ،‬قطر‪.‬‬ ‫بوصفها جزءا من مؤسسة قطر للتربية والعلوم وتنمية المجتمع (‪ ،)QF‬تُعد‬ ‫المدينة التعليمية واحدة من أوجه التعاون التعليمي األكثر إثارة في العالم‪ ،‬ومع‬ ‫مجموعة متنوعة من المراكز التعليمية والمؤسسات البحثية‪ ،‬حيث قامت ستة‬ ‫جامعات أمريكية بفتح فروع لها في المدينة التعليمية‪ ،‬وقد اختارت مؤسسة قطر‬ ‫ك ً‬ ‫ال منها بعناية لتقديم أفضل برامجها للطالب في قطر والمنطقة‪.‬‬ ‫ومن خالل نظام يسمى التسجيل المشترك‪ ،‬يمكن للطالب في الجامعات‬ ‫األمريكية االلتحاق بفصول في أي من فروع الجامعات األخرى بالمدينة التعليمية‪،‬‬ ‫مع حصولهم على شهادات بها في جامعتهم األم‪ .‬وبالنسبة لـ جوبيع‪ ،‬فإن هذا‬ ‫يعني فرصة االنضمام لدروس ال تُقدم في جامعة كارنيجي ميلون في قطر‬ ‫وتذوق تجربة الدراسة في جامعة أخرى‪.‬‬ ‫ويقول جبوبيع عن هذه التجربة‪" ::‬من حيث المزايا األكاديمية‪ ،‬كان من الرائع أن‬ ‫أتعرف على أساتذة ال يرتبطون ارتباطا وثيق ًا بتخصصي ومناقشة المشاكل‬ ‫في مجالهم‪ ،‬كما كان من الجيد أيض ًا تجربة جامعة أخرى‪ .‬ورغم وجودهما في‬ ‫المدينة التعليمية‪ ،‬إال أن االختالف الثقافي الشاسع بين جامعتي كارنيجي‬ ‫ميلون وجورجتاون يلفت االنتباه"‪.‬‬ ‫تأسست مؤسسة قطر عام ‪ ،1995‬بناء على رؤية مشتركة لسمو الشيخ حمد بن‬ ‫خليفة آل ثاني‪ ،‬أمير قطر السابق‪ ،‬وزوجته سمو الشيخة موزا بنت ناصر‪ ،‬رئيس‬ ‫مجلس اإلدارة‪ .‬وقد أنشئت المدينة التعليمية كقوة دافعة ترمي إلى تحويل قطر‬ ‫من اقتصاد قائم على المنتجات النفطية إلى اقتصاد قائم على المعرفة‪ ،‬مع‬ ‫االهتمام بتنمية الموارد البشرية في البالد باعتبارها المهمة المحورية للمدينة‪.‬‬ ‫أسهم د‪ .‬محمد فتحي سعود‪ ،‬المستشار األول لرئيس مجلس اإلدارة‪ ،‬في تصميم‬ ‫وتنفيذ فكرة المدينة التعليمية‪ ،‬التي أصبحت نموذج ًا شام ً‬ ‫ال للتعليم والعلوم‬ ‫وانتهاء بحدائق‬ ‫بدءا من مدارس التعليم األساسي‬ ‫ً‬ ‫والبحوث‪ ،‬وتضم كل شيء ً‬ ‫العلوم والتكنولوجيا‪ .‬وكرئيس لمؤسسة قطر من عام ‪ 2007‬إلى ‪ ،2013‬ومستشار‬ ‫للتعليم العالي من ‪ 1997‬إلى ‪ ،2007‬وعضو في مجلس اإلدارة منذ عام ‪ ،2003‬قاد‬ ‫سعود المناقشات التي أسفرت عن افتتاح فروع للعديد من الجامعات األمريكية‬ ‫في قطر‪ .‬وهو ما علق عليه سعود‪ ،‬قائ ً‬ ‫ال‪" :‬عندما بدأنا النظر في النماذج التعليمية‬ ‫األخرى في جميع أنحاء العالم‪ ،‬اتضح لنا أنه ينبغي علينا أن نفكر في شيء‬ ‫مختلف‪ ،‬وذلك ألن العديد من الجامعات استغرقت مئات السنين لتستقر وتنال‬ ‫التقدير واالحترام"‪.‬‬ ‫ورأى أن منحه "الالئحة البيضاء" كانت بمثابة "فرصة عظيمة للتفكير بشكل خالق‬ ‫في تنفيذ شيء فريد من نوعه حق ًا‪".‬‬

‫‪25‬‬

‫‪Winter 2013 / Spring 2014‬‬

Greater than the Sum

T

wice a week, Carnegie Mellon University information systems student Dana Al Muftah heads to Texas A&M University for a chemistry class. Naassih Gopee, a computer science major at Carnegie Mellon, studies advanced French at Georgetown University.

There’s only one place in the world where this is possible— Education City in Doha, Qatar.

As part of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF), Education City is one of the most exciting educational collaborations in the world. Along with a variety of learning centers and research institutions, six American universities have opened branch campuses in Education City, each handpicked by QF to offer their best programs to students in Qatar and the region.

Eman Thowfeek, a sophomore in international politics at Georgetown University (left) stands with her sister Haya Thowfeek, a senior in information systems at Carnegie Mellon Qatar.

26

‫إنشاء المدينة التعليمية‬

‫مقر جديد‬

‫بتحديد أربعة مجاالت رئيسية لدراسة الطب‪ ،‬وتكنولوجيا المعلومات‪ ،‬والهندسة‬ ‫واإلدارة بحثت مؤسسة قطر في البداية عن جامعة واحدة كشريك في أوروبا‬ ‫الغربية أو أمريكا الشمالية‪ .‬في البداية‪ ،‬بدا جذب جامعة مرموقة إلى المدينة‬ ‫التعليمية وكأنه "حلم بعيد المنال"‪ ،‬مع حرص الكثير منها على لعب دور‬ ‫استشاري‪ ،‬ولم يبد إال بضع منها استعداده للمخاطرة باسمه وسمعته ومعاييره‬ ‫األكاديمية من خالل افتتاح فرع لحرمه الجامعي على بعد آالف األميال من‬ ‫الجامعة األم في جزء غير مستقر من الناحية التاريخية في العالم‪.‬‬

‫ربما كان أكبر إنجاز غير أكاديمي لجامعة كارنيجي ميلون هو االنتهاء من مبنى‬ ‫الجامعة الجميلة الذي تبلغ مساحته ‪ 460‬ألف قدم مربع من تصميم الشركة‬ ‫المكسيكية للهندسة المعمارية ليجوريتا وليجوريتا‪ .‬وبفضل تشاك ثورب‪،‬‬ ‫العميد المؤسس للجامعة‪ ،‬تحتل جامعة كارنيجي ميلون في قطر موقع ًا‬ ‫مركزي ًا في المدينة التعليمية‪ ،‬وتحتل جزءا من وصلة المشاة بين جانبي الحرم‬ ‫الجامعي‪.‬‬

‫يقول سعود؛ وبعد عام من المناقشات أوشكت مؤسسة قطر على توقيع‬ ‫اتفاق مع جامعة فيرجينيا‪ ،‬ولكن سعود وزمالؤه أدركوا حينئ ٍذ أن األمر سيتجه نحو‬ ‫نموذج مختلف لو قدموا أفضل البرامج في كل مجال من مجاالت الدراسة‪.‬‬ ‫وهو ما أوضحه سعود‪ ،‬قائ ً‬ ‫ال‪" :‬تنسب تلك العملية التعليمية لنا نحن ألننا‬ ‫اكتشفنا عند هذه النقطة أنه ال توجد جامعة واحدة هي األفضل في كل شيء"‪.‬‬ ‫لذلك اتجهت مؤسسة قطر للتركيز على تأمين شراكات مع برامج فردية في‬ ‫مختلف الجامعات‪ ،‬وهو األمر الذي ينطوي على العديد من االتفاقيات والثقافات‬ ‫األكاديمية المختلفة رغم ارتفاع سعرها‪.‬‬ ‫ويستطر سعود‪ ،‬قائ ً‬ ‫ال‪" :‬وقد استعد مجلس اإلدارة وصاحبة السمو التخاذ هذا الخيار‬ ‫ألنه‪ ،‬كما ثبت فيما بعد‪ ،‬أسهم في تحقيق التنوع الذي أصبح مصدر قوة للمدينة‬ ‫التعليمية‪ .‬وعندما تتحدث اآلن عن المدينة التعليمية‪ ،‬فإن الوضع كان ليختلف‬ ‫تمام ًا لو أننا استعنا بجامعة واحدة فقط"‪.‬‬ ‫وقد جنينا ثمار سنوات من العمل الشاق في أبريل ‪ ،2001‬عندما وقعت كلية طب‬ ‫وايل كورنيل اتفاق ًا مع مؤسسة قطر لتقديم درجة الماجستير في قطر‪ ،‬وهو‬ ‫مشروع مدعوم برغبة كلية الطب في االنطالق نحو العالمية‪ .‬وكما هو الحال‬ ‫مع كل االتفاقات الالحقة‪ ،‬أكدت مؤسسة قطر أن وايل كورنيل ستحتفظ بالحرية‬ ‫األكاديمية‪ ،‬واالستقالل الذاتي‪ ،‬والقدرة على قبول الطالب على أساس الجدارة‬ ‫األكاديمية وليس على أساس جنسيتهم أو قدرتهم على الدفع‪.‬‬ ‫ووفق ًا لسعود‪ ،‬فقد مهدت الشراكة مع إحدى الجامعات المرموقة الطريق أمام‬ ‫االتفاق مع غيرها من الجامعات األمريكية‪ :‬جامعة تكساس آي أند إم‪ ،‬جامعة‬ ‫كارنيجي ميلون‪ ،‬جامعة جورجتاون‪ ،‬وجامعة نورثويسترن‪ .‬وأصبحت جامعة‬ ‫فرجينيا كومنولث‪ ،‬التي بدأت عام ‪ 1998‬في تشغيل برنامج يسمى كلية الشقب‬ ‫لفنون التصميم‪ ،‬فرع ًا رسمي ًا للجامعة عام ‪ ،2002‬ومنذ ذلك الحين انضمت فرنسا‬ ‫بكلية الدراسات التجارية العليا بباريس والمملكة المتحدة بجامعة لندن أيض ًا‬ ‫للمدينة التعليمية‪.‬‬ ‫يقول سعود‪ ،‬كلما أقدمت مؤسسة قطر على التفاوض مع شريك جامعي‬ ‫محتمل‪ ،‬فإنه يعتمد على ما يسمى باألبطال للمساعدة في الترويج لدى إدارة‬ ‫جامعتهم األم‪ ،‬عن مزايا تأسيس أفرع لهذه الجامعات في الحرم الجامعي في‬ ‫قطر‪ .‬ففي جامعة كارنيجي ميلون‪ ،‬استعنا بـ ريدج ريدي‪ ،‬أستاذ الشيخة موزا بنت‬ ‫ناصر‪ ،‬والذي قدم مؤسسة قطر إلى قيادات الجامعة‪ .‬أصبح جيرد كوهون رئيس‬ ‫جامعة كارنيجي ميلون في ذلك الحين ومارك كاملت‪ ،‬مدير الجامعة‪ ،‬البطلين‬ ‫الثاني والثالث اللذين اعتمد عليهما سعود لتوقيع اتفاقيات ناجحة‪.‬‬ ‫عندما افتتحت جامعة كارنيجي ميلون في قطر عام ‪ ،2004‬عرضت برامج في علوم‬ ‫الحاسوب وإدارة األعمال للدفعة األولى المكونة من ‪ 41‬طالب ًا وطالبة‪ .‬وكانت‬ ‫كارنيجي ميلون‪ ،‬وال تزال‪ ،‬الجامعة الوحيدة في المدينة التعليمية التي تقدم‬ ‫تخصصات متعددة كدليل على نجاح الجامعة في مجال التعليم والبحوث‬ ‫متعددة التخصصات‪ .‬وفي عام ‪ ،2007‬تم إضافة برنامج نظم المعلومات‪ ،‬وفي‬ ‫عام ‪ 2011‬بدأت جامعة كارنيجي ميلون في تقديم برامج في العلوم البيولوجية‬ ‫وعلم األحياء الحاسوبي‪ ،‬والتي تُقدم بالتعاون مع كلية طب ويل كورنيل‪.‬‬ ‫تقدم جامعة كارنجي ميلون في قطر حاليا تلك االبرامج ‪ ‬ذات المستويات‬ ‫الخمس إلى أربعمائة طالب من إثنين وأربعين دولة مختلفة‪.‬‬

‫وفي هذا الصدد‪ ،‬يقول ثورب‪" :‬عندما رأيت ألول مرة خريطة المدينة التعليمية‪،‬‬ ‫وأين سيضعوننا قلت‪' :‬ال' إنهم أرادوا أن نكون على مشارف الحرم الجامعي‪ ،‬وهذا‬ ‫ال يصلح ألننا أردنا أن نكون متعددي التخصصات‪ ،‬ويشترك طالبنا في التسجيل‬ ‫بالجامعات األخرى‪ .‬ولم نكن لنتمكن من القيام بذلك إن لم يتمكن طالبنا من‬ ‫السير على األقدام من جامعة إلى األخرى"‪.‬‬ ‫بد ًال من ذلك‪ ،‬طرح ثورب فكرة بناء كارنيجي ميلون في الحرم الجامعي بين‬ ‫الممشى الشرقي والغربي‪.‬‬ ‫يضيف ثورب‪ ،‬قائ ً‬ ‫ال‪" :‬وأخيراً وافق المصممون‪ .‬وضعنا مقهى على الممشى في‬ ‫وسط الحرم الجامعي وهو ما حقق نجاح ًا كبيراً‪ .‬حيث يلتقي أعضاء هيئة تدريس‬ ‫وطالب من جميع أنحاء المدينة التعليمية الذين يتوقفون ويشاركوننا في تناول‬ ‫طعام الغداء"‪ .‬ويتسع المبنى اآلن لنحو ‪ 400‬طالب بدوام كامل‪ ،‬حيث تحتل‬ ‫جامعة نورثويسترن الطابق الثالث من مبنى كارنيجي ميلون حتى اكتمال‬ ‫مبناهم في عام ‪.2015‬‬ ‫كما أن تماثل نظام التسجيل المشترك يشجع طالب كارنيجي ميلون على أخذ‬ ‫دورات أكاديمية في جامعات أخرى بالمدينة التعليمية‪ ،‬وفي ذات الوقت يستفيد‬ ‫طالب من جامعات أخرى من تنوع الدورات األكاديمية داخل جامعة كارنيجي‬ ‫ميلون‪ .‬وفي الوقت الحالي‪ ،‬يتلقى نحو ‪ 40‬طالب ًا من فروع جامعية أخرى دروس ًا‬ ‫في جامعة كارنيجي ميلون‪ .‬ومن بين هؤالء فهر المالح‪ ،‬شاب في كلية الشؤون‬ ‫الدولية بجامعة جورج تاون في قطر‪ ،‬الذي يتلقى درس ًا في التحليل متعدد‬ ‫المتغيرات في جامعة كارنيجي ميلون‪.‬‬ ‫ويقول المالح‪" :‬بما أن كل جامعة تتخصص في فرع معين من العلم‪ ،‬فإنها تجيد‬ ‫ما تفعله حق ًا‪ ،‬مما يسمح لنا بالحصول على األأفضل في كل تخصص ‪ ،‬كما أن‬ ‫وجود طالب يدرسون بنظام التسجيل المشترك في جامعات أخرى من شأنه أن‬ ‫يضيف أيض ًا منظوراً ما كنت لتجده لو كانوا جميع ًا يدرسون نفس التخصص‬ ‫في نفس الجامعة"‪.‬‬ ‫وفي الوقت الذي عانت فيه العديد من الجامعات الدولية‪ ،‬ازدهرت المدينة‬ ‫التعليمية‪ ،‬نظراً الحتضانها جامعات تقدم المزيد من البرامج لعدد متزايد من‬ ‫راغبي االلتحاق؛ وتخريجها أجيا ًال من الشباب يتولون مناصب قيادية في المنطقة‬ ‫رغم صغر سنهم؛ ونشرها أبحاث ًا هامة‪ .‬بيد أن سعود يقيس نجاح مؤسسة‬ ‫قطر بقوة عالقتها القوية مع شركائها من الجامعات المختلفة وتنوع الهيكل‬ ‫الطالبي‪.‬‬ ‫وهو ما أعرب عنه‪ ،‬قائ ً‬ ‫ال‪" :‬أعتقد أننا لم ننجح فقط في تقديم كل هذه البرامج‬ ‫ً‬ ‫العمالقة في المدينة التعليمية‪ ،‬ولكننا نجحنا أيضا في تقديم نموذج يحتذى به‬ ‫في بقية دول العالم‪ ،‬ويتمثل في إمكانية استخدام منصة تعليمية وبحثية نبيلة‬ ‫الغاية لجمع الناس من مختلف البلدان واألديان واألعراق والثقافات مع ًا للعمل‬ ‫بسعادة ومرح بالغين حتى يشعروا بأنهم أصبحوا مواطنين عالميين"‪.‬‬ ‫يقول سعود؛ في بلد مثل قطر التي تعتبر بلد شاب ومتنوع من الناحية‬ ‫الديموغرافية‪ ،‬ال يعتبر تمهيد الطريق أمام الطلبة ليصبحوا مواطنين عالميين‬ ‫مجرد مثالية حالمة‪"،‬فالدور الذي ستلعبه جامعة كارنيجي ميلون والجامعات‬ ‫األخرى في مستقبل هذا البلد في عصر ما بعد الطاقة دور ضخم‪".‬‬

‫وقال السيد‪ /‬اليكر بيبرس عميد كارنجي ميلون في قطر‪" :‬عندما يتخرج طالبنا‪،‬‬ ‫وهم مسلحين بتعليم متميز‪ ،‬ويحصل بعضهم على جوائز دولية‪ ،‬سيستقبلون‬ ‫بكل ترحيب في سوق العمل وسيسعى أفضل أرباب العمل وأكثرهم تميزا إلى‬ ‫تعيينهم واالستعانة بهم‪ ،‬هذا هو الهدف الذي جاءت كارنيجي ميلون لتحقيقه‬ ‫هنا في قطر‪ ،‬بدعم من مؤسسة قطر‪ ،‬وهذا هو ما ننفذه" ‪.‬‬

‫‪27‬‬

‫‪Winter 2013 / Spring 2014‬‬

Greater than the Sum Through a system called cross-registration, students at the American universities can enroll in classes at other branch campuses, earning credits that are recognized by their home universities. For Gopee, this means an opportunity to take classes that are not offered at Carnegie Mellon Qatar and get a taste of another university.

“In terms of academic benefits, it was nice to get to know professors who are not closely related to my major and discuss problems within their fields. It was also good to experience another university,” Gopee said. “Despite the fact they are both in Education City, it is intriguing how there is a huge cultural difference between Carnegie Mellon and Georgetown.”

Founded in 1995, Qatar Foundation was the vision of Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, the former Emir of Qatar, and his wife Sheikha Moza Bint Nasser, who is the organization’s chairperson. Education City was created as a driving force in Qatar’s transformation from a carbon- to a knowledge-based economy, with the development of the nation’s human resources as its central mission.

Mohamed Fathy Saoud, senior advisor to the chairperson, helped design and implement the Education City concept, which has become a comprehensive education, science and research model, boasting everything from k–12 schools to science and technology parks. As QF president from 2007 to 2013, higher education advisor from 1997 to 2007, and a member of the board of directors since 2003, Saoud led the discussions that resulted in many of the American universities opening branch campuses in Qatar.

“When we started looking at other educational models across the world, it became obvious that we would have to think of something different, because many universities took hundreds of years to become established and well-recognized,” Saoud said.

He saw the “blank slate” given to him as “a great opportunity to think creatively about doing something that was really unique.”

Creating Education City After identifying four key areas of study—medicine, information technology, engineering and management—QF looked for a single university partner in Western Europe or North America. At first, attracting a prestigious university to Education City seemed like an “unrealistic dream,” with many keen to play an advisory role but few willing to risk their brand names and academic standards on a

Education City at a glance 3,700 acres 2,500 university students 90 student nationalities 70 percent of students receive QF scholarships or loans

28

branch campus thousands of miles from the home institution in a historically unstable part of the world.

After a year of discussions, Saoud said QF came close to signing an agreement with a university in the United States. But then Saoud and his colleagues realized it would take a different model if they were to offer top programs in every area of study.

“This was a learning process for us, because we discovered at that point that no one university is the best in everything,” Saoud said.

So QF switched gears—focusing on securing partnerships with individual programs at different universities, something that would involve several agreements, different academic cultures and a higher price tag.

“The board and Her Highness were prepared to take that option because, as it was proved later, it brought some diversity that became a source of strength for Education City. When you speak now about Education City, it would have been completely different if we would have brought only one university,” Saoud said.

Years of hard work paid off in April 2001, when Weill Cornell Medical College signed an agreement with QF to offer its M.D. degree in Qatar—a venture that was spurred by the medical school’s desire to go global. As with each of the subsequent agreements, QF assured Weill Cornell it would retain academic freedom, autonomy, and the ability to admit students based on academic merit and not on their nationality or ability to pay.

According to Saoud, the partnership with an Ivy League institution paved the way for agreements with other American universities: Texas A&M, Carnegie Mellon, Georgetown University, and Northwestern University. Virginia Commonwealth University, which came in 1998 to operate a program called the Shaqab College of Design Arts, became an official branch campus in 2002.

Each time QF approached a potential university partner, Saoud said he relied on so-called champions to help sell the benefits of a campus in Qatar to their university communities. At Carnegie Mellon, it was Raj Reddy, the Moza Bint Nasser University Professor, who introduced QF to the university’s leadership. Jared Cohon, then president of Carnegie Mellon, and Mark Kamlet, the provost, became the second and third champions Saoud counted on for a successful agreement.

When Carnegie Mellon Qatar opened in 2004, it offered programs in computer science and business administration to an inaugural class of 41 students. It was, and remains, the only university in Education City to offer multiple specialties—a testament to the university’s success in interdisciplinary education and research.

In 2007, Carnegie Mellon Qatar added an information systems program and, in 2011, Carnegie Mellon began offering programs in biological sciences and computational biology, which are both delivered in collaboration with Weill Cornell Medical College.

Carnegie Mellon Qatar now delivers these five degree programs to 400 students from 42 countries.

“When our students graduate after receiving an excellent education, they are welcomed into the job market and sought after by the best employers. That is what Carnegie Mellon came here to do and, with the support of Qatar Foundation, that is what we are achieving,” said Ilker Baybars, dean of Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar.

A New Home Perhaps the largest non-academic milestone for Carnegie Mellon was the completion of the university’s building, a beautiful, 460,000-square-foot space that was designed by the Mexican architectural firm Legorreta and Legorreta. Thanks in part to Chuck Thorpe, the university’s founding dean, Carnegie Mellon Qatar occupies a central location in Education City, as part of a pedestrian link between the two sides of campus.

“When I first saw the map of Education City and where they were going to put us, it wasn’t ideal. They wanted us to be on the edge of the campus and that wouldn’t work, because we wanted to be multi-disciplinary, and have our students cross-register with other universities. We couldn’t do that if our students couldn’t walk from one university to the other,” Thorpe said.

Instead, Thorpe pitched the idea of building Carnegie Mellon on the campus’s East-West Walkway, and the designers agreed.

“We put a coffee shop on the walkway at the center of the campus, and this has been a special success. We meet with faculty and students from all over Education City who stop and join us for lunch.”

The same cross-registration system that encourages Carnegie Mellon students to take courses at other Education City universities also adds to the diversity of classes inside Carnegie Mellon. Currently, about 40 students from other branch campuses take classes at Carnegie Mellon. Among them is Fahar Mallah, a junior at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service in Qatar, who is taking a class in multivariate analysis at Carnegie Mellon.

“Since each university specializes, it gets really good at what it does, allowing us to get the best of the best in each subject. Having crossregistered students from other institutions in a class also adds a different perspective that you wouldn’t have if they were all from the same branch campus or major,” Mallah said.

While many international campuses have struggled, Education City has thrived, with the universities offering more programs to a growing number of applicants; graduating alumni who—despite their young ages—hold prominent positions in the region; and publishing important research. But Saoud also measures QF’s success by the strong relationships with its university partners and the diversity of the student body.

American Universities in Education City 2001 Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar Pre-medical and medical program

2002 Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar School of the Arts Operated a program since 1998, became a branch campus in 2002 Fashion design, graphic design, interior design, or painting and printmaking

2003 Texas A&M University at Qatar Chemical, electrical, mechanical and petroleum engineering

2004 Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar Biological sciences, business administration, computational biology, computer science and information systems

2005 Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar Foreign service

2008 Northwestern University in Qatar Communication and journalism research, you can bring people of different backgrounds, different religions, different races and different cultures together to work quite happily and joyfully, to feel like they are becoming the global citizens of the world,” he said.

In a country like Qatar, demographically young and diverse itself, paving the way for students to become global citizens isn’t just an abstract ideal, says Saoud: “The role that Carnegie Mellon university and the other universities are going to play in the future of this country in the post-energy era is going to be huge.”

“I believe that we did not only succeed in offering all these great programs in Education City, but in giving a real role model for the rest of the world that, on the noble platform of education and

Winter 2013 / Spring 2014

29

Feature

History in the Making Faculty and staff share first memories of CMU-Q A decade ago, Doha was a third of its current size, the West Bay skyline had not yet emerged, and there was little traffic to get stuck in. Education City, then on the outskirts of town, had many more open lots than buildings.

When the first employees signed on with Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, they arrived to little more than a contract between Qatar Foundation and the university. There was no CMU-Q building, no website and no students.

The first faculty and staff had to “jump in with both feet and get to work,” recalled Gloria Khoury, assistant dean for student affairs. “We always call the first class the pioneers but I think we felt like we were pioneers too,” she said.

Khoury is one of a handful of people who were hired to set up Carnegie Mellon Qatar and are still working on the campus today. Faculty members Marion Oliver and Benjamin Reilly are joined by Fadhel Annan, assistant dean for government and corporate affairs; Ahmed Husaine, housing and transportation manager; Abdullah Ibrahim, housing and transportation coordinator; and Stephen MacNeil, web manager. Amal Al-Malki, an associate professor of English currently on a leave of absence, also joined the university in 2004 as the orientation manager. About 40

staffers joined the university during that first year, with most moving on to other jobs over the years.

gave the first handshakes, and that to me was the moment when it all became real,” Khoury said.

The university’s first home in Education City consisted of two corridors in the Weill Cornell University in Qatar building—one for administration and one for the faculty and student affairs staff. From here, the team got to work on developing the business administration, computer science and general education curricula, as well as the supporting programs. First on the agenda was to bring a little of the Carnegie Mellon spirit to Weill Cornell by painting the walls from “hospital white” to bright yellow and red. To create a student lounge, staff scoured local home stores, bringing back comfortable sofas, funky lamps, games and pop-art posters. All that was missing was the students.

Much like the faculty and staff, the new students were both excited and nervous.

While many of them could have travelled overseas to study, they had stayed in Qatar to support the country’s ambitious educational initiatives, said Reilly, an associate teaching professor of history.

Among them was Lulwa Al-Thani, daughter of the H.E. Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa AlThani, the Father Emir of Qatar.

During their first few days on campus, the new students were as quiet as mice, Khoury recalled. They walked past the new lounge, but they didn’t sit down, assuming it must be for faculty and staff.

With admission handled through the Pittsburgh campus, the inaugural class was just names on a roster to most of the Qatar staff. The campus came together for the first time at Family Day, the beginning of new student orientation.

Marion Oliver, teaching professor of mathematics, said the small space in Weill Cornell helped faculty, staff and students get to know each other. It also allowed the academic and co-curricular programs to become integrated from day one. “That kind of thing happens once,” Oliver said.

“It doesn’t last, but at that time it was pretty special.”

“I remember standing nervously at the Ritz Carlton with the dean, and then the students started to arrive one-by-one with their families. We said the first ‘hellos’ and

After a little encouragement, the students started to hang out in the lounge. Nora Al-Subai, a computer science student, even claimed her own sofa.

First Encounters

Left to right: Ahmed Husaine, Fadhel Annan, Abdullah Ibrahim, Amal Al Malki, Benjamin Reilly, Gloria Khoury, Stephen MacNeil and Marion Oliver

30

“No sooner did they get the hang of it and you couldn’t get them out of there. They lived there, worked there, napped there and ate there, and it was just what we wanted,” Khoury said.

The students didn’t stay quiet for long, Oliver recalled. “That group has always been known as being the loudest class, and they were proud of that,” he said. So loud, in fact, that Weill Cornell sent the occasional email asking if Carnegie Mellon could please keep the noise down.

A Carnegie Mellon Education The transition from high school to university can be a bumpy road for many students, and it was no exception for Carnegie Mellon Qatar’s first class.

“They came from being the best in their high schools to realizing they were going to have to work really hard. They were in boot camp trying to get through this thing,” Oliver said.

When a student shows up late for Oliver’s class, they’ll probably find themselves locked out of the class. If they show up late for Reilly’s class, he’ll sometimes yell out, “You’re SO late,” in an attempt to embarrass them in front of their friends. Those things have become legends at Carnegie Mellon Qatar, but they were happening for the first time for the 41 students who joined in 2004.

While they didn’t always appreciate things like this, the first class rose to the challenges, Oliver said. And they set the standard for the students who followed.

“As a group, I believe they had a lot of self confidence and they were fighters,” he

said. “I remember sitting down with that group to give them some bad news about an assignment and they were getting so mad that there were tears in their eyes. These weren’t tears of sadness, they were tears of anger.”

It wasn’t only in the classroom that Carnegie Mellon traditions and legends began. To avoid becoming a commuter campus, Khoury and her team looked for ways to keep students on campus between classes.

“Our first goal was to have them stay during the day, and not go off to the mall, which was tending to happen because at that time Landmark Mall was only 10 minutes drive away,” Khoury said.

The team started workshops, talks and activities to complement the academic programs and build leadership skills. They also encouraged students to start their own clubs by pitching ideas, applying for funding and creating the content. Programs that started during the first year and are still going strong today include ‘Pizza and Politics,’ a series that encourages students to talk about current issues, International Day, the CMBA business club and the All Around student newspaper. The first Student Majlis was elected in 2004, with Fahad Al Jefairi as the president.

Making Progress In spring 2005, five Carnegie Mellon students spent a week on the Pittsburgh campus, paving the way for cross-campus relations and becoming the first CMU-Q ambassadors. That same spring, some

Winter 2013 / Spring 2014

of the students spoke at an event for the Carnegie Mellon trustees, who had traveled from Pittsburgh to visit Doha. This was the moment when Khoury realized what the group had achieved.

“It really blew me away because they were able to talk about their experience and they began to call it the ‘Carnegie Mellon’ experience, which included both the academic and non academic components, and I thought to myself, ‘wow, we’re really on the right path here.’ ” Since then, Carnegie Mellon Qatar has grown every year, moving to its second home in Education’s City’s LAS Building before the addition of the information systems program in 2007. The first students graduated a few months before the university’s state-of-the-art building was completed in fall 2008. In 2011, the university expanded again, adding programs in biological sciences and computational biology.

While the first faculty and staff have different reasons for staying, all have appreciated the ongoing sense of community at Carnegie Mellon University.

Oliver, who earned his doctorate at Carnegie Mellon 35 years ago and worked on the main campus for 10 years before leaving Carnegie Mellon and eventually coming back to help start the Qatar campus, plans to stay indefinitely.

“I am here because I am having a great time and I am appreciated by the people I work for. As long as I’m healthy, I’ll be here,” he said.

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On: Business

Enterprise Challengers (Left to Right): Raheem Shahid, Saad Asim, Hassaan Ijaz and Syed Zuhair, Business Administration; Zeeshan Hanif, Computer Science.

Rock-solid Investment

CMU students shine at Qatar’s Enterprise Challenge Diamonds might be a girl’s best friend, but they also proved a rock-solid investment for an all-male team during Enterprise Challenge Qatar.

Carnegie Mellon students Raheem Shahid, Saad Asim, Hassaan Ijaz, Syed Zuhair and Zeeshan Hanif won first place in the competition, which offers young entrepreneurs an opportunity to create and operate a company through a business simulation.

perfect strategy. For example, we had to find a balance in the variety of jewelry we would sell.

While more choices can be a great thing from a customer standpoint, it also significantly increases the costs,” Zuhair said.

After fine-tuning their skills in trading, finance, marketing and production, the team reaped net profits of QR 37 million in the final round of the game.

The team competed against 60 teams from nine universities and colleges to create the most profitable company from scratch during a month-long business simulation.

The team experimented with selling several products, including laptops and car tires, before concluding that diamond jewelry would give them the best return on their investment, said Zuhair, a senior in business administration.

According to George White, associate teaching professor of business administration and the team’s mentor, “The team excelled at dynamic learning; they experimented with variables in the game and learned what was optimal. They also taught each other. These are the kinds of behavior that we hope Carnegie Mellon students learn well and that give our students an advantage over other academic institutions. I’m proud of our team and congratulate them on their success.”

“It took a lot of teamwork and the combined intellect of five people to come up with the

Zuhair said the competition was one of the most empowering experiences of his life.

32

“I learned so much from the competition,” he said. “I now know there is so much involved in running a business, including things you would never think of until you’re actually doing it. I also learnt that teamwork is very important. I found that each person offers something different and that there are many benefits to working in a team.

“Being part of a winning team was a wonderful part of my final year. I’m looking forward to the world of work, and a lot of that is down to the experiences I’ve enjoyed at Carnegie Mellon. My time here has provided such a great foundation for my future.”

The Enterprise Challenge Qatar was launched by Qatar Shell and Bedaya Center to encourage the spirit of entrepreneurship among university and high school students, promote their business knowledge, and equip them with practical business skills. A total of 430 students from nine universities and six high schools participated in this year’s challenge.

On: Science

‫استكشاف‬ Exploring Computer Science ‫علوم الحاسوب‬ Female high school students experience CS4Qatar

‫طالبات المدارس الثانوية يشاركن في ورشة "علم‬ ‫الحاسوب من‬

As more than 80 young women discovered this past November, being a computer scientist means much more than staring at a monitor all day. In fact, computer scientists work hands-on on many of their projects, collaborate to solve problems, and can apply their knowledge to almost any discipline, from biological sciences to the arts.

The challenge, said Saquib Razak, an assistant teaching professor of computer science, is that many students aren’t exposed to computer science in high school, which may put them off applying for the program in a university setting.

That’s why Carnegie Mellon introduced CS4Qatar for Women, a program that aims to get female students excited about technology and introduce them to basic computer science concepts. Since females are underrepresented in the field, the program addresses common myths that might deter women from studying computer science at university.

‫ طالبة في المدارس الثانوية القطرية في ورشة العمل التي‬80 ‫شاركت‬ ‫ تحت عنوان "علم الحاسوب‬،‫نظمتها جامعة كارنيجي ميلون في قطر‬ ‫ بهدف تعريف الطالبات بمفاهيم‬،")CS4Qatar( ‫من أجل قطر‬ .‫ وتحفيزهن على اقتحام عالم التكنولوجيا‬،‫الحاسوب األساسية‬ ‫ إلى‬،‫ التي ُعقدت في نهاية األسبوع الماضي‬،‫تطرقت ورشة العمل‬ ‫ وتناولت‬،‫األسباب التي تقلل من تخصص اإلناث في هذا المجال‬ ‫االعتقادات الشائعة التي يُعتقد أنها تعوق الفتيات عن دراسة علم‬ .‫الحاسوب في الجامعة‬ ،‫كما تعرفت الطالبات المشاركات على مبادئ علم الحاسوب‬ ،‫واكتشفن الكثير من المعتقدات الخاطئة المتعلقة بهذا المجال‬ ‫إذ أن علماء الحاسوب يقومون بالكثير من التجارب في العديد من‬ ‫ كما يمكنهم‬.‫ ويتعاونون لحل المشكالت التي تواجههم‬،‫مشاريعهم‬ ‫ بدءاً من العلوم‬،‫تطبيق معرفتهم على أي فرع من فروع العلوم‬ .‫ وصو ًال إلى الفنون واآلداب‬،‫البيولوجية‬

“The main aim is to introduce students to computer science and let them ‫ مدرس مساعد علوم‬،‫ اعتبر األستاذ شكيب رزاق‬،‫وفي هذا الصدد‬ experience it for themselves,” Razak said. “Based on this, they can decide if this ‫ أن التحدي يكمن في كون‬،‫الحاسوب بجامعة كارنيجي ميلون في قطر‬ is something that they want to pursue as a future course of study. We want to ‫الكثير من الطلبة ال يدرسون شيئ ًا عن علوم الحاسوب في المدراس‬ make sure that their decision as to whether to pursue computer science is based ‫ وهو ما قد يدفعهم إلى اإلحجام عن التخصص في هذا المجال‬،‫الثانوية‬ on what they have experienced and not only on what they have heard.” .‫عند التحاقهم بالجامعة‬ The students participated in workshops in cryptography and robotics led by Christos Kapoutsis, an assistant teaching professor, and Houda Bouamor, a postdoctoral research associate. In the robotics workshop, students worked in teams to write a sequence of basic commands—or algorithms—to move robots forward, backward, left or right to navigate a series of paths. In the cryptology class, the students used a simple encryption technique to disguise a message.

Once they discovered how easy it was to break this simple code, they learned some of the tools computer scientists use to make encryption more secure.

Kaltham Al Khozai, a student at Al Arqaam Academy, said the experience offered her a new perspective on computer science: “We were introduced to programming functions today that we were never exposed to previously as part of our curriculum in high school. These workshops have definitely helped in introducing a different side of computer science. I look forward to submitting my application to Carnegie Mellon in a couple of months,” she said.

Winter 2013 / Spring 2014

،‫ "يتمثل هدفنا الرئيسي في تعريف الطالبات بعلم الحاسوب‬:‫وقال‬ ‫سيتمكن من‬ ،‫ وبناء على ذلك‬.‫وإتاحة المجال لهن الختباره شخصي ًا‬ ّ ‫ وما إذا كن يرغبن بمتابعته كتخصص‬،‫تحديد اتجاهاتهن المستقبلية‬ ."‫دراسي في المستقبل‬ ‫ "نهدف من ورشة العمل هذه أن نتأكد بأن قرار الطالبات‬:‫وأضاف‬ ‫ وليس‬،‫ هو قرار قائم على تجربة عملية‬،‫بمتابعة دراسة علم الحاسوب‬ ."‫على أقاويل سمعنها هنا أو هناك‬ ‫ الطالبة بأكاديمية األرقم عن‬،‫ تحدثت كلثم الخزاعي‬،‫من جهتها‬ ً‫ "قدمت لنا هذه التجربة منظوراً جديدا‬:‫ قائلة‬،‫مشاركتها في ورشة العمل‬ ‫ إذ تعرفنا على وظائف البرمجة التي لم نكن نعرف‬.‫لعلوم الحاسوب‬ ‫ لقد أسهمت‬.‫ ولم تتعرض لها مناهجنا في المدرسة الثانوية‬،‫عنها شيئ ًا‬ ‫ وأنا أتطلع‬.‫هذه الورشة في تقديم جانب مختلف لعلوم الحاسوب‬ ‫ بعد‬،‫لموعد تقديم طلب اإللتحاق بجامعة كارنيجي ميلون في قطر‬ ."‫شهرين من اآلن‬

33

On: Student Life

Students of the World A global Carnegie Mellon means outstanding opportunities for students in Doha and Pittsburgh

Haya Thowfeek has one piece of advice for Carnegie Mellon Qatar students who are considering studying on the main campus: “I just tell them ‘Do it! You’ll never regret it!’”

Once they’ve signed up, she has plenty more hints and tips for students who follow in her footsteps, like how to get around Pittsburgh on the bus and where to find the best parks and museums.

Thowfeek, a senior in information systems, spent last spring on Carnegie Mellon’s home campus, where she took courses that aren’t typically offered in Qatar, like psychology and global studies. During her free time, she visited other U.S. cities, including New York and New Orleans. She describes her decision to study in Pittsburgh as one of the best experiences of her life.

“For me, spending a semester abroad is a vital part of being at Carnegie Mellon Qatar, as it broadens your perspective on the different fields of interest available and gives you an opportunity to interact with many people with similar interests. I know with certainty that I will always remember this semester and was undeniably changed for the better,” she said.

As part of Carnegie Mellon’s International Education program, students in Qatar can spend a semester or summer on the home campus, and Pittsburgh students can spend a semester on the Qatar

34

campus. Since 2005, 230 Qatar students have traveled to Pittsburgh and more than 50 Pittsburgh students have spent a semester in Doha.

To get a glimpse of life on another campus, the IMPAQT program is another opportunity available to students in Pittsburgh and Doha.

The program offers 10 students from each campus a weeklong exchange as part of a larger commitment to strengthen ties between the two communities.

Doha to Pittsburgh For Qatar students, taking classes in Pittsburgh means a wider range of courses, allowing them to complete minors or tracks that might not be available in Education City. Once in Pittsburgh, Qatar students soon realize that their academic performance is as good as—and sometimes better than—that of their peers. While faculty and staff on the two campuses work hard to ensure this is the case, it’s incredibly reassuring for students to see this for themselves, said Melissa Deschamps, director of international education.

Beyond the classroom, the students enjoy Carnegie Mellon traditions such as Spring Carnival and painting the Fence. From a student development standpoint, Deschamps said being in a new environment and outside a comfort zone is an important aspect of the exchange program.

Haya Thowfeek experiencing Mardi Gras in New Orleans

Dagney Cooke on the court with Carnegie Mellon Qatar’s women’s basketball team.

“Independence is one of the components of the campus exchange that we really value for them,” Deschamps said. “They learn how to navigate the city by themselves and to do things that they might not typically do in Doha. Also, as students on a smaller campus, you are visible at all times, which can be a positive or a negative. Over there, they have an opportunity to be one amongst many. They can use that to explore their strengths independently.”

While meeting new friends, experiencing other cultures and making connections are all important, Deschamps said Qatar students are unlikely to feel isolated. During their time in Pittsburgh, students who didn’t know each other well at home often become close friends, and Renee Carmerlengo, assistant dean of student affairs, works closely with Deschamps’ office to coordinate the home campus experience.

“Renee supports the students by organizing for them to be picked up when they arrive, arranging for Pittsburgh students to invite them to events and activities, and addressing any questions or concerns. I talk with her on a regular basis and ask how our students are doing. If she hasn’t heard from them in awhile, she’ll check in and see how they’re doing,” Deschamps said.

Pittsburgh to Doha While Pittsburgh students participate in campus exchange for the same reasons as Qatar students, such as travel and experiencing a new culture, one of the main benefits for Pittsburgh students is that they can travel overseas while remaining in Carnegie Mellon’s curriculum.

“The students get to maintain their Carnegie Mellon units and GPAs—so that part of the process is really easy—but they also get a global perspective that they can bring back into whatever field they are in,” Deschamps said.

For business students in particular, the Qatar campus offers access to multinational companies, local start-ups and renowned speakers, she added.

Winter 2013 / Spring 2014

Dagney Cooke, a New Yorker studying biological sciences in Pittsburgh, spent fall semester in Doha because she wanted to experience the Middle East.

“Being in the Middle East is so different from being in Pittsburgh that I think anyone would benefit experiencing another culture this way. It’s also great being part of Education City because you get to meet students from Northwestern and Georgetown whom you wouldn’t get the opportunity to meet if you were in the United States. I’ve made a lot of friends here,” she said.

In addition to exploring Qatar’s capital city, taking camel rides and going “dune-bashing” in the desert, Cooke has traveled to Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Oman.

Deschamps said students from the main campus bring a little bit of Pittsburgh to Doha. “In the classroom, they bring a different perspective that enriches the discussion,” she said.

When they go back, they are important ambassadors for the Qatar campus.

“A lot of times, even though people know the Qatar campus is here, they don’t know much about it. That is changing with the help of students like Dagney who have spent a semester over here,” she said.

Cooke would like to see closer ties between the two campuses.

“There are so many Pittsburgh traditions here in Doha—we’ve got Carnival and Andrew Carnegie’s birthday—that I think we need to celebrate Qatar Day in Pittsburgh or something like that. We need to look for more ways to integrate the two campuses,” she said.

If you are a student at either campus who is interested in campus exchange, visit the International Education website at: www.qatar.cmu.edu/international-education

35

On: Research

Learning Arabic with Aladdin Carnegie Mellon researchers create fun way to introduce children to formal Arabic

Before starting school, most children don’t know there are two varieties of the Arabic language: the local dialect they’re speaking at home and a formal variety called Modern Standard Arabic (MSA).

While not common in day-to-day interactions, MSA is used in professional meetings, in radio and TV news, and in other situations where Arabs of different dialects come together, so learning MSA is important, said Zeinab Ibrahim, a professor of Arabic and a renowned sociolinguist.

The problem is that many Arabs—even adults—don’t have a good grasp of MSA and don’t understand the relationship between formal Arabic and their local dialects. That’s why Ibrahim and a team of researchers at Carnegie Mellon Qatar have designed a new way to teach Arabic, using a technology-rich format that appeals to kids.

The project, “Advancing Arabic Language Learning in Qatar,” was funded by a Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) grant in 2009.

This year, the group is partnering with Qatar Academy to put their technology into action in a kindergarten class.

According to Ibrahim, the researchers set out not only to help students learn to read and write, but also to build positive attitudes toward MSA and highlight the relationship between MSA and the

36

local dialect. To be successful, Ibrahim knew they would have to look beyond traditional teaching methods.

“When I interviewed older students about their experiences learning formal Arabic, they said it was like going back a century, so we knew we’d have to get creative to capture the children’s interest,” Ibrahim said.

Their creativity stemmed from a multidisciplinary team, including Ibrahim; Pantelis Papadopoulos, a research associate in computer science who specializes in educational technology; and Andreas Karatsolis, a professor of communication and design. Supporting them were Ezzohra Moufid, a research assistant at Carnegie Mellon; Sara Shaaban, a freelance designer; and Abbas Al-Tonsi, a senior lecturer at Georgetown University of Foreign Service in Qatar and a consultant on the project.

The team created a series of activities based on the Middle Eastern folk tale “Aladdin,” which they presented on large, interactive surfaces called Microsoft PixelSense. In the same way one person might use an iPad or tablet, these 40-inch displays allow many children to interact with the program—and each other—at any one time.

Among the activities are an alphabet bingo, where students score points by pairing objects with their first letters, and a storyboard,

‫طالب األكاديمية القطرية خالل‬ ‫استخدامهم التكنولوجيا الجديدة في‬ ‫الفصل الدراسي‪.‬‬

‫‪Qatar Academy students try out‬‬ ‫‪the new technology in class.‬‬

‫مشروع عالء الدين يستعين بالتكنولوجيا لتعريف‬ ‫األطفال باللغة العربية الرسمية‬ ‫يجهل معظم األطفال‪ ،‬قبل االلتحاق بالتعليم‪ ،‬بحقيقة وجود شكلين للغة‬ ‫العربية‪ :‬الشكل المعتاد لها باللهجة العامية التي نتحدث بها في المنزل‬ ‫والشكل الرسمي اآلخر المعروف بالعربية الفصحى‪.‬‬ ‫وبينما ال تستخدم العربية الفصحى في التفاعالت اليومية‪ ،‬إال أنها مستخدمة‬ ‫في االجتماعات الرسمية‪ ،‬والنشرات اإلخبارية المذاعة في كل من التلفاز والراديو‪،‬‬ ‫وغيرها من المواقف التي يجتمع فيها العرب ذوي اللهجات المختلفة‪ .‬ومن ثم‬ ‫فإن تعلم العربية الفصحى أمر في غاية األهمية‪ ،‬كما أكدت زينب إبراهيم‪ ،‬أستاذ‬ ‫اللغة العربية والخبيرة المرموقة في علم اللغة االجتماعي‪.‬‬ ‫وتكمن المشكلة هنا في أن الكثير من العرب ‪ -‬حتى البالغين منهم ‪ -‬ليسوا‬ ‫متمكنين بما يكفي من العربية الفصحى وال يفهمون العالقة بين اللغة‬ ‫العربية الرسمية واللهجات التي يستخدمونها‪ .‬وكان ذلك هو السبب الذي دفع‬ ‫األستاذة زينب وفريق البحث بجامعة كارنيجي ميلون إلى االستعانة بتكنولوجيا‬ ‫غنية األشكال والتصاميم من أجل جذب األطفال‪.‬‬ ‫تم تمويل مشروع "التعليم المتقدم للغة العربية في قطر" من خالل منحة‬ ‫مقدمة من الصندوق القطري لرعاية البحث العلمي (‪ )QNRF‬عام ‪.2009‬‬ ‫أما هذا العام فقد تشاركت المجموعة مع األكاديمية القطرية لتفعيل هذه‬ ‫التكنولوجيا في الفصول الدراسية داخل رياض األطفال‪.‬‬ ‫ووفقا لما ذكرته إبراهيم‪ ،‬ال يقتصر دور فرق البحث على مساعدة الطالب على‬ ‫القراءة والكتابة بالفصحى فحسب‪ ،‬ولكن يمتد دورهم إلى مساعدتهم على‬

‫تبني توجهات إيجابية تجاه العربية الفصحى وتسليط الضوء على العالقة بينها‬ ‫وبين اللهجة العامية‪ .‬وتؤكد إبراهيم على أن نجاحهم في تلك المهمة يتطلب‬ ‫البحث فيما هو أبعد من األساليب التقليدية في التدريس‪.‬‬

‫‪37‬‬

‫تقول إبراهيم‪" :‬حين سألت الطالب األكبر سن ًا عن تجربتهم مع تعلم العربية‬ ‫الفصحى قالوا بأن األمر أشبه بالعودة لقرن مضى‪ ،‬وهو ما جعلنا ندرك مدى‬ ‫حاجتنا إلى اإلبداع لجذب اهتمام الطالب‪".‬‬ ‫وقد تحقق هذا اإلبداع بفضل فريق العمل متعدد التخصصات والذي يتضمن‬ ‫األستاذة زينب إبراهيم‪ ،‬وبانتيليس بابادوبولوس باحث في علم الحاسوب‬ ‫ومتخصص تكنولوجيا التعليم‪ ،‬وأندرياس كاتاتسوليس أستاذ االتصاالت‬ ‫والتصميم‪ .‬أما الفريق الذي كان يدعمهم فقد تضمن إيزورا مفيد‪ ،‬باحث مساعد‬ ‫في كارنيجي ميلون‪ ،‬وسارة شعبان مصممة حرة‪ ،‬وعباس التونسي وهو محاضر‬ ‫بارز في جامعة جورج تاون قسم الخدمات الخارجية بقطر ويعمل استشاري ًا‬ ‫بالمشروع‪.‬‬ ‫وقد ابتكر فريق العمل سلسلة من األنشطة القائمة على حكاية عالء‬ ‫الدين الشعبية الرائجة بالشرق األوسط والتي قدموها عبر عدد من وسائط‬

‫مايكروسوفت الكبرى التفاعلية المسماة بالبيكسل سينس ‪ .PixelSense‬وفي‬ ‫الوقت ذاته يمكن لشخص واحد استخدام أجهزة األي باد أو الحاسوب اللوحي‪،‬‬ ‫كما أن وسائل العرض ذات الـ ‪ 40‬بوصة تمكن العديد من الطالب من التفاعل‬ ‫مع البرنامج " ومع بعضهم البعض " في أي وقت‪.‬‬ ‫ومن بين األنشطة المقدمة "بنغو األبجدية"‪ ،‬حيث يحرز األطفال نقاط من خالل‬ ‫التوصيل بين األشياء وحروفها األولى‪ ،‬وبين قصة مصورة‪ ،‬حيث يعيد األطفال‬ ‫تكوين قصة عالء الدين من خالل وضع المشاهد قي ترتيبها الصحيح‪ .‬وعلى‬ ‫الرغم من أن هذه الدروس تتوافق مع منهج اللغة العربية الموضوع من قبل‬

‫‪Winter 2013 / Spring 2014‬‬

On: Research

The team (left to right): Zeinab :) ‫فريق العمل من (اليسار إلى اليمين‬ Ibrahim, professor of Arabic ‫ أستاذ اللغة العربية وخبير‬،‫زينب ابراهيم‬ and expert in linguistics and ،‫في علم اللغة وعلم اللغة االجتماعي‬ sociolinguistics; Pantelis ‫في‬ ‫بانتيليس بابادوبولوس باحث مشارك‬ Papadopoulos, research associate ‫ سارة شعبان مصممة‬،‫علم الحاسوب‬ in computer science; Sara Shaaban, freelance designer; ‫ باحث مساعد في‬،‫ إيزورا مفيد‬،‫حرة‬ and Ezzohra Moufid, research ‫ وأندرياس كاتاتسوليس‬،‫كارنيجي ميلون‬ assistant. Andreas Karatsolis, ‫مدير مساعد في وضع المناهج بمعهد‬ associate director of writing across ‫عمل‬ ‫ماساتشوستس للتكنولوجيا وقد‬ the curriculum at Massachusetts ‫كذلك على المشروع عندما كان أستاذا‬ Institute of Technology, also worked on the project while he was .‫في كارنيجي ميلون‬ a professor at Carnegie Mellon.

where students recreate the Aladdin tale by placing scenes in the right order. While the lessons meet Qatar’s Supreme Education Council Arabic curricula, this is the first time such an approach has been used nationwide—or anywhere else the researchers are aware of.

Jameela Al Shammari, an Arabic and Islamic Studies teacher at Qatar Academy, said the Aladdin Project, as it’s called at the school, has made a big difference in her kindergarten class.

“I’ve been teaching here for four years, and I always try to make my classes interesting and interactive, but it can be challenging, since there are very few digital resources out there for teaching Arabic.

This project has really captured the students’ interest, and working around the large screens has helped them listen, share and work in teams,” she said.

Sandy Sheppard, principal of the primary school, said Qatar Academy is very pleased to be involved in a partnership that combines creativity and technology to enhance students’ learning of the Arabic language.

While there is plenty of anecdotal evidence that the project is affecting students’ aptitude for—and attitude toward—learning Arabic, the program is also tracking their progress, allowing the researchers to do an in-depth analysis at the end of the semester.

“Our plan is to offer workshops to train the other Arabic teachers at Qatar Academy, and we also hope to offer it to other local schools in the future,” Ibrahim said.

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‫المجلس األعلى للتعليم القطري‪ ،‬إال أن تلك تعد‬ ‫المرة األولى الستخدام مثل ذلك المنهج على نطاق‬ ‫الدولة ‪ -‬أو في أي مكان آخر يعرفه الباحثون‪.‬‬ ‫تقول جميلة الشمري‪ ،‬أستاذ اللغة العربية‬ ‫والدراسات اإلسالمية باألكاديمية القطرية‪ ،‬أن‬ ‫مشروع عالء الدين كما يشار له داخل المدرسة‪،‬‬ ‫قد أحدث فارقا كبيرا في فصلها الدراسي بروضة‬ ‫األطفال‪.‬‬ ‫وأضافت جميلة‪" :‬إنني أعمل في التدريس هنا منذ‬ ‫أربع سنوات‪ ،‬ودائما ما أحاول العمل على جعل‬ ‫الدراسة في فصولي ممتعة وخالقة إال أن األمر‬ ‫كان صعبا نظرا لندرة الموارد الرقمية التي يمكن‬ ‫االستعانة بها في تدريس اللغة العربية‪ .‬لقد ساعد‬ ‫هذا المشروع حق ًا في جذب اهتمام الطالب‪ ،‬كما‬ ‫ساعدهم العمل من خالل شاشات العرض الضخمة‬ ‫على اإلصغاء حقا والمشاركة والعمل كفريق‪".‬‬ ‫هذا‪ ،‬وقد أعربت ساندي شيبرد‪ ،‬مدير المدرسة‬ ‫االبتدائية‪ ،‬عن بالغ سعادة األكاديمية القطرية‬ ‫لكونها جزء من شراكة تجمع بين اإلبداع‬ ‫والتكنولوجيا لتعزيز وصقل مهارة الطالب في‬ ‫تعلم اللغة العربية‪.‬‬ ‫وعلى الرغم من وجود العديد من األدلة الدامغة‬ ‫على أن المشروع يؤثر على مدى استعداد الطالب‬ ‫وموقفهم تجاه تعلم العربية‪ ،‬إال أن البرنامج يتمكن‬ ‫أيضا من رصد مدى تقدم الطالب‪ ،‬ويمكن الباحثين‬ ‫من إجراء تحليالت عميقة آلدائهم بنهاية الفصل‬ ‫الدراسي‪ .‬وهناك بالفعل حديث عن تقديم فصول‬ ‫إضافية في فصل الربيع‪.‬‬ ‫"تقوم خطتنا على تقديم ورش عمل في العام‬ ‫التالي لتدريب مدرسي اللغة العربية اآلخرين في‬ ‫األكاديمية القطرية‪ ،‬ونأمل كذلك أن نتوسع‬ ‫في األمر ليصل إلى المدارس المحلية األخرى في‬ ‫المستقبل‪".‬‬

‫‪39‬‬

‫‪Winter 2013 / Spring 2014‬‬

Feature

Students, faculty, staff and alumni came together for the third annual Tartan Carnival, known among students as “Tarnival,� which was held on campus in November. The student-led event, which is inspired by the Spring Carnival at the main campus in Pittsburgh, featured games, food, giveaways and a DJ.

40

41

Feature

42

The Qatari Student Association offered the community a taste of traditional Qatari food, dress and culture during a National Day celebration on campus.

Winter 2013 / Spring 2014

43

On: Pittsburgh

Subra Suresh the "Perfect Combination" for CMU Google executive chair praises CMU and Suresh at official inauguration

In a ceremony steeped in Carnegie Mellon pageantry, history and tradition, Subra Suresh was officially inaugurated as the university’s ninth president on November 15, the 113th anniversary of the university’s founding. Faculty, staff and students on the Qatar campus then came together for a November 19 screening of the event.

Keynote speaker Eric Schmidt, executive chair of Google, praised Carnegie Mellon as “a mythical place of achievement” where the field of computer science was created. He called the university a center of innovation, problem-solving and wealth creation, and said Suresh’s background provides “the perfect combination to lead us forward.”

He called Suresh “a great leader for a great institution.”

Reflecting the inaugural theme of “Crossing Boundaries, Transforming Lives,” Suresh’s address highlighted his personal journey, which he likened to that of university founder Andrew Carnegie. “I left my family and traveled across oceans, crossing boundaries to make a future for myself in an unknown land,” Suresh said.

His words resonated with students and faculty at Carnegie Mellon Qatar, many of whom have traveled from around the globe to contribute to Qatar’s development.

Suresh emphasized past achievements and the promise of a strong network of global campuses and alumni, and welcomed fresh challenges ahead. “Carnegie Mellon is fortunate to have some 92,000 accomplished alumni across the globe whose successes and connections with Carnegie Mellon enrich this university every day,” he said.

Before assuming the post of Carnegie Mellon president in July, Suresh, a distinguished scientist and engineer, was director of the U.S. National Science Foundation. In October, he was elected to the Institute of Medicine (IOM), making him the only current university president to be elected to all three U.S. national academies. The IOM recognized Suresh for advancing health and medicine through his research into cell mechanics related to malaria, blood diseases and certain types of cancer.

In addition to the three U.S. national academies, Suresh has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences, Spanish Royal Academy of Engineering, German National Academy of Sciences, Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, Academy of Sciences of the Developing World, Indian National Academy of Engineering, Indian National Science Academy, and Indian Academy of Sciences. He also has been elected a fellow or honorary member of all the major materials research societies in the United States and India.

44

On: Class Notes

Graduate Recognized

by CMU Alumni Association Shivani Arora (BA’13) has received the Student Service Award from the Carnegie Mellon Alumni Association. The award is given to seniors who have demonstrated outstanding service to the university, the student body and the community.

As a student on the Qatar campus, Arora was an active member of the debate society and heavily involved in service initiatives, including organizing English classes for migrant workers for two consecutive years, working on fundraisers and participating in international service trips.

Arora was also a student ambassador, introducing prospective students to university life, and served on the Student Advisory Committee, where she worked on promoting integrity initiatives.

Arora, along with two students from the main campus, was honored at a ceremony in Pittsburgh in September.

Past recipients from Carnegie Mellon Qatar include Samreen Anjum (CS’11), Saad Al Matwi (BA’10), Mohammed Abu Zeinab (BA’09), Noor Al Athirah (BA’08) and Jinanne Tabra (BA’08).

2008 Sheikha Amna bint Abdulaziz bin Jassim Al-Thani (BA) is director of the National Museum of Qatar.

Samiha Kamel (BA) is a research intern associate at the Center for Mediterranean, Middle East and Islamic Studies in Athens, Greece, and is pursuing a master’s in development studies from York University.

Rana El-Sakhawy (BA) is a digital marketing manager at Qatar Luxury Group.

2009 Maha Mahmoud (BA) is a junior consultant in the Division of Policy and Strategy at UNICEF.

2010 Yasser Masood Khan (IS) is senior officer for social media at Qatar Airways.

2011 Shashank Jariwala (IS) is pursuing a master’s in bioinformatics at the University of Michigan.

2012 Waleed Khan (BA) is in the graduate development program in financial controlling at Henkel Corporation in Dubai.

Rami Al Rihawi (CS) is a research assistant at Texas A&M University at Qatar.

Aliah Dehdary (BA) is a trainee in the International Banking Division of the Commercial Bank of Kuwait.

Shivani Arora receives her award from Toni Sapet Ungaretti (MM’70), president of the Alumni Association board, and Subra Suresh, president of Carnegie Mellon University.

Winter 2013 / Spring 2014

Varun Arora (IS) is the founder and executive director of OpenCurriculum.

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Feature 2013 El Houssain El Marabti (BA) is a business support officer at Qatar Foundation.

Nahan Arif (BA) is a teaching assistant in business administration at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar.

Layal Al-Alami (BA) is head of business development at Siemens Qatar.

Abhay Valiyaveettil (IS) is a technology coordinator at Qatar Academy.

Hussain Hejji (BA) is a revenue and hydrocarbon accounting analyst at Qatar Shell.

Abhinav Vemuri (IS) is an IT advisory associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Malaysia.

Marwa Al-Fakhri (IS) is pursuing a master’s in public policy and management at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

Shivani Arora (BA) is an analyst at Citibank, UAE and UK. Fatima Fikree (BA) is an investment analyst at Barclays.

Ahmad Al Salama (CS) is a graduate trainee at Sidra Medical and Research Center.

Humaira Tasneem (IS) is a developer and evangelist at Microsoft.

46

The Class of 2008 took a trip down memory lane by catching up with each other, as well as faculty and staff, at a five-year reunion on campus.

47

Alumni enjoyed a networking evening poolside at Doha’s W Hotel.

Carnegie Mellon.

We created the first Internet search engine.

We helped develop artificial intelligence.

We revolutionized business education.

We led the convergence of information technology and biology.

And that’s just our first century.

www.qatar.cmu.edu

Andrew Carnegie, Founder