Annual Report | Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar

Annual Report
2021-2022

Message from our dean

This past year was fundamentally one of renewal and reconnection as we reintroduced the classroom experience. Faculty, staff and students alike reported how happy they were to be back together. As the year progressed, the CMU-Q building became once again a hub of exploration, collaboration, and enthusiasm.

There are many milestones and achievements within the pages of the CMU-Q Annual Report 2021-22. Behind each of these individual accolades is our community, supporting and nurturing curiosity, creativity and discovery.

Michael Trick

Dean, Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar

Our Alumni

There are more than 1,100 alumni from the Qatar campus, building their careers in Qatar and around the world. They are a group of enthusiastic young professionals who remain actively engaged with the CMU-Q community.

Class of 2022

89

Graduates

5

Continents

23

Nationalities

44%

Qatari citizens

Graduates by program

19

Biological Sciences

25

Business Administration

14

Computer Science

31

Information Systems


A Year of Accomplishments

  • Series A funding and Gates Foundation grant 

    The alumni startup Stellic was awarded a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to identify the technology challenges for students in under-represented and at-risk populations. Co-founders Sabih Bin Wasi (CS 2015), Rukhsar Neyaz (CS 2015), and Musab Popatia (CS 2016) also raised 11 million USD in Series A funding for the San Francisco-based business. 

  • Alumni startup acquired by Helium Health

    Meddy, a startup that grew out of a CMU-Q class project, was acquired by Africa’s Helium Health. Haris Aghadi (IS 2014) and Abed Alkarim Khattab (BA 2016) joined Helium’s leadership team. In March, they received the Most Valuable Innovation Response to COVID-19 award at the Qatar Digital Business Awards.

  • Classes of 2020 and 2021

    In May 2022, CMU-Q held separate graduation ceremonies for the classes of 2020 and 2021, whose formal celebrations had been postponed due to pandemic restrictions. The majority of the graduates returned to campus so they could be officially recognized as CMU-Q graduates.

  • Education Excellence Day Awards
    Five CMU-Q graduates were named as recipients of this year’s Education Excellence Day Awards: Aisha Al-Darwish (BA 2021), AlAnoud Al-Ghamdi (BA 2021), Reem Al-Haddad (IS 2021), Shouq Al-Khuzaei (IS 2021), and Reem Al-Sayed (BS 2021). The awards were formally presented by His Highness the Amir, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani.

  • MENA InsurTech hackathon
    Five alumni were on the winning team for InsurTech 2022, creating an artificial intelligence-based medical self-diagnosis algorithm. Abdurrahman ElZafarany (BS 2020), Youssef Kanbour (CB 2019), Abdul Manaam (IS 2022), Swapnendu Sanyal (CS 2020) and Omar Sinan (CS 2021) work for the health care startup, Rimads.

  • QF Alumni Reunion
    CMU-Q drew a large contingent of alumni to the Qatar Foundation Alumni Reunion at Al Shaqab Indoor Arena. The event was an opportunity for alumni from the Qatar Foundation partner universities to reconnect and network.

  • Ajyal art exhibition
    The artwork of AlAnoud Al-Ghamdi (BA 2021) and Reem Al-Haddad (IS 2021) was featured in an exhibition as part of the Doha Film Institute’s Ajyal Film Festival.

    The Global Alumni Network

    The CMU-Q alumni network extends throughout Qatar and beyond. Our alumni work at top organizations and creative new startups. They are influencing government policy, analyzing big data, spearheading creative projects, educating people, researching new ideas and working to improve the lives of others.

    1117

    Alumni

    5

    Alumni live on 5 continents

    15

    Graduating classes

    58

    Nationalities

    Our Students

    Our student community is at the heart of all we do at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar. Together, our enrolled students form a global-minded community that is enthusiastic, encouraging and supportive.

    Our Student Community

    Our students come from diverse backgrounds, and they possess a wide range of interests, talents and aspirations. They encourage and inspire one another to learn and explore.

    439

    students enrolled

    117

    first-year students

    53

    nationalities

    59%

    female

    38%

    Qatari citizens

    Students Enrolled, by Program

    No Data Found

    The Admission Process

    Class of 2025

    117

    First year students

    46

    Qatari students

    33

    Nationalities

    Recruitment for the Class of 2026

    During the recruitment cycle for the Class of 2026, application numbers rose by 17%, with more than 1,600 students vying for 115 spaces in the first-year class. The admitted class includes many students who have won notable national awards, and a number are considered among the best in their respective countries. 

    Early Decision, Class of 2026

    A record number of high school students applied for Early Decision, and 27 students from a total of 20 high schools were offered admission.

    Marhaba Tartans

    To welcome the newly admitted students to the Class of 2026, CMU-Q held a Marhaba Tartans event. Students learned more about the university’s academic programs and student experience in the first in-person Marhaba Tartans since 2019.

    Countries Represented

    ALBANIA
    ALGERIA
    AUSTRALIA
    BAHRAIN
    BANGLADESH
    CANADA
    CHINA
    COTE D’IVOIRE
    EGYPT
    ETHIOPIA
    ESWATINI
    GEORGIA
    GHANA
    INDIA
    INDONESIA
    IRAN
    IRAQ
    JAPAN
    JORDAN
    KAZAKHSTAN
    KENYA
    KOREA
    KUWAIT
    LEBANON
    LESOTHO
    MALAYSIA
    MONGOLIA
    MOROCCO
    MYANMAR
    NEPAL
    NETHERLANDS
    OMAN
    PAKISTAN
    PALESTINE
    PHILIPPINES
    QATAR
    ROMANIA
    RUSSIA
    RWANDA
    SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS
    SAUDI ARABIA
    SERBIA
    SOMALIA
    SOUTH AFRICA
    SRI LANKA
    SUDAN
    SYRIA
    TANZANIA
    TUNISIA
    TURKEY
    UNITED KINGDOM
    UNITED STATES
    OF AMERICA
    UZBEKISTAN
    VIETNAM

    Academics

    Breakthroughs happen at the intersection of fields—a Carnegie Mellon University specialty. CMU-Q students are encouraged to learn their disciplines in depth, explore beyond their fields, and work collaboratively to tackle society’s biggest challenges.

    Summer Edge Program

    Two thirds of the newly admitted class participated in the sixth annual Summer Edge Program. The program was created in 2016 to help prepare the incoming class for the rigor of academics at CMU-Q. Over the years, the program has evolved to better engage students and to provide them with the skills to tackle their first weeks with confidence.

    Number of courses offered

    No Data Found

    294
    courses offered over 3 semesters
    67%
    first-years completed Edge Summer Program 2020
    100+
    students took micro courses each semester
    "Throughout the year we are crafting and customizing the Summer Edge Program. We follow up with faculty members and students and we learn where they need support, so each class of new students will have a meaningful experience."
    Mariamma Thomas
    Director, Academic Resource Center

    Micro courses

    Micro courses offer CMU-Q students options to sample the broad range of disciplines available at Carnegie Mellon’s main campus. Taught by professors from the Pittsburgh campus, three micro courses are equivalent to one semester course.

    • Design, brands, and futures: Design thinking for sustainable change, Jonathan Chapman
    • Social influence, Chante Cox-Boyd
    • Nudging behavior in business and public policy, John Gasper
    • Storytelling in science and technology, Kevin Haworth
    • Mobile application development in flutter, Larry Heimann
    • Understanding the demented and delusional brain, Ken Hovis
    • Introduction to information graphics, Suguru Ishizaki
    • Shaping and being shaped by AI, Chinmay Kulkarni
    • Digital accessibility fundamentals, Divakaran Liginlal
    • Grand Challenges in AI: Past, present and future, Ganesh Mani
    • Internet of Things, Michael McCarthy
    • Introduction to product management, Bob Monroe
    • Electricity markets: management and operation, Panagiotis Moutis
    • User-centered research and evaluation, Raelin Musuraca
    • Global water and development, Abigail Owen
    • Design, brands, and futures: Service design approaches and pivots, Daphne Peters
    • The TransOceanic Railway, Henry Posner
    • Design, brands, and futures: Designing product and service identities, Stacie Rohrbach
    • The Beatles, Stephen Shultz
    • Voice leadership: Fundamentals, techniques and application for the public speaker in the professional world, Daniel Teadt
    • The photo essay, Dylan Vitone
    • Networks in the real world, Osman Yagan

    Faculty

    CMU-Q faculty members are experts in their fields, providing individualized attention and focused instruction so that all students can reach their potential. 

    Faculty leadership 
    Selma Limam Mansar stepped into the new role of senior associate dean for faculty and research and Dudley Reynolds was appointed the new senior associate dean for education. Both Limam Mansar and Reynolds joined the CMU-Q faculty in 2007.

    Faculty members, by program

    24

    Arts and Sciences

    5

    Biological Sciences

    13

    Business Administration

    10

    Computer Science

    8

    Information Systems

    Meritorious Teaching Award 2022
    Patrick Walsh
    received the Meritorious Teaching Award at the Senior Honors ceremony for the Class of 2022.

    New faculty members

    Eduardo Feo Flushing
    Visiting Assistant Teaching Professor, Computer Science

    Ekaterini Klepousniotou
    Visiting Associate Professor, Psychology

    Marina Papanastassiou
    Visiting Professor, International Business

    “CMU-Q is a place where many faculty members choose to stay long term, to grow their careers and to guide and nurture the next generation of young professionals in Qatar.”
    Michael Trick
    Dean

    Biological Sciences

    Biological sciences students at CMU-Q do more than study science: they learn to follow their curiosity, explore hypotheses, and contribute in a meaningful way as young scientists and researchers. 

    • Ayah-S

      MCS Gilman Award

      Ayah Salameh was named one of two MCS Gilman Award winners for 2022. Established in 2019, the MCS Gilman Award recognizes graduating students from the Mellon College of Science (MCS) who have demonstrated exceptional commitment and growth through the MCS Core Education. Salameh is the first student from the Qatar campus to receive the award.

    • Wimmer Faculty Fellowship outcome

      Mohamed Bouaouina completed his Wimmer Faculty Fellowship project, working with Eberly consultants to create new online modules for the Cell Biology course. The modules reinforce concepts from pre-requisite courses that are critical to understanding the new, more advanced course material.

    • Alumni mentors

      Several biological sciences alumni spoke to current students about their experiences after graduation. The alumni sessions were part of the first-year class EUREKA: Discovery and Its Impact, as well as the third-year class PROPEL.

      75

      Students

      5

      Faculty members

      49

      Courses

      109

      Alumni

      Business Administration

      Business administration students learn quantitative decision-making, our pioneering approach to business education. 

      • book-chapter

        Book chapter on COVID-19 recession 

        Three students, Lojaein Galal, Daisy Ru, and Ihsane Sadiki, published a book chapter on the impact of the COVID-19 recession. Along with faculty advisor Veli Safak, the students researched how different countries recovered from past recessions, and applied their findings to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

      • Refinitiv Portfolio Management Competition 

        Daisy Ru won the Refinitiv Portfolio Management Competition, Middle East and Africa edition. The competition, which included competitors from 17 universities in seven countries, challenged students to build a portfolio of S&P 500 companies and manage it over several weeks. Ru scored at the top of the field, edging out the second-place competitor by only a fraction of a point. 

      • Football analytics course 

        CMU-Q and a leading global sports analytics firm, Stats Perform, delivered an online introductory course in football analytics. Open to all Education City students, the course was taught by Patrick Lucey, an alumnus from Carnegie Mellon and chief scientist at Stats Perform. Students delved into visualization and machine learning methods for analyzing spatial and granular data. 

        152

        Students

        13

        Faculty members

        75

        Courses

        541

        Alumni

        Computer Science

        Computer science students learn both the theoretical foundations and practical knowledge to push the frontiers of the field and make a real-world impact. 

        • Invent for the planet

          Invent for the Planet 

          Deep Chandra and Faisal Mashhadi teamed up with Education City students to place second at the Invent for the Planet competition hosted by Texas A&M University at Qatar. The team tackled challenges that prevent small-scale fish farmers from using digital tools to optimize operations. 

        • Allen Newell Award 

          Đorđe Popović was named a runner-up for the Allen Newell Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research. Popović was recognized for his senior honors thesis, “FedTeams: Towards trust-based and resource-aware federated learning,” a project he completed with advisors Khaled Harras and Hend Gedawy. 

        • Qatar Collegiate Programming Competition 

          CMU-Q hosted the first in-person QCPC, including teams from CMU-Q, Georgetown University in Qatar, Qatar University, and Bright Future International School. 

          CMU-Q teams took the top two spots, qualifying for the Arab and African regionals: the first-place team included Andrey Genze, Igli Mlloja and Abubakr Mohamed, and second-place team included Thang Bui, Andrei-Horia Pacurar, and Ulan Seitkaliyev. Both teams finished in the top quarter of competitors. 

          84

          Students

          9

          Faculty members

          38

          Courses

          184

          Alumni

          Information Systems

          Information systems students build a solid foundation in computing, communications, and software development, as well as humanities and social sciences. Graduates are uniquely positioned for careers in a digitized and connected world, with strong technical and analytical skills and a deep understanding of the human impacts of technology.
          • Consulting project course 

            For the first time, the information systems consulting project course included clients who were all CMU-Q graduates: Omar Shaath (IS 2011) from TASMU, Ghanim Al-Sulaiti (IS 2012) from Qatar Computing Research Institute, Noora Masoor (IS 2018) from Ministry of Labour, Omar Shamiyeh (IS 2015) from Good Vibes, and Maryam Al-Naemi (IS 2018) from Ornate. 

          • mohammed-al-qabassi

            Challenge and Innovation Forum 

            Mohammed Al-Qassabi placed in the top five at Challenge and Innovation Forum Qatar 2021. The competition was hosted by the Ministry of Sports and Youth and the Qatar Scientific Club and included 100 participants from 38 countries. Houda Bouamor served as a mentor during the hackathon portion of the competition. 

          • Healthcon 2022 

            Second year student Muneera Al-Baker was part of the winning team for Best Creative Idea at Healthcon 2022 in Dubai. The competition was hosted by the Gulf Health Council as part of Expo 2020. 

            125

            Students

            8

            Faculty members

            37

            Courses

            283

            Alumni

            Arts and Sciences

            Students in every program learn to draw connections and work effectively outside their majors through study in the arts and sciences. Courses include required subjects such as chemistry, English, math and physics, as well as electives in a wide variety of disciplines. 

            • Language learning and multilingualism 

              Dudley Reynolds co-edited a book of insights from around the world on approaching language education from an inclusive, multilingual perspective. Policy Development in TESOL and Multilingualism: Past, Present and the Way Forward, was published by Springer. The book is also edited by Kashif Raza of Qatar University and Christine Coombe of Dubai Men’s College, Higher Colleges of Technology. 

            • ben-reilly

              Book Releases

              Benjamin Reilly wrote two books that were published within the academic year: Roman Fever Malaria, Transalpine Travelers and the Eternal City, and Disaster and Human History: Case Studies in Nature, Society and Catastrophe, Second Edition. Both books were published by McFarland and Company. 

            • United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Education and Design Bootcamp 

              Jennifer Bruder was part of the team that created the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs) Education and Design Bootcamp at Hamad Bin Khalifa University. Bruder also served as a mentor at the event, where participants learned, explored, and developed educational tools to teach the UN-SDGs. 

              Academic Resource Center

              The Academic Resource Center (ARC) provides students with the support, resources and opportunities to improve learning and succeed academically. 

              Consultations with students

              The ARC provides individual and group consultations for students who have questions about their course material. There were 1,648 consultation visits in the fall semester, and 1,360 in the spring semester. 

              International Tutor Training Program Certification 

              The ARC’s Course Assistant Training Program received ITTPC Level 1 certification to train student tutors according to College Reading and Learning Association (CRLA) standards. To become certified, course assistants must complete 10 hours of training and 25 hours of experience working with students. 

              Library

              The CMU-Q library built bridges between knowledge and community during the post-COVID return to campus. 

              New director 

              Tatiana Usova joined CMU-Q as the new director of the library. Usova previously served as associate director and interim director of the library at Georgetown University in Qatar. 

              Thematic book exhibitions 

              To introduce the community to traditions of the region, the library featured several thematic book exhibitions, including Great Comics of the Middle East, Qatar National Day, and Ramadan. 

              Diversity events 

              The library held events to promote diversity and understanding, including a workshop on researching Black history and two poetry events led by local poet Sheikha Al-Khulaifi. 

               

              Community Engagement

              We have strong, living connections to the global Carnegie Mellon community, Qatar Foundation, and our strategic partners in government and industry. These collaborations offer rich learning opportunities for our students as we help build Qatar’s knowledge economy. 

              Qatar Foundation Connections

              • Stars of Science 

                Senior student Mohammed Al-Qassabi placed third in Stars of Science with his invention of an automatic football offside detector. Al-Qassabi was the youngest finalist, and the only one from Qatar, in the series’ 13th season. An avid football player and fan, he invented the offside detector while a first-year student at CMU-Q. 

              • U.S. Universities Arabic Debating Competition 

                Rahaf Abutarbush, Waad AlKhenji, Ammar Karkour and Abdullah Shaar were part of a QatarDebate contingent that competed at the U.S. Universities Arabic Debating Competition. The trip was part of the activities for the Year of Culture between the U.S. and Qatar. 

              • Breaking the Bias 

                Selma Limam Mansar was part of a panel discussion on women building careers in academia. Hosted by Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, the event, titled ‘Breaking the Bias: Stories from Academia,’ featured expert speakers from several universities in Qatar. 

              • Education City cross-registration 

                Education City students enrolled at CMU-Q

                • Academic Bridge Program: 5
                • HBKU Computer Engineering: 6
                • Qatar Foundation partner universities: 130  
                • CMU-Q students cross-registered within Education City: 47  

                 

                Our Community Partners

                We are proud to have strong, collaborative relationships within the Qatar community. Each year, we strive to strengthen the connections with our strategic partners, and reach to form new partnerships. 

                Community Partner Lecture Series

                In its second year, the Community Partner Lecture Series featured discussions by CMU-Q faculty members on pressing topics in business and leadership. The lecture series is open to the wider Qatar community. 

                • The power of business analytics, Sameer Mathur 
                • Decision-making in uncertain times, Agustín Indaco 
                • Digital economy and central bank digital currencies, Veli Safak 
                • Password policies in an internationally diverse environment, Ryan Riley 

                Security guidelines for IPv6 

                The Communications Regulatory Authority and CMU-Q issued Security Guidelines for Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) to provide support to organizations in Qatar that are implementing IPv6 in their networks. Workshops were held to train information technology professionals on securing their IPv6 networks. 

                Hamad Bin Jassim Center

                In the four years since its creation, the Hamad Bin Jassim Center for K-12 Computer Science Education has introduced more than 25,000 students to computing, and trained nearly 200 teachers. 

                alice

                Alice Programming Competition

                The seventh annual Alice Programming Competition for middle school and high school students featured final projects from 35 students. Teams from Al Khor International School and Al Arqam Academy took the top five spots. 

                mindcraft

                Mindcraft reaches 11,000 students

                The MindCraft program reached a milestone in the 2021-22 academic year, reaching more than 11,000 students in Qatar since the workshops began. MindCraft workshops introduce the basic concepts of programming and computational thinking. 

                code-alice-summer

                Code in Alice summer program

                Pre-college students from around the world learned the fundamentals of programming through the new program, Code in Alice. The online program brought together volunteer teachers and students from a total of 25 countries on five continents. During the month-long course, nearly 200 students aged 13 to 18 learned basic programming skills using CMU’s Alice educational software. 

                Carnegie Mellon Connections

                We are proud to be part of the Carnegie Mellon global community, connected to the scholarship, research, spirit and culture that defines Carnegie Mellon worldwide. 

                grand-AI-panel

                Panel on AI grand challenges 

                A CMU panel discussion delved into the grand challenges of Artificial Intelligence (AI). The session was moderated by Ganesh Mani, adjunct faculty at the School of Computer Science on CMU’s main campus, who taught a micro course at CMU-Q. People from five continents tuned in to listen to the discussion. 

                The panel included: 

                • Mercy Asiedu, Schmidt Science postdoctoral research fellow, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 
                • Gianni Di Caro, associate teaching professor, computer science, CMU-Q 
                • Patrick McSharry, visiting professor, CMU Africa 
                • Francesca Rossi, IBM fellow, AI ethics global leader, AAAI president-elect 
                • Dag Spicer, senior curator of the Computer History Museum 
                • Beverly Woolf, research professor, College of Information and Computer Sciences, University of Massachusetts-Amherst 
                CMU-Pittsburgh

                Campus exchange

                Carnegie Mellon students in both Qatar and Pittsburgh can experience life on the other campus through the exchange program. Exchange students register for a semester at the other CMU campus, take courses that apply to their degrees and experience Carnegie Mellon from another perspective.

                This year:

                • 47 Qatar campus students attended the Pittsburgh campus
                • 4 Pittsburgh campus students studied on the Qatar campus

                Diversity and Inclusion

                At Carnegie Mellon University, the principles of diversity, inclusion and equity guide our values and serve as our foundation. The Qatar campus is committed to building a campus climate that embodies these principles. 

                Qatar women elections

                Qatar elections and the role of women

                CMU-Q hosted a panel discussion in advance of the first Shura Council elections in Qatar. 

                The panel included Her Excellency Reem Al-Mansoori, assistant undersecretary for digital society development at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, and Dr. Amal Mohammed Al-Malki, founding dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Hamad Bin Khalifa University. The discussion was moderated by alumna Maryam Al-Naemi (IS 2018). 

                Women in STEM

                UN International Day of Women and Girls in Science

                CMU-Q hosted a webinar to commemorate the United Nations International Day of Women and Girls in Science. The panel discussed the role of female scientists as agents of change. The CMU-Q student club Women in STEM co-organized the webinar. 

                international-womens-day

                ADDvocates course

                CMU-Q hosted a panel of experts to share their career journeys with students, faculty and staff from across Education City. The panel included women in science from CMU-Q, Hamad Bin Khalifa University’s College of Health and Life Sciences, Qatar Biomedical Research Institute and Texas A&M University at Qatar.
                "We aspire to create a supportive climate at CMU-Q, and across Education City, by promoting the values of mutual respect and equal treatment."
                Annette Vincent
                Associate Dean, Diversity and Climate

                Student Experience

                Throughout their undergraduate education, we encourage our students to come together, explore their interests, and develop the skills of leadership and teamwork. Together, students create opportunities to grow as individuals, and as a community. 

                A Strong, Connected Community

                Our campus is a unique place to study: students, alumni, faculty and staff form a close-knit, diverse community that is enthusiastic, supportive and energizing. 

                • Qatar National Day

                  The Qatari Student Association hosted an afternoon of activities celebrating Qatari culture, including a henna station, sword dancing, and traditional games. 

                • Scottyville 

                  The student community organized Scottyville, a carnival to celebrate the Tartan spirit within the pandemic guidelines. The evening included a variety of student-led games, activities and performances. 

                • International Night 

                  The International Night event was a student-led celebration of the cultural diversity at CMU-Q. Students in the 2021-22 academic year come from 53 countries on five continents. 

                • Karak Konnections 

                  Karak Konnections pairs members of the community together each week for a cup of coffee. The initiative encourages students, faculty and staff to make connections with people outside of their immediate circles. During the year, 97 Karak Konnections took place. 

                  Peer-to-Peer Learning

                  Discovery and exploration are at the heart of the CMU-Q experience, and students have many opportunities to share their knowledge and talent with their peers. 

                  • New student orientation 

                    Orientation Week for the Class of 2025 was organized by an extensive team of 59 students. The first-year students were welcomed in person for sessions in academics, student life and campus resources. 

                  • EcoCampus initiative 

                    The EcoCampus initiative addressed participation in recycling on campus. The team surveyed community members about their knowledge of and barriers to recycling, and measured daily contamination in the building’s recycling bins. The team then led an intervention campaign to raise awareness of recycling. The data will guide EcoCampus efforts moving forward. 

                  Leadership and Career Development

                  As students follow their interests and passions outside of the classroom, they develop critical skills and experience for their future careers. Students learn how to work in teams, organize and lead groups, present their work in a professional setting, and network with potential employers. 

                  • Arabic National Debate Championships 

                    Rahaf Abutarbush, Ammar Karkour and Abdullah Shaar won the QatarDebate Arabic National Universities Debating Championship, with all three debaters placing in the top ten speakers of both the tournament and championship. This is the second consecutive year the team has won the Qatar national championship, and the second consecutive year that Shaar won best speaker. 

                  • Education City Job Fair 

                    CMU-Q was part of the organizing committee for the Education City Job Fair. More than 500 students and 76 employers attended the two-day event. The Education City community also collaborated to produce a book of student resumes for the event, a project that started at CMU-Q. 

                  • CMBA fashion show 

                    The students in the Carnegie Mellon Business Association hosted a career-wear fashion show for all students at CMU-Q. 

                    Research

                    We have strong, living connections to the global Carnegie Mellon community, Qatar Foundation, and our strategic partners in government and industry. These collaborations offer rich learning opportunities for our students as we help build Qatar’s knowledge economy. 

                    The year in faculty research

                    CMU-Q researchers are active members of the research community in Qatar and around the world. Faculty members contribute to the engines that drive international research, including scholarly publications, professional organizations and academic conferences. 

                    • Qatar linguistic map 

                      Faculty members Zeinab Ibrahim and Houda Bouamor are leading a project to explore and map the Qatari dialect. The project is funded by Qatar National Research Fund and includes principal investigators from Doha International Family Institute and Georgetown University in Qatar. 

                    • Forum on wastewater monitoring in Qatar 

                      CMU-Q held a forum to discuss new ways to monitor wastewater in Qatar. The forum was a part of a CMU-Q research project funded by Qatar National Research Fund. Speakers included lead principal investigator Annette Vincent, as well as principal investigator Basem Shomar from Qatar University, Hussein Abu Halaweh from Ashghal, and CMU-Q research assistant Ramya Ramadoss. 

                      Faculty research numbers

                      3

                      books

                      6

                      book chapters

                      30

                      academic journal articles

                      44

                      conference presentations and talks

                      New seed research projects

                      CMU-Q seed research funding supports long-term faculty members as they build impactful research projects for Qatar and the world. 

                      New Projects

                      • MERCATOR: AI-driven distributed planning and control for adaptive information gathering and data mapping using cooperative robot swarms, Gianni Di Caro 

                      • Publishing undergraduate research: Multidisciplinary audiences, mentorship, and inclusive practice, Kira Dreher 

                      • Antibiotic adjuvants – A synergistic study of berberine with flavonoids, Simon Faulkner 

                      • Using data and econometrics to improve football training sessions and predict injuries, Agustín Indaco 

                      • Citizenship lessons in educational spaces: Teaching history and civic duties to young South Asians in Qatar, Deepa Nair 

                      • The heuristics of affliction: Understanding suffering in premodern England, 1550-1650, Jeffrey Squires

                      • Cognition and emotions in consumer behavior, Varun Sharma 

                        Student Research

                        Through research projects, students develop the skills of intellectual rigor and creative problem solving that are integral to their careers and future studies. 

                        • Scientific Reports 

                          Student Moza Al-Shukri was the second author on an article published in Scientific Reports titled, “Substantiation of propitious ‘Enzybiotic’ from two novel bacteriophages isolated from a wastewater treatment plant in Qatar.” 

                        • The alumni startup Stellic was awarded a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to identify the technology challenges for students in under-represented and at-risk populations. Co-founders Sabih Bin Wasi (CS 2015), Rukhsar Neyaz (CS 2015), and Musab Popatia (CS 2016) also raised 11 million USD in Series A funding for the San Francisco-based business. 

                        • Best paper, FinNLP 2021 

                          The research of Samir Abdaljalil, a 2021 information systems graduate, received the Best Paper award at the Financial Technology and Natural Language Processing (FinNLP 2021) workshop. Under the supervision of faculty adviser Houda Bouamor, Abdaljalil conducted the research for his senior honors thesis. 

                        • International workshop presentation 

                          Students Laila El-Beheiry and Ammar Karkour presented their research at the 2021 Logical Frameworks and Meta-Languages: Theory and Practice (LFMTP 2021) workshop. The paper was one of only six selected for the workshop. Giselle Reis served as faculty advisor. 

                        • Frontiers in Psychology 

                          A paper on awareness and attitudes in Qatar toward threatened animal species was published in Frontiers in Psychology. Co-authors of the paper included four student researchers: Reem Al-Haddad, Sara Al-Hemaidi, Amal Al-Korbi and Almayasa Al-Naimi. The project was funded by Qatar National Research Fund’s Undergraduate Research Experience Program. 

                          “I want to nurture my students’ research skills and show them, you can spend your career working on questions that fascinate you.”
                          Houda Bouamor
                          Associate Teaching Professor, Information Systems

                          Meeting of the Minds

                          The Meeting of the Minds research symposium took place in person for the first time since 2019, featuring nearly four dozen research projects by CMU-Q students and researchers. 

                          Best Project and Best Poster 

                          Niamah Ayisha Nishan, Determination of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values for common classes of antibiotics, berberine and flavones by the broth microdilution assay (BMA) 

                          Faculty Advisor: Simon Faulkner 

                          Best Project, 2nd place 

                          Đorđe Popović, Alternative splicing and the phenotypes of different breast cancer subtypes 

                          Faculty Advisor: Ihab Younis 

                          Best Project, 3rd place 

                          Đorđe Popović, FedTeams: Towards trust-based and resource-aware federated learning 

                          Faculty Advisor: Khaled Harras 

                          About

                          For more than a century, Carnegie Mellon University has challenged the curious and passionate to imagine and deliver work that matters. A private, top-ranked and global university, Carnegie Mellon sets its own course with programs that inspire creativity and collaboration.

                          In 2004, Carnegie Mellon and Qatar Foundation began a partnership to deliver select programs that will contribute to the long-term development of Qatar. Today, Carnegie Mellon Qatar offers undergraduate programs in biological sciences, business administration, computer science, and information systems. More than 400 students from 60 countries call Carnegie Mellon Qatar home.

                          Graduates from CMU-Q are pursuing their careers in top organizations within Qatar and around the world, and many have started their own entrepreneurial ventures. With 15 graduating classes, the total number of alumni is 1,110+.