on magazine, summer/fall 2012

Summer 2012

Fall 2012

خريج كارنيجي ميلونع التكنولوجيا يطو

لمساعدة اآلخرين في “مدى”page 26

Student Team DevelopsMOBILE APP FOR KIDS

34page

Life Science EducatorNETWORK IN QATAR

42page

Research Showcased at MEETING OF THE MINDS

46page

GRADUATE OVERCAME CHALLENGES TO

HELP OTHERS THROUGH MADA

Turn it

Welcome to On. The new publication of

Your favorite piece of new technology.Your competitive edge.Your creative spirit.Your mind.

From this point on, the next pages you will turn will highlight the inspiring, exciting and innovative events and breakthroughs happening every day on our campus. We invite you to turn it on.

qatar.cmu.edu

Biological Sciences | Business Administration | Computational Biology | Computer Science | Information Systems

Innovation. At Carnegie Mellon.

And

rew

Car

negi

e, o

ur fo

und

er

CONTENTS7- 25

Features

What’s happened.

On:

Summer 2012

Fall 2012

Featured Image 50 Masquerade Ball

26

HELPING OTHERSCarnegie Mellon graduate

makes a difference through Mada.

Highlight

10 Nicole Taylor and Starling String Quartet Perform

Business40 The Business of Acting

Science41 Students Explore Computer Science 42 University Builds Life Science Educator Network

Student Life44 A Creative After School Program

The Pittsburgh Connection54 Closing the Gap

Alumni55 Alumnus Organizes TEDx Event

34Student Team Develops Mobile AppOnigiri takes first place at Vodafone Appathon.

3661 Students GraduateMore than 1,000 family members, friends and guests celebrate at the Qatar National Convention Centre.

46Meeting of the MindsStudents showcase their research at annual symposium.

A publication of Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar

A member of Qatar FoundationP.O. Box 24866 | Doha, Qatar

www.qatar.cmu.edu

Deanİlker Baybars, Ph.D.

Marketing & Public Relations Department DirectorD. Murry Evans

Assistant Director (Special Events)Kara Nesimiuk

Departmental CoordinatorMarissa Edulan

Manager of External RelationsFeras Villanueva

Graphic DesignerSam Abraham

Web ManagerStephen MacNeil

Publications ManagerSarah Nightingale

Editorial Board ChairpersonDudley Reynolds, Ph.D.

MembersJill Duffy; Tom Emerson, Ph.D.;

Khaled Harras, Ph.D.; Selma Limam Mansar, Ph.D.;

Robert Mendelson

Writer & Editor Sarah Nightingale

PhotographsKhalid Ismail, Adrian Haddad,

Stephen MacNeil

LayoutEmpire Advertising Qatar

DesignWall to Wall

MISSION

Akhbar is the official publication of Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar. The mission of the magazine is to share the interesting and innovative stories that

highlight the university and its role in the Gulf Region and the world.

For editorial inquires or reprints, contact the Marketing &

Public Relations Department at +974 4454 8503.

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.

Welcome to On, our new magazine. As you’ve turned the first pages, I’m sure you’ve already got an idea of what On means here at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar. It’s about our students, who are on campus, on the go, and on track for success. Being Carnegie Mellon students, they’re also turning on their creativity, the latest technologies, and, of course, their minds.

As you read the magazine, I hope you’ll feel the same as we do about our new look. We’ve tried to create something that’s fresh and lively for our students and alumni, and we’ve included more photos than ever to highlight our events and our achievements to the community, families, and our friends on the main campus.

As we’ve done before, we’ve translated some of our most important pieces – and especially those highlighting student accolades – into Arabic, so families and friends who don’t speak English can still celebrate their students’ successes.

On magazine will be published twice a year, with each issue reflecting the events, innovation and achievements from the previous semester. We’re very excited about keeping you up to date.

Once again, welcome to On. I hope you enjoy it.

Ilker BaybarsDean

What’s happened.

7Summer 2012 / Fall 2012

Alumna Donates Piano to Carnegie Mellon Qatar

A generous donation from an alumna will be music to the ears of many Carnegie Mellon Qatar students.

Keghani Kouzoujian, who graduated with a degree in computer science in 2010, donated a piano to our students this spring after pledging to give something back to the university.

“My vision was of the campus with a high-quality piano for the students, one that every student is allowed to play, that isn’t reserved for a band or advanced players,” she said.

The Yamaha digital piano is now housed in the student music room.

Kouzoujian spent a year in Pittsburgh as part of Carnegie Mellon’s competitive Fifth Year Scholar program before becoming a software engineer at Google Switzerland. She dedicated the piano to her parents.

For Marie and Vartan, Who gave me music before I could see, And let me stumble before I could walk; I give you this piano, To the wise A time machine, a portal in disguise.

Keghani Kouzoujian

Summer 2012

Fall 2012

JanuaryHassan Al Thawadi, Secretary

General of the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee

speaks about the World Cup.

FebruarySoprano Nicole Taylor and

Carnegie Mellon’s Starling String Quartet perform in Doha.

MarchOur students learn

about business in China. Students come out on top in debate.

AprilCarnegie Mellon hosts

Undergraduate Conference in Information Systems. Students

recognized by Google.

MayCharles E. Thorpe Awards

presented to outstanding staff.

EVENTS

What’s happened.

What’s happened.

8

Scoring the World CupQatar’s successful bid for the 2022 World Cup didn’t come without some challenges.

First and foremost: explaining where Qatar is on the map, said Hassan Al Thawadi, Secretary General of the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee. Al Thawadi spoke at Carnegie Mellon in January as part of the Dean’s Lecture Series.

Instead of giving up, the bid team turned the challenges into opportunities, Al Thawadi said.

For example, Qatar’s small geographical footprint was perceived by some people as a drawback. In previous tournaments, fans have watched games while touring different cities across larger countries.

Rather than being intimidated, Qatar coined the idea of a compact World Cup, with fans and teams spending less time and energy on the road. For those wanting to explore further, there are 40 countries within a four-hour flight from Doha, Al Thawadi pointed out.

Al Thawadi’s team met other challenges head on, too. The country would use solar power to combat the heat in an ecofriendly way, and nine of the 12 stadiums would be downsized after the tournament, with the infrastructure donated to needy countries.

The team’s work paid off when Qatar was awarded the hosting rights in December 2010. The 2022 event will be the first Middle East tournament, presenting an “opportunity to unite people from different countries and address some of the misconceptions about the region,” Al Thawadi said.

Al Thawadi was CEO of Qatar’s 2022 Bid Committee before becoming secretary general of the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee. On behalf of the Supreme Committee, Al Thawadi signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Carnegie Mellon Qatar to work together on scientific research and executive education.

“Carnegie Mellon Qatar is looking forward to being a strategic partner of Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee in national capacity-building efforts, scientific research projects and Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup projects,” said Ilker Baybars, dean of Carnegie Mellon Qatar.

الفوز بتنظيم كأس العالم

لم يأت نجاح الملف القطري في الفوز باستضافة نهائيات كأس العالم لكرة القدم 2022 دون تحديات.

كما ذكر حسن الذوادي، األمين العام للجنة العليا لقطر 2022، فإن أهم هذه التحديات كان توضيح موقع قطر على الخريطة. وقد جاء ذلك أثناء حديث

الذوادي في جامعة كارنيجي ميلون في شهر يناير الماضي في إطار سلسلة محاضرات العميد.

أضاف الذوادي قائال: إن فريق الملف حول هذه التحديات إلى فرص بدال من االستسالم لليأس.

على سبيل المثال، رأى البعض صغر مساحة قطر الجغرافية على أنه نقطة ضعف، حيث كان المشجعون في البطوالت السابقة يتفرجون على المباريات

متجولين بين مدن مختلفة في بلدان كبيرة.

بدال من أن تشعر قطر باليأس، فإنها صاغت فكرة إقامة فعالية بطولة كأس عالم في مناطق متقاربة بحيث يقل ما يقضيه المشجعون والفرق من وقت

وجهد في التنقالت. وأما من يرغبون في استكشاف المزيد، فهناك - كما أوضح الذوادي 40 بلدا تقع على بعد 4 ساعات بالطائرة من الدوحة.

كما تصدى فريق الذوادي أيضا لتحديات أخرى وجها لوجه. فالبلد سيستخدم الطاقة الشمسية للتغلب على الحرارة بطريقة صديقة للبيئة، وسيتم

تفكيك تسعة من المالعب اإلثنى عشر بعد انتهاء البطولة والتبرع بها للبلدان المحتاجة.

يقول الذوادي إن عمل الفريق آتى ثماره عندما منحت قطر حق استضافة البطولة في ديسمبر 2010. فهذه الفعالية التي ستقام في 2022 ستكون أول

بطولة لكأس العالم لكرة القدم في الشرق األوسط، مما يتيح “فرصة لتوحيد شعوب مختلف البلدان ومعالجة بعض التصورات الخاطئة عن المنطقة”.

قد شغل الذوادي منصب المدير التنفيذي للجنة ملف قطر الستضافة مونديال 2022 قبل أن يصبح األمين العام للجنة العليا لقطر 2022. ووقع الذوادي، نيابة عن

اللجنة العليا، مذكرة تفاهم مع جامعة كارنيجي ميلون في قطر للتعاون في مجال البحث العلمي والتعليم التنفيذي.

يقول إيلكر بايبرس، عميد جامعة كارنيجي ميلون في قطر: “تتطلع جامعة كارنيجي ميلون في قطر إلى أن تكون شريكا إستراتيجيا للجنة العليا لقطر 2022

في جهود بناء القدرات الوطنية ومشروعات البحث العلمي ومشروعات نهائيات كأس العالم لكرة القدم فيفا 2022 التي ستنظمها قطر”.

Hassan Al Thawadi, Secretary General of the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee, speaks at Carnegie Mellon.


New Public Lectures Bring Top Speakers to Qatar

Stehlik Named Associate Dean for Education

Mark Stehlik, assistant dean for undergraduate education for the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh, has been named associate dean for education at Carnegie Mellon Qatar. The five-year appointment will begin in July 2012.

Stehlik, who began teaching undergraduate classes in 1982, has been assistant dean since the undergraduate computer science degree program began, guiding more than 2,500 students through the program. He will be responsible for the delivery of all undergraduate programs offered in Qatar.

“Mark has been at Carnegie Mellon for 30 years, and his impact in the development of the undergraduate program in computer science is invaluable. I am confident that the students in Qatar will flourish and benefit from his experience and guidance,” said Dean Ilker Baybars.

Stehlik taught computer science at the Doha campus during stints in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2011, and organized its first annual High School Programming Competition.

In April, Stehlik received Carnegie Mellon’s Doherty Award for Sustained Contributions to Excellence in Education.

“The operative word ‘sustained’ certainly applies here,” said Randal E. Bryant, dean of Carnegie Mellon’s School of Computer Science. “Mark started his teaching career here as a lecturer in 1982 and became assistant dean in 1988. He, in many ways, has been the key to the growth and success of our undergraduate program.”

What do the future of electricity, large datasets, and the evolution of the stock market have in common? All were topics of discussion this spring as part of Carnegie Mellon Qatar’s three new Distinguished Lecture Series.

The series, in computer science, business management and social sciences, are named after former deans of Carnegie Mellon – A. Nico Habermann, Richard M. Cyert, and John Patrick Crecine.

“Carnegie Mellon is pleased to offer these distinguished lectures, which will offer students, faculty and the broader community access to prominent scholars and leaders in their fields,” said Ilker Baybars, dean of Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar.

Randal E. Bryant, dean of the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh delivered the first A. Nico Habermann talk, in which he discussed how computers handle massive datasets generated by digital devices.

Three lectures took place in March: Jerome Apt, former NASA astronaut and director of the Carnegie Mellon Electricity Industry Center, spoke about the future of electricity in the inaugural Richard M. Cyert lecture; Kurt Mehlhorn, director of the Max Planck Institute of Informatics at Saarland University in Germany, spoke about certifying computations as a way toward dependable algorithms; and John Lehoczky, dean of the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh, discussed the evolution of the U.S. stock market.

Ilker Baybars, dean of Carnegie Mellon Qatar (left), with Randal E. Bryant, dean of the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon.

What’s happened.

10

Ibtikar Challenges Students to Design AppsForget Siri – the app of the future is Madi.

A decade from now, tourists could download Madi on their phones for a virtual tour of Qatar. The tour guide would be a Qatari national, who would explain everything from the country’s pearl diving history to the ingredients in traditional Qatari dishes.

The app was envisioned by four students at the Cambridge International School for Girls, who won first place at this year’s Ibtikar Qatar Competition.

Ibtikar is an Information Systems challenge that encourages students to explore how technology can be used to support organizations and society. The program began in December, when students from 13 schools were invited to use future technologies and their own imaginations to help 2022 World Cup visitors experience Qatar’s history and cultural heritage.

In a January final, faculty and students judged the teams on the originality of their vision, their use of technology and information systems, and their design and presentation skills.

The winning team included Dania Faidi, Rania Faidi, Eeshal Naeem and Hannas Said. Teams from Musab bin Omair Secondary School and Dukhan English School won second and third place respectively.

The winning team: Dania Faidi, Rania Faidi, Eeshal Naeem and Hannas Said. Soprano Nicole Taylor and pianist Daniel Ernst perform at Carnegie Mellon.


Starling String Quartet;Nicole Taylor Perform

Carnegie Mellon’s School of Music doesn’t have any students in Qatar, but the campus got a taste of its talents at two concerts this spring.

In February, award-winning soprano and Carnegie Mellon alumna Nicole Taylor performed on campus during a trip to Doha for the U.S Embassy’s celebration of African American History month. Joining her was concert pianist Daniel Ernst, who is also a Carnegie Mellon graduate. The duo performed folk music and African American spirituals, and Taylor took questions about the significance of pieces she sang.

Later in the month, Carnegie Mellon’s Starling String Quartet visited Doha and played at the Four Seasons Hotel and on campus. Its four honors students performed music by Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich and Czech composer Antonin Dvořák.

In an effort to bring Carnegie Mellon’s fine arts programs to the Qatar campus, Dean Ilker Baybars hopes to host two drama productions at Doha’s Katara Cultural Village during the next academic year.

Carnegie Mellon’s Starling String Quartet

plays at the Four Seasons Hotel in Doha.

What’s happened.

12

Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar has signed agreements with several organizations in Qatar, which will mean new partnerships in education, scientific research and community development.

This spring, the university has signed Memoranda of Understanding with the Supreme Committee for Qatar 2022, the Permanent Committee for Alcohol and Drug Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Diplomatic Institute, the Ministry of Interior’s Police Training Institute, Al Jazeera Network and Qatar Statistics Authority.

The agreements highlight the university’s commitment to Qatar’s National Vision 2030, and its four pillars of human development, social development, economic development and environmental development.

Working Together

Business in China

I’m not usually a morning person, but on this trip, breakfast was my favorite part of the day. Each morning, we would all meet in the hotel lobby for breakfast. During this time, we really got to know each other. It was always funny to see people’s faces when they were only half awake – trying to have as much coffee as they could to be able to survive the day.

We left the hotel every day at 8:30 a.m. and headed to Peking University, where we had two lectures each day on different topics in the field of business in China. The differences between Chinese business and the business environments we know are massive, which is what made the learning experience outstanding.

What made the trip even more amazing was the opportunity to meet Chinese people and Chinese executives, who introduced us to Chinese cultural norms, behaviors and etiquette. We learned that it is rude to say no, and we tried our best to master the art of eating with chopsticks. From a business standpoint, these kinds of issues are very important to establishing a relationship with Chinese people.

For example, we learned that for businesses to be successful, Chinese people must completely trust you. It was very valuable for us to learn how the establishment of businesses can be facilitated through genuine relationships.

After our lectures, we visited a few companies each day, so we could experience how real businesses in China run. The most interesting visit was to China’s most significant dairy factory. The factory had different quotes around the building to motivate employees to do their best. As we walked around, we took many pictures of those quotes because, even as visitors, we felt motivated to work harder. The factory was huge and we were all astonished by its size and functions. We saw the production machines and witnessed how the whole

Sheikh Hamad bin Jabor bin Jassim Al Thani, president of Qatar Statistics Authority, and Dean Ilker Baybars shake hands on a new partnership.

By Layal Al-Alami


plant was operating with only two people standing there. The machines were producing items and packaging them so quickly, and we were amazed by how advanced their technology was.

At night, we explored the city, including a tricycle tour in an area called Houton. Over there, we saw how middle-class people live. People don’t have bathrooms in their houses; they had to walk out to public bathrooms and showers. To me, the area looked like an earthquake struck it -- all the houses looked half-finished. However, the residents looked extremely happy. They had parks and gardens, where they met to play cards and sports. And that is what struck most of us – that day, we got to see the Chinese lifestyle in its simplest, yet most beautiful, form.

This spring, 17 Carnegie Mellon Qatar students and five faculty members traveled to China as part of the Business in China course. They also visited historical areas and experienced Chinese culture. Layal Al-Alami, a junior in business administration, shared some of the highlights from her trip.

Layal Al-Alami (right) talks about a trip she took as part of the Business in China course.

What’s happened.

14

Historically, the Western media have portrayed Arab women as “veiled and voiceless,” but where do they stand in Arab news?

Research on this topic has turned into a book for Amal Al-Malki, an assistant professor of English at Carnegie Mellon Qatar. Al-Malki co-authored the book with three other Carnegie Mellon faculty members: David Kaufer, Suguru Ishizaki, and Kira Dreher.

At a book launch in March, Al-Malki shared the group’s methodologies and summarized the results, which revealed a more positive portrayal of Arab women in in Arab news stories.

“Arab women have come a long way as a powerful voice and unified force in the news,” Al-Malki said.

The book, titled Arab Women in Arab News: Old Stereotypes and New Media, was published by Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing. Al-Malki dedicated the book to Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser.

Building a successful business takes research, money and hard work. And expanding it can seem like starting over.

A Qatar company got some help with its expansion plan at Carnegie Mellon Qatar’s 2012 Internal Case Competition. Teams of students worked against the clock to devise a growth plan for CarSemsar, a website connecting car sellers with buyers.

A longstanding Carnegie Mellon tradition, case competitions are an ideal way for students to put their studies into action in fast-paced strategic planning exercises. After receiving the case on a Friday, teams had just 14 hours to turn their ideas into formal presentations.

The winning team, Alpha Consulting, bested eight other teams by recommending CarSemsar branch out into human resources, creating a site that would connect job seekers and potential employers.

“The Alpha team, Mashael Al Misnad, Mohamed Hussain, Amal Osman and Haider Zali, worked through the night to assemble a plan that impressed the case company and judges. Their creative solution and strong presentation edged them into the winner’s circle,” said J. Patrick McGinnis, assistant professor of business administration and the competition’s organizer.

Thirty-six business administration and information systems majors competed in the sixth annual competition, including three students from the Pittsburgh campus.

Carnegie Mellon Qatar alumnus Mohammed Al-Ibrahim and Shams Hasan, who co-founded CarSemsar, helped judge the competition. Also judging were Milton Cofield, executive director of Pittsburgh’s B.S. in business administration program, and Carnegie Mellon Qatar professors and alumni.

A Case for Expansion

Arab Women in Arab News

النساء العرب في األخبار العربية

صورت وسائل اإلعالم الغربية، تاريخيا، المرأة العربية كمرأة “منتقبة ال صوت لها”، لكن أين مكان المرأة

العربية في األخبار العربية؟

تحول البحث في هذا الموضوع إلى كتاب من تأليف أمل المالكي، أستاذ اللغة اإلنجليزية المساعد

بجامعة كارنيجي ميلون في قطر. وألفت المالكي هذا الكتاب باالشتراك مع أساتذة آخرين بالجامعة

هم ديفيد كاوفر، وسوجورو إيشيزاكي، وكيرا درير.

في فعالية لتدشين الكتاب أقيمت في شهر مارس الماضي، استعرضت المالكي منهجيات المجموعة

ولخصت النتائج التي كشفت عن تصوير أكثر إيجابية للمرأة العربية في األخبار العربية.

تقول المالكي: “قطعت المرأة العربية شوطا طويال كصوت قوي وقوة موحدة في األخبار”.

قد صدر الكتاب، الذي حمل عنوان المرأة العربية في األخبار العربية: الصورة النمطية القديمة ووسائل

اإلعالم الجديدة، عن دار بلومزبري - مؤسسة قطر للنشر. وأهدت المالكي الكتاب إلى صاحبة السمو

.The winning team, Alpha Consultingالشيخة موزا بنت ناصر.

Amal Al-Malki, assistant professor of English, holds up her new book, Arab Women in Arab News.


Speaking of Success

In a closely contested final, a Carnegie Mellon Qatar team of business administration students - Dana Al-Ansari and Patrick Steinhagen - overcame teams from the College of the North Atlantic, Georgetown University and Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar to win the 5th Qatar Universities National Debate Championship.

The championship – referred to commonly as ‘Nationals’ – is the culmination of the universities’ debating year, during which Steinhagen and Al-Ansari finished as Best and Second Speaker respectively. Freshman Mohammed Benkermi was awarded the Best Novice Speaker during the Qatar Universities Debate League, and Narcis Jafarian rounded out Carnegie Mellon’s accolades by finishing as the 10th best overall speaker.

“I’m extremely proud of what we have achieved as a debating society. Our continued commitment and passion have paid off and I have no doubt that we will continue to succeed and perform at the highest level,” Steinhagen said.

Al-Ansari added, “Debating helps to not only grow the individual, but a society as well. A culture of intellectual intrigue is integral to social development.”

Ian Lacey, debate coach and associate professor of information systems, commended his team’s skills: “Competitive debating teaches students to analyze an issue, to develop arguments and to speak confidently - skills that are beneficial in university as well as the work place. Above all, debating teaches the important principle of challenging the ideas being presented and not the person who presents them.”

Twenty teams debated from six Qatar universities including Carnegie Mellon, College of North Atlantic Qatar, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar, Qatar University, Texas A&M University at Qatar and Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar.

I’m extremely proud of what we have achieved as a debating society. Our continued commitment and passion have paid off and I have no doubt that we will continue to succeed and perform at the highest level.

Patrick SteinhagenBusiness Administration student,Carnegie Mellon Qatar.

Dana Al-Ansari (second from left) and Patrick Steinhagen (middle) take the trophy in the Qatar Universities National Debate Championship.

What’s happened.

16

More than 50 companies attended Carnegie Mellon Qatar’s sixth annual Professional Day this March, including nine for the first time.


Google among New Recruiters at Professional Day

More than 50 companies attended Carnegie Mellon Qatar’s sixth annual Professional Day this March, including nine for the first time.

The annual career fair enables students to meet face-to-face with employers and explore job and internship possibilities in a variety of industries and organizations.

Companies attending for the first time included Credit Suisse, Google, Huawei Tech Investments, Nakilat, Qatar Computing Research Institute, Qatar Rail, Qatarlyst, Siemens and Silatech.

Matt Mitro, Google’s university program manager for Europe, Middle East and Africa, explained why his company was seeking Carnegie Mellon graduates.

“At Google, we are looking for sharp, entrepreneurial and innovative people as we localize and specialize our product offerings across the Middle East and Africa,” he said.

At Google, we are looking for sharp, entrepreneurial and innovative people as we localize and specialize our product offerings across the Middle East and Africa.

Matt MitroGoogle’s University Program Manager for Europe, Middle East and Africa.

What’s happened.

What’s happened.

18


Multi-Talented

The lineup for International Day included American dancing, Persian music, Scottish bagpipes – and much more. International Day is an annual celebration featuring performances by students, faculty and staff; food from all corners of the globe; and children’s activities. This year’s performances showcased Middle Eastern culture, as well as the many traditions students and staff have brought to Qatar from their home countries.

What’s happened.

20

Having a strong pool of ICT-qualified high-potential Qatari university graduates is one of the most important success factors in achieving this.

Ali Abdulla Al-Siddiqi Al-EmadiInformation Systems Manager, Qatar Petroleum.

Undergraduate Conference Highlights Information SystemsThe film, healthcare and energy industries all need one thing – Information Systems.

Students in attendance at the third Undergraduate Conference on Information Systems learned this firsthand from faculty and experts in the field. During the conference, students presented their work and engaged in relevant discussions about information and communication technologies (ICT).

Keynote speaker, Ali Abdulla Al-Siddiqi Al-Emadi, information systems manager for Qatar Petroleum, spoke about the importance of information systems to his company’s operations and the need for more indigenous industry professionals.

“Qatar Petroleum recognizes the inherent

benefits of maximizing the use of ICT to not only enable, but to transform the business to meet and exceed our strategic objectives. Having a strong pool of ICT-qualified high-potential Qatari university graduates is one of the most important success factors in achieving this,” he said.

Other speakers included Eric Hoffman, head of new media and content for the Doha Film Institute, Asmaeil Kattan, director of information technology and telecommunications for Al Ahli Hospital, and Ahmed Ismail Ali, information and business application manager for engineering and production at Qatar Shell. More than 30 students from Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia submitted their work.

Ali Abdulla Al-Siddiqi Al-Emadi, information systems manager for Qatar Petroleum, speaks about the need for information systems graduates.


Google Honors Carnegie Mellon Qatar StudentsGoogle has recognized two Carnegie Mellon students through its 2012 Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship program.

The recipients are Sidra Alam and Hanan Mohammed Alshikhabobakr, who are both juniors in computer science. The students are among 40 young women who were chosen this year in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. The students will each receive a scholarship equivalent to 7,000 euros and an invitation to an all-expenses-paid Google Scholars’ Retreat in Zurich, Switzerland.

“We are very proud of Sidra and Hanan, who now join an elite group of young women who have been recognized for their academic performance and future potential in computer science and technology,” said Ilker Baybars, dean of Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar. “This award recognizes how they have excelled at Carnegie Mellon’s, as well as their leadership experience and passion for computer science.”

The scholarship program honors Anita Borg, a computer science pioneer who dedicated her life to changing the way people think about diversity and technology. Now in its ninth year, the program continues to support undergraduate and postgraduate women completing degrees in computer science and related areas. Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholarships are offered on a competitive basis in Africa, Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, New Zealand and the United States.

Carnegie Mellon Qatar now boasts four Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship recipients. Samreen Anjum (CS’11) was selected in 2010, and Keghani Kouzoujian (CS’10) in 2009.

جوجل تكرم طالب جامعة كارنيجي ميلون في قطر

كرمت جوجل اثنتين من طالبات جامعة كارنيجي ميلون في قطر من خالل برنامجها “منحة أنيتا بورج التذكارية” لسنة 2012.

كانت المنحة الدراسية من نصيب الطالبتين سدرة علم وحنان محمد الشيخ أبوبكر، وكلتاهما بالسنة قبل النهائية في تخصص علوم الكمبيوتر. وهما من

بين 40 شابة اخترن هذا العام في منطقة أوروبا والشرق األوسط وأفريقيا. وسوف تحصل الطالبات على منحة دراسية تعادل 7 آالف يورو ودعوة لحضور “معسكر

جوجل لطالبات المنحة” وهو مدفوع التكاليف بالكامل والذي سيعقد في مدينة زيورخ السويسرية خالل الفترة بين 17 و20 يونيو.

قال إيلكر بايبرس، عميد كارنيجي ميلون في قطر: “نحن فخورون أشد الفخر بسدرة وحنان اللتين تنضمان إلى نخبة من الشابات الالئي كرمن على أدائهن

األكاديمي وإمكانياتهن المستقبلية الواعدة في مجال علوم الكمبيوتر والتكنولوجيا. وتأتي هذه الجائزة تقديرا لتفوقهما في كارنيجي ميلون وتجربتهن

الريادية وشغفهما بعلوم الكمبيوتر”.

يخلد برنامج المنحة الدراسية ذكرى رائدة علوم الكمبيوتر أنيتا بورج التي كرست حياتها لتغيير الطريقة التي ينظر بها الناس إلى التنوع والتكنولوجيا. ويواصل البرنامج، الذي بلغ عامه التاسع اآلن، مساندة طالبات البكالوريوس

وطالبات الدراسات العليا على الحصول على درجاتهن العلمية في علوم م منحة أنيتا بورج التذكارية على أساس الكمبيوتر والمجاالت ذات العالقة. وتقد

تنافسي في أفريقيا وآسيا وأستراليا وكندا وأوروبا والشرق األوسط ونيوزيلندا والواليات المتحدة.

تفخر جامعة كارنيجي ميلون في قطر اآلن بنيل أربع من طالباتها منحة أنيتا بورج التذكارية. فقد اختيرت سامرين أنجوم )دفعة 2011 تخصص علوم كمبيوتر( في 2010، واختيرت كيغاني كوزوجيان )دفعة 2010 تخصص علوم كمبيوتر( في 2009.

Sidra Alam (left) and Hanan Mohammed Alshikhabobakr have been chosen for Google Anita Borg scholarships.

What’s happened.

22

Dean’s Lecture: Hamad Al Thani

More statisticians are needed to support Qatar’s National Vision 2030, according to Sheikh Hamad bin Jabor bin Jassim Al Thani, president of Qatar Statistics Authority. Sheikh Hamad spoke at Carnegie Mellon in May as part of the Dean’s Lecture Series, where he reflected on his organization’s role in the social and economic development of Qatar, as well as the involvement of educational institutions in Qatar in providing trained graduates.

“We think statistics can play a major role, not just providing a snapshot, but a full picture with which we can address issues in an in-depth way,” Sheikh Hamad said.

Sheikh Hamad was instrumental in the formation of the Qatar Statistics Authority in 2007, and, until November 2011, he also served as director general of the General Secretariat for Development Planning. He played a vital role in the development of Qatar Vision 2030 and the National Development Strategy 2011-2016.

محاضرة العميد: حمد آل ثاني

هناك حاجة إلى المزيد من الخبراء اإلحصائيين

لمساندة رؤية قطر الوطنية 2030 كما يقول الشيخ

حمد بن جبر بن جاسم آل ثاني، رئيس جهاز اإلحصاء.

وقد تحدث الشيخ حمد في كارنيجي ميلون في

شهر مايو الماضي في إطار سلسلة محاضرات

العميد، حيث استعرض دور مؤسسته في التنمية

االجتماعية واالقتصادية لدولة قطر باإلضافة إلى

إشراك المؤسسات التعليمية في قطر في توفير

خريجين مدربين.

صرح الشيخ حمد قائال: “في اعتقادنا أن اإلحصاء

يمكنه لعب دور رئيسي ال يوفر لقطة سريعة

فحسب بل صورة كاملة يمكننا بواسطتها معالجة

القضايا على نحو متعمق”.

كان للشيخ حمد دور محوري في إنشاء جهاز

اإلحصاء في 2007، وقد ظل حتى نوفمبر 2011 يشغل

أيضا منصب مدير عام األمانة العامة للتخطيط

التنموي. كما لعب دورا محوريا في وضع رؤية قطر

الوطنية 2030 وإستراتيجية التنمية الوطنية 2011-2016.

Aamir Masood, who graduated recently

with a degree in information systems,

was one of four winners in the inaugural

2012 Association for Information Systems

(AIS) Student Competition. Masood

won the IT Risk Management Track at

the competition, which took place at

Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah,

USA. Finalists were invited to participate

in the onsite final after completing an

earlier virtual round of the competition.

Lice Urbaczewski, AIS vice president of

student chapters, said the winners had

distinguished themselves as “the best of

the best.”

Student Wins AIS Competition

طالب يفوز بمسابقة جمعية نظم المعلومات

كان عامر مسعود، الذي تخرج مؤخرا حامال شهادة البكالورويوس في نظم المعلومات،

واحدا من بين 4 فائزين في النسخة االفتتاحية من مسابقة جمعية نظم المعلومات 2012 للطالب. وفاز مسعود في فرع إدارة مخاطر

تكنولوجيا المعلومات بالمسابقة التي جرت في جامعة بريجهام يونج في مدينة بروفو بوالية يوتا األمريكية. وقد دعي المشتركون في الدور النهائي

للمشاركة في نهائي المسابقة المقام بمقر الجامعة بعد إتمامهم من قبل جولة افتراضية من

هذه المسابقة. وصرحت ليسا إيرباشيسكي، نائب رئيس جمعية نظم المعلومات لفروع الطالب، أن

الفائزين برزوا باعتبارهم “صفوة الصفوة”.


Charles E. Thorpe Award Winners

The Charles E. Thorpe Distinguished Service Awards, named after Carnegie Mellon Qatar’s founding dean, are a tribute to the teamwork and dedication of the university’s staff members.

Each year, the community nominates non-faculty university employees in five categories, with the winners announced at the end of the school year. The 2012 winners are:

Outstanding Innovation Carol Miller, research business manager

Outstanding Newcomer Shayan NoorMohamed, senior accountant

Outstanding Service to Students Jill Duffy, student development coordinator

Outstanding Dedication to CMU Eleanore Adiong, coordinator for faculty events

Outstanding Commitment to the Community Otto Chacon, facilities manager

A special Thorpe award was also presented to Robert T. Monroe, associate dean, who will be returning to Pittsburgh next academic year.

“We are grateful for Bob’s commitment to our Qatar campus. Like Dean Thorpe, Bob’s contribution will far outlive his time here – we will miss you and we wish you every success back on the main campus,” said Ilker Baybars, dean of Carnegie Mellon Qatar.

Outstanding Innovation Outstanding Service to Students

Outstanding Commitment to the Community

Outstanding Newcomer

Outstanding Dedication to CMU

Special Thorpe Award

Jill Duffy, Student Development Coordinator

Shayan NoorMohamed, Senior Accountant

Carol Miller, Research Business Manager

Eleanore Adiong, Coordinator for Faculty Events

Otto Chacon, Facilities Manager

Robert T. Monroe, Associate Dean

What’s happened.

24

Carnegie Mellon Campus Receives First Dedicated Scholarship

A gift of almost $1 million U.S. to Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar has created the H.E. Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani Scholarship.

The scholarship will cover the cost of attending Carnegie Mellon Qatar for four students for four years. The funds, which were pledged by an unnamed donor, will support undergraduate students who qualify for financial aid.

The scholarships will begin in fall 2012, and can be offered to outstanding students applying to any of Carnegie Mellon Qatar’s five majors – biological sciences, business administration, computational biology, computer science and information systems.

“We are incredibly appreciative of this commitment to Carnegie Mellon, which will help to attract and support outstanding students,” said Ilker Baybars, dean of Carnegie Mellon Qatar.

H.E. Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani was passionate about education, and instilled in his children an entrepreneurial spirit that helped them achieve success in their professional lives.

Thanking the donors, Jared L. Cohon, president of Carnegie Mellon University, said the gift will make it possible for students who otherwise could not afford to attend college to achieve their dreams and receive a world-class education at Carnegie Mellon.

حرم جامعة كارنيجي ميلون يتلقى أول منحة دراسية خاصة

إنشاء منحة صاحب السمو الشيخ ناصر بن حمد بن عبد اهلل آل ثاني الدراسية بهبة مالية تبلغ نحو مليون دوالر أمريكي لجامعة كارنيجي ميلون في قطر.

ستغطي المنحة الدراسية تكاليف االلتحاق بجامعة كارنيجي ميلون في قطر ألربع طالب لمدة أربع سنوات. وستدعم هذه األموال التي تعهد بتقديمها فاعل

خير طالب مرحلة البكالوريوس الذين يتأهلون للحصول على معونة مالية.

سوف تبدأ المنح الدراسية في خريف 2012 ويمكن تقديمها للطالب المتميزين الذي يتقدمون لاللتحاق بأي من التخصصات الخمس التي تدرس في جامعة

كارنيجي ميلون في قطر، وهي: العلوم البيولوجية وإدارة األعمال والبيولوجيا الحاسوبية وعلوم الكمبيوتر ونظم المعلومات.

صرح إيلكر بايبرس، عميد كارنيجي ميلون في قطر: “نحن شاكرون إلى أقصى درجة لهذا االلتزام تجاه كارنيجي ميلون الذي يساعد على اجتذاب الطالب

المتميزين ودعمهم”.

كان صاحب السمو الشيخ ناصر بن حمد بن عبد اهلل آل ثاني من المتحمسين للتعليم وغرس في أبنائه روح مبادرات األعمال التي ساعدتهم على تحقيق

النجاح في حياتهم المهنية.

في معرض شكره للمتبرعين، قال جاريد إل. كوهون، رئيس جامعة كارنيجي ميلون، ستتيح هذه الهبة للطالب الذين ال يستطيعون من دونها االلتحاق بالجامعة الفرصة لتحقيق أحالمهم وتحصيل تعليم عالمي المستوى في

جامعة كارنيجي ميلون.

Multilingual Students Key to Professor’s ResearchWhat started as a professor’s research project has become an eye-opening experience for three Carnegie Mellon students.

Aveed Sheikh, Syed Haider, and Fawwaz Farid, who are all majoring in business administration, were among 12 students who have been helping Silvia Pessoa, an assistant professor of English, with a sociological study on Qatar’s low-income migrant worker population.

In a project funded by Qatar’s National Priorities Research Program, Pessoa and Laura Harkness, a research associate, helped survey 1,000 workers about their work and living conditions. The study is led by Andrew Gardner, an associate professor of anthropology at Puget Sound University in the United States, and the questionnaire was developed through Qatar University’s Social and Economic Survey Research Institute (SESRI).

To delve deeper into the topic, a qualitative

component included monthly interviews with 15 of the workers. A potential roadblock, Pessoa said, was the language barrier between the researchers and the workers. That’s where Carnegie Mellon students stepped in. Over the past year, the students, including one from Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, helped by recruiting workers and interviewing them in Arabic, Hindi, Urdu and other languages. When they finished the interviews, they students transcribed the interviews back into English.

“We really value the work our students have been doing. They have done a great job of explaining the study and they’ve been really outstanding as interpreters,” Pessoa said.

The researchers are still analyzing the survey data, but the in-depth interviews have highlighted a mixture of positive and negative experiences. While some workers said they are treated fairly, earn enough money to send some home and can save for their future, others felt their compensation was inadequate.

In addition to gaining firsthand research experience, the students honed their communications skills and developed a new understanding about the lives of Qatar’s migrant population.

“They learned how their life is so privileged compared to others,” Pessoa said.

Once complete, the study hopes to highlight areas for improvement, which could help shape public policy and inspire the community to take action.

Carnegie Mellon student Syed Haider helps professors with their research by talking to a migrant worker in his native language.


Carnegie Mellon Awarded Four NPRP Grants

Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar has received funding for four projects from Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF)’s National Priorities Research Program (NPRP). The fifth cycle of funding was announced in May.

Two of the projects aim to help foster an interest in computer science in the Middle East, including adapting a software tool used to introduce computer science

principles to students for the region, and developing tutoring systems that can help undergraduates succeed in core computer science courses.

Two other studies are in the area of linguistics, with one examining the demands, expectations and development of discipline-specific writing in college students and the other assessing the language used in Arabic ecommerce websites.

Executives and managers often work long hours, but a few days away from the office can be a valuable hiatus if it’s to participate in Carnegie Mellon Qatar’s Executive and Professional Education program.

This spring, the university has initiated a new executive education program that is designed for professionals who want to improve skills critical to good management. Upcoming courses are as follows:

Dynamic Organizational Leadership (Sept. 18-20), which covers the general principles of organizational leadership,

and teaches practical techniques for achieving and sustaining outstanding organizational performance.

Business Strategy and Tactics (Oct. 21-23), which challenges participants to apply their skills in a computer-simulated marketplace.

The Art and Science of Negotiation (Nov. 20-22), which teaches the skills needed to prepare and execute sophisticated and effective negotiation strategies.

For more details and registration information, please visit www.qatar.cmu.edu/execed.

Executive Education at Carnegie Mellon Qatar

ACHIEVEMENTS

Computer Science student Ghaya Fahad Al-Sulaiti was among those honored for outstanding academic achievement at Qatar’s Educational Excellence Day award ceremony. Al-Sulaiti is a recipient of a Sidra Medical and Research Centre scholarship.

Three computer programming teams from Carnegie Mellon Qatar participated in the Second Gulf Programming Contest (GPC’12), held at Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Teams Brainiacs and Kufta, finished 2nd and 3rd respectively.

Mohammad Al-Haddad (IS’12), was one of the authors of a research paper accepted to the Hamlyn Symposium on Medical Robotics in London. The research was done while he was interning at the Qatar Robotic Surgery Centre.

تعليم تنفيذي في جامعة كارنيجي ميلون في قطر

غالبا ما يعمل التنفيذيون والمديرون ساعات طويلة، لكن قضاء بضعة أيام بعيدا عن محل العمل يمكن

أن تكون إجازة عظيمة القيمة إذا كان الغرض منها هو المشاركة في برنامج التعليم التنفيذي والمهني

في جامعة كارنيجي ميلون في قطر.

وابتداء من خريف 2012، ستقدم الجامعة ثالث دورات مصممة للمهنيين الذين يريدون تحسين

مهاراتهم الضرورية في مجال اإلدارة. وهذه الدورات تطرح تحت العناوين التالية:

-القيادة الديناميكية للمؤسسات” )18-20 سبتمبر(: وسيتم من خالل هذه الدورة تدريس

المبادئ العامة لقيادة المؤسسات، والطرق العملية ألكتساب و المحافظة على أداء مؤسسي متميز.

-”إستراتيجية وتكتيكات األعمال” )23-21 أكتوبر(: وستتحدى هذه الدورة قدرات المشاركين لتطبيق

مهارتهم اإلدارية في سوق عمل محفز الكترونيا.

-”فن وعلم التفاوض” )22-20 نوفمبر(: وفيها سيتعلم المشاركين المهارات الضرورية إلعداد

وتطبيق استراتيجيات إدارة نقاش فعالة.

للحصول على مزيد من التفاصيل ومعلومات عن التسجيل، يرجو زيارة الموقع التالي

www.qatar.cmu.edu/execed

تعليم تنفيذي في جامعة كارنيجي ميلون في قطر

26

New HorizonsG raduating from Carnegie Mellon in four years is tough. Try doing

it when you’re in a wheelchair and can’t use a regular computer.

When Anirban Lahiri joined Carnegie Mellon in 2004, he knew he was going to face exceptional challenges. He has Spinal Muscular Atrophy type 2, an inherited disease that causes muscle damage and weakness, and gets worse over time.

But Anirban, an Indian national who was raised in Qatar, wasn’t held back. Despite his disability, he had been given a special gift: a family who expected him to do well in school, go to university and make a contribution.

Anirban graduated from Qatar Academy in 2004. By the time he was accepted into Carnegie Mellon’s Computer Science program, he already knew how he wanted to use his education – to level the playing field for other people with special needs.

At Carnegie Mellon, Anirban found new ways to keep up with his classmates. He couldn’t use a keyboard, but he accessed the software he needed through a special mouse. Coupled with an onscreen keyboard – rare before iPads and iPhones – it was easy for him to turn in his assignments on time.

In 2008, at Carnegie Mellon Qatar’s inaugural graduation ceremony, Anirban was the only student to receive a standing ovation, which was led by His Highness the Emir. For those who knew Anirban, it was a reflection of his personality and perseverance, as well as his academic success.

Carnegie Mellon Graduate Overcame Challenges to Help Others through Mada

خريج كارنيجي ميلونع التكنولوجيا لمساعدة يطو

اآلخرين في “مدى”

التخرج في جامعة كارنيجي ميلون في أربعة أعوام ليس باألمر السهل، تخيل صعوبة ذلك إذا كنت قعيدا على كرسي متحرك وال تتمكن من استخدام جهاز

كمبيوتر عادي.

عندما انضم أنيربان الهيري إلى كارنيجي ميلون في عام 2004، كان يدرك أنه مقدم على تحديات استثنائية. فهو يعاني من ضمور العضالت الشوكي من النوع الثاني،

وهو مرض وراثي يتسبب في تلف العضالت وضعفها، ويزداد سوءا بمرور الوقت.

لكن ذلك لم يعيق أنيربان، الهندي الجنسية والذي نشأ في قطر. فعلى الرغم من إعاقته، حظي بموهبة خاصة، إذ لديه أسرة تتوقع منه أن يبلي بالءا حسنا في

الدراسة، وااللتحاق بالجامعة، وأن تكون له إسهاماته في المجتمع.

تخرج أنيربان في أكاديمية قطر عام 2004. وفي الوقت الذي قبل فيه في برنامج علوم الكمبيوتر بكارنيجي ميلون، كان قد حدد بالفعل ما يريد تحقيقه من

تعليمه، وهو تمهيد الطريق لآلخرين من ذوي االحتياجات الخاصة.

في كارنيجي ميلون، استطاع أنيربان أن يجد وسائل جديدة لمجاراة زمالئه في الدراسة. فلم يكن في استطاعته استخدام لوحة المفاتيح، ولكنه استطاع

التعامل مع البرنامج الذي يحتاجه من خالل ماوس خاص. وبفضل استخدامه للوحة مفاتيح على الشاشة، وهو الشيء الذي كان يعد نادرا قبيل آيباد وأيفون –

كان من السهل عليه تسليم واجباته في موعدها.

في عام 2008، في حفل التخرج االفتتاحي لكارنيجي ميلون قطر الذي رأسه سمو األمير، كان أنيربان الطالب الوحيد الذي وقف له الحضور احتفاءا به. ومن يعرف

أنيربان، كان يرى في ذلك انعكاسا لشخصيته ولمثابرته، إضافة إلى نجاحه الدراسي.

ظل أنيربان جزءا من المدينة التعليمية، حيث قبل وظيفة منسق تطوير مواقع الويب في مؤسسة أيادي الخير نحو آسيا، وهي مؤسسة خيرية لمؤسسة قطر

تم تأسيسها لمساعدة بعض الدول المجاورة المحتاجة. وكان معنى ذلك أن دعوته قد تأجلت في ذلك الوقت، أو هكذا تراءى له.

فبعد بضعة أشهر من تخرج أنيربان، اتصلت به الدكتورة حصة الجابر، األمين العام للمجلس األعلى لالتصاالت وتكنولوجيا المعلومات في قطر. وطلبت من


Anirban Lahiri graduated from Carnegie Mellon Qatar’s Computer Science program in 2008.

28

New Horizons

Anirban remained a part Education City, accepting a job as web development coordinator at Reach Out To Asia, a Qatar Foundation charity established to help some of the country’s needy neighbors. His calling was on hold for the time being.

Or so he thought.

A few months after Anirban graduated, Dr. Hessa Al-Jaber, secretary general of Qatar’s Supreme Council for Information

and Communication Technology (ictQATAR), got in touch. She asked Anirban to join a group of experts who were helping the government figure out how to connect disabled people with life-changing technologies.

Such “assistive technologies,” like customized computer hardware, mobile phones and other electronics, can bridge the gap between a person’s condition and a world of information and opportunities.

Qatar’s government committed to reducing the digital divide in 2008, but it had some work to do. Comparatively speaking, Qatar had little infrastructure in place; and accommodating people with disabilities in the workplace, schools and medical centers was largely unchartered territory.

It was in this group that Anirban first conceptualized Mada – a “one stop shop” connecting people with all kinds of special needs to the latest technologies and advocating for improved services and best practices.

With the support of ictQATAR, Mada opened its doors in 2010. As the center’s senior assistive technology specialist, Anirban is challenged with identifying and customizing the best technologies for people with disabilities.

Mada staff help connect people with disabilities to life-changing technologies.


أنيربان االنضمام إلى مجموعة من الخبراء الذين كانوا يعملون على مساعدة الحكومة في وضع تصور لكيفية توصيل المعاقين بالتكنولوجيات المغيرة

للحياة.

فهذه “التكنولوجيات المساعدة” مثل أجهزة الكمبيوتر المتخصصة، والهواتف المحمولة، وغيرها من اإللكترونيات، قادرة على سد الهوة بين حالة الشخص

وبين عالم المعلومات والفرص.

وكانت حكومة قطر قد التزمت بتقليص الهوة الرقمية في عام 2008، ولكن كان عليها إنجاز بعض العمل. وفي المقابل، كان لدى قطر بنية تحتية ضعيفة؛

وكان استيعاب المعاقين في أماكن العمل، والمدارس والمراكز الطبية جانبا لم يتم التطرق إليه بصفة عامة.

وفي ظل هذا الوضع قام أنيربان بوضع تصوره األول حول “مدى” – “مكان جامع” يساعد على اتصال جميع األشخاص من ذوي االحتياجات الخاصة بأحدث

التكنولوجيات ويدعو إلى تحسين الخدمات وتطبيق أفضل الممارسات.

وبدعم من المجلس األعلى لالتصاالت وتكنولوجيا المعلومات في دولة قطر، فتح “مدى” أبوابه في عام 2010. وبصفته كبير أخصائيي التكنولوجيا المساعدة

بالمركز، واجه أنيربان تحديا كبيرا ، وهو كيفية تحديد وتخصيص أفضل التكنولوجيات لألشخاص من ذوي االحتياجات الخاصة.

وهو األمر الذي قام به لمساعدة نفسه كطالب في جامعة كارنيجي ميلون. ففي العام الماضي، ساعد أكثر من 500 شخص من ذوي األهداف الفريدة على إظهار

إمكاناتهم من خالل التكنولوجيا المساعدة.

يقع مدى، الذي يعنى باللغة العربية “اآلفاق الرحبة”، في الطابق السابع من مبنى المجلس األعلى لالتصاالت وتكنولوجيا المعلومات في الدوحة، وقد صمم

خصيصا من أجل الذين يستفيدون منه، فجاء سقف المركز عاليا، مغمورا بالضوء الطبيعي، وتتوافر به مساحات للتنقل بين أرجائه.

30

It’s something he did for himself as a Carnegie Mellon student. Last year, he helped more than 500 people with unique goals reach their potential through assistive technology.

Nestled on the seventh floor of the ictQATAR building is Mada, a name that means horizon in Arabic. Designed for those who

use it, the center has high ceilings, plenty of natural light and space to move around.

Four work stations labeled “Physical,” Learning,” “Hearing,” and “Vision,” are stocked with various gadgets and technologies that can help people overcome their disabilities. These areas are the backbone of the organization, where clients are assessed and where

New Horizons

Anirban is Mada’s senior assistive technology specialist.


وتترجم سلسلة من النفخات القصيرة إلى أوامر للقيام بإجراءات أخرى، وسرعان ما يتمكن المتعاملون مع أنيربان من القيام بمعظم ما يقوم به اآلخرون

بأصابعهم ولكن بأفواههم.

فقبل أن يأتي محمد العلي إلى مدى، كان يتواصل بصفة أساسية بواسطة حركات العين. حيث كان يعاني هذا الشاب البالغ من العمر 22 عاما من الشلل الدماغي،

الذي يحد بشدة من قدرته على الحركة البدنية والكالم. وبعد تقييمه بدأ محمد في استخدام “آي جيز”، إحدى التكنولوجيات المتطورة التي تمكنه من تشغيل

األحرف على شاشة التحكم عن طريق النظر إلى المفتاح لمدة محددة من الوقت.

وكما هو الحال مع الباقين الذين تمت مساعدتهم في المركز، لم يدفع محمد مقابال للخدمات التي حصل عليها. حيث أعاره المركز هذه التكنولوجيا المغيرة

للحياة إلى أن تتغير احتياجاته أو يظهر حل أفضل.

ويوجد به أربع أماكن إلعاقات “البدن” و”التعلم” و”السمع و”البصر” مزودة بأدوات وتكنولوجيات تساعد ذوي االحتياجات الخاصة على التغلب على إعاقاتهم.

وتمثل هذه األماكن العصب الرئيسي للمؤسسة، حيث يقيم المتعاملون مع المركز، ويقدم العاملون في “مدى” عروضا توضيحية ألي شخص مهتم لمعرفة

ما يمكن أن تقدمه التكنولوجيا.

عادة، تأتي التكنولوجيات المساعدة من الخارج إلى قطر، ثم يتم دمجها وتخصيصها على يد أنيربان وزمالئه لتلبية احتياجات المتعاملين مع المركز. فالبرايل اإللكتروني، على سبيل المثال، يقدم للمكفوفين ما ال يستطيعون

رؤيته على شاشات الكمبيوتر بطريقة برايل. واألشخاص الذي ال يستطيعون استخدام أذرعهم وأياديهم، يمكنهم استخدام جهاز “الرشف والنفخ”

باستخدام هواء الشهيق والزفير بديال لماوس الكمبيوتر. فنفخة واحدة قصيرة في الجهاز تساوي نقرة ماوس واحدة؛ ونفخة طويلة تساوي نقرة مزدوجة.

32

New Horizons

Mada staff perform ‘show and tells’ for anyone interested in what the technology can do.

In Qatar, assistive technologies are typically developed overseas, then combined and customized by Anirban and his colleagues to meet the needs of their clients. Electronic Brail, for example, produces in Brail what a blind person can’t see on a computer screen. For people who can’t use their arms and hands, a “sip and puff ” device serves as a computer mouse. A short puff into the device might equal a single mouse click; a long puff might be a double click. A series of short puffs would command other actions and soon Anirban’s clients can do as much with their mouths as most of us do with our fingers.

Before Mohammed Al-Ali came to Mada, he communicated mainly though eye gestures. The 22-year-old has cerebral palsy,

which severely limits his physical movement and speech. After his assessment, Mohammed began using EyeGaze, a cutting edge technology that enables him to operate characters on a control screen simply by looking at the key for a specified length of time.

Like everyone else who is helped here, Mohammed didn’t pay for the services he received. He is loaned the life-changing technology until his needs change or until a better solution becomes available.

As Mada grows, the center is branching out. A small research and development team is now adapting assistive technologies developed overseas to Arabic speakers. Mada staff also consult with companies striving to improve the accessibility of their websites or services, and they are filling knowledge gaps in health care, education and other areas of society.

For David Banes, Mada’s CEO, Anirban’s insight and life experiences are valuable beyond a disability-related organization. People like Anirban help him remember that not all customers or citizens are the same – and that a diverse workforce helps create better products and services for everyone.

Sometimes Anirban works with employers who still don’t think they can accommodate a person with disabilities. Other times, he

works with people who – unlike him – still feel like their disabilities are holding them back.

Anirban’s success was sealed long ago, by a family who raised him to be “just like everyone else.” But at 29 years old, Anirban isn’t just like everyone else. He is a graduate of one of the world’s top computer science programs, and he has overcome his own disabilities to help others in Qatar.

Anirban doesn’t have to tell people how technology can change their lives for the better – because he is already showing them.

Qatar’s government committed to reducing the digital divide in 2008, but it had some work to do.


Last year, 300 people attended Mada advice

sessions and 167 people received one-on-one

assessments.

ومع نمو “مدى”، بدأ المركز في التشعب، حيث يعكف فريق صغير للبحث والتطوير حاليا على تطويع التكنولوجيات المساعدة المطورة في الخارج

للمتحدثين باللغة العربية. كما يتشاور طاقم العاملين في “مدى” مع الشركات الساعية إلى تحسين الوصول إلى مواقعها على اإلنترنت أو خدماتها، ويعملون

على سد الفجوات المعرفية في مجال الرعاية الصحية، والتعليم، وغيرهما من مجاالت المجتمع.

ويرى ديفيد بينز، المدير التنفيذي لمركز “مدى”، أن أفكار أنيربان وخبراته في الحياة، أثمن من أن تقتصر على مؤسسة يتعلق عملها باإلعاقة. فاألشخاص من أمثال أنيربان يذكرونه بأن العمالء أو المواطنين ليسوا جميعا سواء، وأن

تنوع قوة العمل يساعد على إيجاد منتجات وخدمات أفضل للجميع.

أحيانا ما يصادف أنيربان أصحاب أعمال ال يزالون على اعتقاد بأنهم ال يمكنهم استيعاب أشخاص معاقين. وأحيانا أخرى يصادف أشخاصا – على العكس منه –

ما زالوا يظنون أن إعاقتهم تقف عقبة في طريقهم.

وقد توج نجاح أنيربان منذ زمن طويل بأسرة قامت بتنشئته على أنه “مثله مثل اآلخرين”. ولكن عندما وصل أنيربان إلى عامه التاسع والعشرين لم يكن مثل اآلخرين تماما. فهو خريج واحد من أفضل برامج علوم الكمبيوتر، واستطاع

التغلب على إعاقته ومساعدة اآلخرين في قطر.

ولم يعد أنيربان في حاجة إلى إخبار الناس كيف يمكن للتكنولوجيا أن تغير حياتهم إلى األفضل ألنه يفعل ذلك عمليا بالفعل.

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OnigiriStudent Team Develops Mobile App for Kids


As a kid, Aysha Anggraini was hooked on video games. So when she was asked to use technology to teach kids about diabetes, she knew exactly how to connect with them.

The assignment came in 2009, when she was taking a freshman class called Concepts of Information Systems. Aysha shared with her teammates the idea of creating a digital pet, similar to the handheld games that were trendy in the 1990s.

“When I was growing up, a game called the Tamagotchi was popular. It was a virtual pet that you had to take care of and feed and put to sleep. I was inspired by that,” Aysha said.

Onigiri was born. Named after the Japanese word for a rice ball, Onigiri is a small, round creature originally designed to live in an iPhone or iPod. Since Onigiri is overweight and has diabetes, his owner must help him choose the right foods, get some exercise, and take insulin shots. Throughout the game, the player is educated about diabetes and how the disease can be managed through a balanced diet and an active lifestyle.

During her freshman year, Onigiri remained an idea. Aysha, who is majoring in information systems, didn’t have the skills needed to make the game a reality. As her academic career progressed, though, so did her know-how. She took Application Design and Development, which introduced her to the techniques needed to develop a software application, followed by Fundamentals of Systems Development, which taught her how to make user-friendly software for

Students Fahad Islam, Hammad Abbasi, Aysha Anggraini and Rana Khalil (L-R) stand with Vodafone CEO Richard Daly.

When I was growing up, a game called the Tamagotchi was popular. It was a virtual pet that you had to take care of and feed and put to sleep. I was inspired by that.

Aysha AnggrainiInformation Systems Student, Carnegie Mellon Qatar.

Android-based phones. These courses exemplify Carnegie Mellon’s Information Systems program, which equips students with the knowledge and skills they need to connect people with information in a way that positively affects their lives.

This spring, Aysha heard about an application development competition sponsored by Vodafone Qatar. She knew it was time to revisit Onigiri. By this time a junior, Aysha recruited three of her friends: Rana Khalil, also an information systems student; Fahad Islam, a computer science major and skilled programmer, and Hammad Abbasi, who contributed a business administration perspective. This kind of teamwork exemplifies one of the university’s most important values – collaboration across disciplines to come up with the best solution to a problem.

The competition, called Indie Fikra: Appathon 2012, provided mobile app developers with 48 hours to turn their ideas into working prototypes. The group made the most of their time, working late into the first night and around the clock on the second night.

Their efforts paid off when they bested 24 other teams to take first place, earning them a 40,000 QR prize and an incubation opportunity with Qatar’s Supreme Council of Information and Communication Technology (ictQatar). The incubation will provide support for the group to commercialize their idea over the next two years.

Richard Daly, CEO of Vodafone Qatar, praised the team’s innovative use of technology to tackle a disease that affects numerous children in Qatar. “It was clear that the team has a fantastic passion for all elements of this product,” Daly said at the awards event.

36

61 Students Graduate in MaySome people think that great innovations spring from “light bulb moments.”

Sara Abbas thinks otherwise. Or at least she learned differently during her four years as a business administration student at Carnegie Mellon Qatar.

At the Class of 2012 Graduation, Sara, who was the student speaker, urged her classmates not to wait for their own light bulb moments. Instead, they should use a systematic process of evaluating their world, identifying new opportunities and transforming their ideas into reality, she said.

“People who continue learning and challenging the status quo to fill a gap are the innovators. Those are the people who move societies forward. Those are the people Carnegie Mellon has prepared us to be. Those are the people we all must be,” she said.

Sixty-one students from 18 countries were honored at Carnegie Mellon Qatar’s fifth graduation ceremony – the university’s largest class to date. Thirty-three students graduated in business administration, 15 in computer science and 13 in information systems. Hend Kamal Gedawy, Carnegie Mellon Qatar Class of 2009, joined the undergraduates as she received a master of science in computer science from Carnegie Mellon’s home campus in Pittsburgh.

In his keynote speech, His Excellency Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani, director general of the Al Jazeera network, reflected on his own graduation experience.

Sheikh Ahmed said he turned down employment opportunities with more established companies to follow his heart to a fledgling venture that was “nothing more than a start-up.”

More than 1,000 family members, friends and other guests attended

the ceremony and dinner, which, for the first time, took place at the Qatar

National Convention Centre.

His Excellency Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani speaks to the graduates.


61 Students Graduate in MaySheikh Ahmed said he turned

down employment opportunities with more established

companies to follow his heart to a fledgling venture that

was “nothing more than a start-up.”

يرى بعض الناس أن االبتكارات العظيمة تنبثق من لحظات اإلشراقات الفكرية.

أما سارا عباس فترى غير ذلك. أو على األقل تعلمت خالف ذلك خالل سنواتها األربع كطالبة في تخصص إدارة األعمال في جامعة كارنيجي ميلون في قطر.

في حفل تخرج دفعة 2012، حثت سارة - التي كانت الطالبة المتحدثة - زمالءها وزميالتها أال ينتظروا لحظات إشراقاتهم الفكرية. وقالت إنهم ينبغي عليهم

بدال من ذلك استخدام عملية منهجية لتقييم عالمهم والتعرف على الفرص الجديدة وتحويل أفكارهم إلى واقع.

تقول سارة: “المبتكرون هم األشخاص الذين يواصلون التعلم وتحدي األوضاع الراهنة لسد الثغرات الموجودة فيها. إن هؤالء هم الذين يدفعون المجتمعات قدما. هؤالء هم الذين أعدتنا جامعة كارنيجي ميلون لنكون منهم. ومن ثم ال

بد أن نكون منهم”.

تم تكريم واحد وستون طالبا من 18 بلدا في حفل تخرج جامعة كارنيجي ميلون في قطر الخامس، وهي أكبر دفعة تتخرج في الجامعة حتى تاريخه، حيث تخرج

33 طالبا في تخصص إدارة األعمال و15 في علوم الكمبيوتر و13 في نظم المعلومات. وانضمت هند كمال جداوي، خريجة جامعة كارنيجي ميلون في

احتفال تخرج 61 طالبا في مايو

38

Looking for a chance to help build something from scratch, Sheikh Ahmed proved his worth at Qatargas. And, as the company grew into one of the largest LNG companies worldwide, Sheikh Ahmed worked his way up from a junior engineer to a senior manager charged with hundreds of large-scale capital projects.

“Success doesn’t come through good luck; it is achieved through commitment and determination,” he said.

More than 1,000 family members, friends and other guests attended the ceremony and dinner, which, for the first time, took place at the Qatar National Convention Centre.

Dean Ilker Baybars presented the Andrew Carnegie Society Scholar award to Edmond Abi Saleh and the Qatar Campus Scholar awards to Abi Saleh, Yazan Abu Hijleh and Dania Marwan Abed Rabbou.

Nine students were also recognized with 2012 Senior Leadership Recognition Awards: Zaid Haque, Sara Khaled Mohamed Abbas, Mohammed Ibrahim Janahi, Batoul Khalieh, Mohamed Hussain, Mohammad Mazen Dauleh, Mohammad Abed Shirzai, Aliah Ahmad Dehdary and Yazan Abu Hijleh.

Yonina Cooper, associate professor in computer science, was also honored during the ceremony and awarded the Outstanding Teacher Award.

In his charge to the graduates, Jared L. Cohon, president of Carnegie Mellon University, reminded the graduates to put their skills and knowledge to work.

“As you move into your jobs and communities, keep in mind that you are a member of a remarkable group of almost 90,000 Carnegie Mellon alumni. People, like you, who are committed to real solutions for real problems, architects of change whose hearts are in the important work that lies before you. As you join this group, Carnegie Mellon will be watching you with pride and high expectations,” Cohon said.

Sara Abbas, student speaker.

Jared L. Cohon, president of Carnegie Mellon University, delivers the charge to the graduates.


قطر دفعة 2009، إلى طالب البكالوريوس حيث حصلت على ماجستير علوم الكمبيوتر من الحرم الرئيسي لجامعة كارنيجي ميلون في بيتسبرغ.

في كلمته االفتتاحية، تأمل معالي الشيخ أحمد بن جاسم بن محمد آل ثاني، المدير العام لشبكة الجزيرة، تجربة تخرجه هو نفسه.

يقول الشيخ أحمد إنه رفض فرص عمل لدى شركات كبرى ليفعل ما يحب، فأسس مشروعا ناشئا “لم يكن أكثر من شركة مبتدئة”.

وسعيا منه إلى فرصة للمساعدة على بناء شيء من الصفر، أثبت الشيخ أحمد جدارته في قطر غاز. ومع نمو الشركة لتتحول إلى واحدة من كبرى شركات الغاز

الطبيعي المسال في العالم، شق الشيخ أحمد طريقه من مهندس صغير إلى مدير كبير مكلف بمئات المشروعات الرأسمالية واسعة النطاق.

وهو يقول: “النجاح ال يأتي بالحظ السعيد، بل يتحقق من خالل االلتزام والتصميم”.

قد حضر أكثر من ألف شخص من األهل واألصدقاء والضيوف اآلخرين الحفل والعشاء اللذين أقيما ألول مرة في مركز قطر الوطني للمؤتمرات.

قدم العميد إيلكر بايبرس جائزة باحث جمعية أندرو كارنيجي إلدمون أبي صالح

وجوائز باحث حرم الجامعة بقطر إلى أبي صالح ويزن أبو حجلة ودانيا مروان عبد ربه.

تم تكريم تسعة طالب آخرون بحصولهم على جوائز قيادة الطالب لعام 2012 وهم: زيد حق، وسارة خالد محمد عباس، ومحمد إبراهيم جناحي، وبتول خليفة، ومحمد حسين، ومحمد مازن دولة، ومحمد عابد شيرزي، وعلية أحمد دهداري،

ويزن أبو حجلة.

باإلضافة إلى ذلك، تم أثناء االحتفال تكريم الدكتورة يونينا كوبر، األستاذ المشارك بكلية علوم الكمبيوتر، حيث حصلت على جائزة المعلم المتميز.

في كلمته التي توجه بها إلى الخريجين، ذكرهم جاريد إل. كوهون، رئيس جامعة كارنيجي ميلون، بوضع مهاراتهم ومعارفهم موضع التطبيق.

يقول كوهون: “عند انتقالكم إلى وظائفكم ومجتمعاتكم، تذكروا أنكم تنتمون إلى مجموعة متميزة قوامها 90 ألف شخص من خريجي كارنيجي ميلون.

إنهم أشخاص أمثالكم ملتزمون بحلول واقعية للمشكالت الواقعية، وهم مهندسو التغيير الذين تتعلق أفئدتهم بالعمل المهم الذي ينتظركم. ومع انضمامكم إلى هذه الطائفة، ستكون أعين كارنيجي ميلون عليكم ترقبكم

بفخر واعتزاز وتعقد آماال كبيرة عليكم”.

40

On: Business

The Business of Acting

If you see Geoffrey Hitch’s students talking out loud by themselves and stroking the furniture and walls – don’t worry. There’s a method to the madness.

Before his students give a presentation, Hitch, an assistant professor of acting and business communications, encourages them to visit the room, see how their voices carry and familiarize themselves with the space. Their goal is to “own the space” so they can speak with greater confidence.

What they were seeing was that our students were really good at crunching the numbers, but they were more challenged when it came to their communication skills.

Geoffrey HitchAssistant Professor of Acting and Business Communications, Carnegie Mellon.

Reducing the fear of the unknown is one of many tips Hitch teaches in two business acting courses he developed to help Tepper students hone their communication skills.

This spring, the professor taught a short course at Carnegie Mellon Qatar, and he’ll return this summer to teach the full-length version. This is the fourth time he has worked with students on the Qatar campus.

Hitch didn’t start out teaching business students. After earning both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Carnegie Mellon, Hitch directed 163 plays in the U.S. and U.K. before accepting a temporary teaching position at his alma mater. A year later, the business school – at the time called the Graduate School of Industrial Administration – recruited him to help their MBA students.

“What they were seeing was that our students were really good at crunching the numbers, but they were more challenged when it came to their communication skills,” Hitch said.

This wasn’t the first time an acting class had been used to help business students. Decades earlier, a similar class had given Carnegie Mellon students a competitive edge when

they were applying for jobs and internships. The school asked Hitch to develop an updated course, a venture that turned him into a full-time professor and a mentor to more than 200 students each year.

In “Business Acting ,” Hitch uses an action- and reaction-based approach to help students become first-rate speakers. By breaking a presentation into short “acts,” students become lively storytellers, rather than reading slide-by-slide. If the audience remains captivated, it is more likely to hear the message, Hitch said.

Actions also help students maximize their use of space, gestures and movements. And, since many of the classroom exercises are monologues and duets, students tackle their fear of public speaking while becoming better team players.

The course helps students expand their comfort zones, focus on their verbal and non-verbal communication skills, and become engaging speakers, said M. Hammad Abbasi, a junior in business administration. “This class is amazing, lively and entertaining. It’s one of best classes I have ever taken,” Abbasi said.


On: Science

Students Explore Computer Science at Community Outreach Programs

Is your teenager fascinated by robots or interested in scientific research? Carnegie Mellon Qatar offers several ongoing programs that encourage secondary school students to explore their interests in computer science and related fields.

For the first time this year, female high school students and undergraduates learned about the important contributions they can make to computer science research at the “Opportunities for Undergraduate Research in Computer Science” (OurCS) Qatar 2012 conference.

The program featured prominent female computer scientists, including keynote speaker Sihem Amer-Yahia, principal research scientist at Qatar Computing Research Institute and a former senior scientist at Yahoo! Research.

In other programs, teams of students faced off in the annual High School Programming Competition and the Regional Botball Robotics Challenge. During the Botball tournament, students competed to design and build autonomous robots able to mimic underwater robots capable of moving endangered coral species out of harm’s way.

Other students enjoyed an introduction to computer science at February’s CS4Qatar workshop. The participants completed computer science puzzles that introduced them to programming and learned about the development of 2D games. The program concluded with a hands-on workshop on robotics, which allowed them to create and operate robotic intelligence.

“Computer scientists will play an integral part in Qatar’s knowledge-based economy. Since technology and technologically-related industries will be the main drivers of growth in the economy, establishing an expert talent bench of computer scientist practitioners will leave Qatar well-placed to compete in the 21st century marketplace,” said Khaled Harras, assistant professor of computer science.

“Carnegie Mellon Qatar’s outreach and expertise in this field is a key element in encouraging Qatar’s youth to not only enter this field, but also to be a part of the field’s exciting creations.”

الطالب يدرسون علوم الكمبيوتر في أربع برامج بجامعة كارنيجي ميلون

هل ابنك الشاب الصغير معجب بالروبوتات أو مهتم بالبحث العلمي؟ توفر جامعة كارنيجي ميلون في قطر برامج عديدة متواصلة تشجع

طالب المرحلة الثانوية على استكشاف اهتمامهم بعلوم الكمبيوتر والحقول ذات الصلة.

ألول مرة هذا العام، تعرفت طالبات المرحلة الثانوية ومرحلة البكالوريوس على المساهمة المهمة التي يمكنهن تقديمها ألبحاث

علوم الكمبيوتر خالل مؤتمر “فرص بحثية للجامعيات في مجال علوم الحاسب “في قطر لسنة 2012.”

شارك في البرنامج اختصاصيات بارزات في علوم الحاسب منهن المتحدثة الرئيسية سهام عامر يحيى، مديرة أبحاث الحوسبة بمعهد

قطر لبحوث الحاسب اآللي والعالمة البارزة بمعهد ياهو! لألبحاث سابقا.

في برامج أخرى، تنافست فرق طالبية في مسابقة البرمجة السنوية للمرحلة الثانوية ومسابقة بوتبول اإلقليمية للروبوتيات. وتنافس

الطالب خالل مسابقة بوتبول على تصميم وبناء روبوتات ذاتية التحكم لمحاكاة الروبوتات تحت المائية القادرة على نقل الشعاب المرجانية

المعرضة للخطر إلى موائل محمية.

استمتع طالب آخرون بمقدمة في علوم الحاسب في حلقة عمل برنامج علوم الحاسب في قطر. واستكمل المشاركون برامج علوم الحاسب

التي عرفتهم على البرمجة وتعلموا تطوير األلعاب ثنائية األبعاد. واختتم البرنامج بحلقة عمل عملية حول الروبوتات أتاحت لهم ابتكار وتشغيل

الروبوتي. الذكاء

يقول خالد هراس، أستاذ مساعد علوم الحاسب: “سيلعب علماء الحاسب دورا ال غنى عنه في اقتصاد قطر المعتمد على المعارف. وبما أن التكنولوجيا والصناعات ذات الصلة بها ستكون محركات النمو الرئيسية

في االقتصاد، فإن إيجاد قاعدة مواهب خبيرة من ممارسي علوم الحاسب سيجعل قطر مهيأة جيدا للتنافس في سوق القرن الحادي

والعشرين”.

“ويعد تواصل جامعة كارنيجي ميلون في قطر وخبرتها في هذا المضمار عنصرا أساسيا في تشجيع شباب قطر ال على دخول هذا المجال فحسب،

بل على أن يكونوا جزءا من إبداعات هذا المجال المثيرة”.

42

On: Science

Workshops Build Life Science Educator Network in QatarScience and research are essential to Qatar’s transformation from a carbon-based to a knowledge-based economy.

That’s why two Education City universities are working to develop experimental and analytical skills that will help students succeed in their science-based programs.

Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar and Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar have teamed up to establish a network of life science educators (LiScEN). The network of primary and secondary school teachers will work in line with Qatar National Vision 2030 toward developing an infrastructure for cutting-edge research in the life sciences for Qatar and the region.

Since its inception this past spring, more than 50 science instructors from around the region have joined the network, learning new ways to incorporate information about scientific discoveries and experimental design into their curricula.

“To train a successful pool of Arab scientists, we need to start at the grassroots level and have our secondary school students begin to think deeply about the material at hand – they must ask, ‘What is scientific inquiry?,” said Kenneth Hovis, assistant teaching professor of biology at Carnegie Mellon.

الهدف الجوهري لالستقصاء العلمي هو تحصيل المعرفة على هيئة تفسيرات قابلة لالختبار يمكنها التنبؤ بنتائج التجارب المستقبلية. بوجه عام، مما هو

مفيد أن تعرف الحقيقة العلمية، ولكن األكثر فائدة أن تعرف السبب من ورائها. فالمعرفة من النوع األول معرفة وصفية، وأما المعرفة من النوع الثاني فهي

تفسيرية.

وأضاف هوفيس قائال: “ بصفتنا أكاديميين جامعيين، نحن نتحمل مسؤولية مساندة معلمي علوم الحياة في المدارس االبتدائية والثانوية في تشجيعهم

االستقصاء العلمي بين شباب المنطقة، وتوفر لنا شبكة LiScEN الوسيلة للقيام بذلك”.

في وقت سابق من هذا العام، أعلنت الجامعتان عن استحداث درجتين علميتين تعاونيتين جديدتين في العلوم البيولوجية والبيولوجيا الحاسوبية.

يشمل المنهج األساسي لكال البرنامجين البيولوجيا والفيزياء والكيمياء الحيوية والرياضيات والكيمياء العضوية والكيمياء العضوية التجريبية، حيث

يدرس الطالب مقررا دراسيا كميا صارما.

إدراكا من كارنيجي ميلون ألهمية التواصل مع طالب ومعلمي المرحلة الثانوية، فإنها ستواصل برنامج “مستكشف التكنولوجيا البيولوجية” للطالب، حيث يحلل

الطالب نماذج محاكاة للتفشيات المرضية من خالل التمارين المعملية التفاعلية.

To train a successful pool of Arab scientists, we need to start on the grassroots level and have our secondary school students begin to think deeply about the material at hand.

Kenneth HovisAssistant Professor of Biology, Carnegie Mellon Qatar.


At its core, scientific inquiry’s goal is to obtain knowledge in the form of testable explanations that can predict the results of future experiments. More broadly, it is one thing to know that; it is quite a different matter to know why. Knowledge of the former type is descriptive; knowledge of the latter type is explanatory.

“As university academics, it is our responsibility to support life sciences educators in primary and secondary schools as they promote scientific inquiry amongst the region’s youth – LiScEN gives us this means,” Hovis added.

Earlier this year the two universities announced new collaborative undergraduate degrees in the biological sciences and computational biology.

The two programs’ core curriculum includes biology, physics, biochemistry, math; and both organic and experimental organic chemistry, in which students undertake a rigorous, quantitative course of study.

Understanding the importance of reaching out to secondary school students as well as educators, Carnegie Mellon will continue the Student Biotechnology Explorer Program, where students analyze simulated disease outbreaks through interactive laboratory exercises.

حلقات عمل إلنشاء شبكة لمعلمي علوم الحياة في قطر

العلوم والبحوث ضروريان لتحويل دولة قطر من اقتصاد معتمد على الكربون إلى اقتصاد معتمد على المعارف.

لهذا تعكف جامعتان من جامعات المدينة التعليمية على تنمية المهارات التجريبية والتحليلية التي ستساعد الطالب على النجاح في برامجهم القائمة

على دراسة العلوم.

قد تضافرت جهود جامعة كارنيجي ميلون في قطر وكلية طب وايل كورنيل في قطر إلنشاء شبكة لمعلمي علوم الحياة)LiScEN(. وستعمل الشبكة التي

تضم معلمي المرحلتين االبتدائية والثانوية بما يتماشى مع رؤية قطر الوطنية 2030 من أجل تطوير بنية تحتية ألرقى األبحاث في مجال علوم الحياة لدولة قطر

والمنطقة بأسرها.

قد انضم إلى الشبكة منذ إنشائها في الربيع الماضي أكثر من 50 معلم علوم من كل أنحاء المنطقة حيث تعلموا طرقا جديدة حول االكتشافات العلمية

والتصميم التجريبي ليدمجونها في مناهجهم .

يقول كينيث هوفيس، أستاذ علم البيولوجيا المساعد في جامعة كارنيجي ميلون: “من أجل تدريب جيل ناجح من العلماء العرب، ال بد أن نبدأ انطالقا من

القاعدة ونجعل طالب مدارسنا الثانوية يبدءون في التفكير بعمق في المادة التي بين أيديهم، وال بد أن يسألوا: ما االستقصاء العلمي؟”

44

On: Student Life

Lana Sami is younger than most published authors.

But 10-year-old Lana attended the launch of her first book, Agent Peacock’s Mission, at a recent event at Carnegie Mellon Qatar. She was joined by seven other Qatar Academy students – each proudly clutching their own hardbound book.

For eight weeks, the group has been participating in a community outreach program organized by Carnegie Mellon students Sara Al-Mannai and Najla Al-Madhadi. An initiative of the university’s Office of Personal Development, the Doha Community Engagement Program (DCEP) invites students to submit proposals outlining community service projects that will make a difference in Qatar. Each semester, one proposal is chosen, and the students get a small budget in return for a lot of time and effort.

In this semester’s project, Sara and Najla, both business administration students, initiated a weekly after-school writing program for 8 to 12 year-olds. Named Oktob, the Arabic word for write, the project aimed to encourage kids to become passionate about writing.

Inspiration for the program came from Sara’s own enjoyment of reading, she said.

“Through each and every book, you can take a journey. I wanted to help others see what I see in books,” she said.

To kindle the students’ interest, Sara and Najla asked them to imagine they were detectives who had discovered an unopened letter and a mysterious key. From there, the students created their own adventures, which they wrote in English or Arabic, and illustrated with their own drawings.

In the weekly sessions, Sara and Najla gave the children feedback, listened to their ideas and read aloud to them. They learned how much this support meant to their mentees.

“We learned from our young friends that children don’t

give up on what they are interested in if someone is standing there beside them,” Najla said.

At this year’s closing event, the Qatar Academy students received bound copies of their books and shared some of their experiences. For eight-year-old Ghalia Dawood, the best part was seeing her ideas captured in a book.

“Lots of people in school have imaginations, but they don’t always have a pencil and paper,” she said.

For Lana Sami, this was the first step in becoming a professional writer.

“The best thing about my experience was learning new things and making my dream come true,” Lana said.

Copies of the students’ books will be placed in the Qatar Academy and Carnegie Mellon Qatar libraries. The women said they hope to offer the program to another group of children.

Carnegie Mellon Students Encourage Creativity at Qatar Academy After-School Program

Qatar Academy student Amr Al Sharief shows off his book.


Sara Al-Mannai helps Lana Sami with her book.

46

On: Research

When it comes to putting money in the stock market, it’s nice to know religious beliefs shouldn’t affect return on investment.

Research by Edmond Abi Saleh, a senior in business administration, compared growth patterns over time of Islamic and traditional finance. In a project titled “Islamic Finance Meets Wall Street,” Edmond found that the Dow Jones Islamic indexes, after accounting for initial volatility, noise cancellations and price corrections, showed no substantial differences in growth from the Dow JonesIndustrial Average.

A Local InvestmentStudents Showcase Research at Meeting of the Minds

“For the same amount of risk, the investor gets the same amount of return. The added benefit, of course, is religious peace of mind,” Edmond said of the Shari’ah-compliant market.

The research won Edmond best poster and best undergraduate project at Carnegie Mellon’s sixth annual Meeting of the Minds undergraduate research symposium. He chose the topic because Islamic finance is rarely studied.

“As I was undertaking my research, many of my professors were


طالب يعرضون أبحاثهم حول األسواق المالية في لقاء العقول

عندما يتعلق األمر باستثمار أموالك في البورصة أو سوق األوراق المالية، فمن المهم أن تعرف أن االعتقادات الدينية ينبغي أال تؤثر على عائد االستثمار.

يهتم بحث أجراه إدموند أبي صالح، أحد طالب السنة النهائية بقسم إدارة األعمال بجامعة كارنيجي ميلون في قطر، بمقارنة أنماط النمو للتمويل اإلسالمي

والتقليدي بمرور الوقت. وقد وجد أبي صالح خالل مشروع بحثه الذي يحمل عنوان “اتفاق التمويل اإلسالمي مع وول ستريت” أن مؤشرات داو جونز اإلسالمية، بعد

شهودها لتقلبات أولية وعمليات سحب مزعجة وحركات تصحيح سعرية، لم تظهر أي اختالفات كبرى فيما يتعلق بالنمو مقارنة بمؤشر داو جونز الصناعي.

يقول أبي صالح بخصوص السوق المتفقة مع مبادئ الشريعة اإلسالمية “يحصل

Student Raggi al Hammouri (right)

explains his research on a road safety

simulator to judges.

المستثمر على نسبة عائد مماثلة لما تحمله من مخاطرة. وتتمثل الفائدة المضافة في هذا الصدد بالتأكيد في االرتياح من الناحية الدينية حيال االستثمار على

هذا النحو”.

لقد حاز إدموند أبي صالح بفضل بحثه على لقب أفضل كاتب مشاركات وصاحب أفضل مشروع تخرج خالل ندوة أبحاث التخرج المنعقدة على هامش لقاء العقول السنوي السادس لجامعة كارنيجي ميلون. وقد اختار إدموند هذا الموضوع بعدما

رأى قصور تناول األبحاث للتمويل اإلسالمي.

يقول أبي صالح “أثناء قيامي بإعداد البحث، كان هناك حرص واهتمام من العديد من أستاذتي على االطالع على نتائجي وتحقيقاتي. وقد أدركت أن هذا بمثابة إشارة لبحث

48

On: Research

Research is an all-important part of the programs and coursework at both Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh and here in Qatar.

John RobertsonAssistant Dean, Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar.

interested to learn of my findings. I think that sets the mark for valuable research – research that can produce knowledge. As I move to becoming a graduate, I hope that I have left my mark on the university with my research and the next generation of students shows a greater interest in discovering more about Islamic finance,” Edmond said.

Fellow senior Raggi al Hammouri, a computer scientist and QF achiever, worked with the Williams Technology Centre on a project titled “Developing Scenarios for a Qatar-specific Road Safety Simulator,” to develop specific, simulated training

Edmond Abi-Saleh (left) receives his first place award from John Robertson, assistant dean.


programs for learner drivers in Doha. Raggi earned second place in the competition while computer science student Amna Zeyara’s project, “Evaluation of the Ability of a Robot to Embody Different Cultural Traits,” took third place.

“For our students, research is much more than a section of the course syllabus – it is at the foundation of a Carnegie Mellon education. Our faculty is working tirelessly to foster a lifetime of inquiry in our students that will benefit not only themselves, but also the country’s future development,” said Ilker Baybars, dean of Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar.

About 30 teams of undergraduate and post-graduate students presented their research projects at the annual symposium, which highlights some of the best ongoing student research at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar. Research projects by students majoring in Business Administration, Computer Science and Information Systems were featured, along with projects completed by students taking Architecture classes at Carnegie Mellon Qatar this semester.

“Research is an all-important part of the programs and coursework at both Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh and here in Qatar. Five of the projects being presented today are the result of our funded Summer Research Program that pairs student researchers with faculty mentors on a research project over a ten-week period,” said John Robertson, assistant dean at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar.

Post-graduate researchers also demonstrated the fruits of their work at Meeting of the Minds. Abderrahmen Mtibaa’s research, “Challenges in Mobile Opportunistic Network,” was awarded the best post-graduate project.

Each project was judged by a review committee consisting of experts from Qatar’s academic institutions and industry including representatives from the General Secretariat for Development Planning, Doha Bank, Qatar Shell Research & Technology Center, Qatar Shell GTL, Qatar University, Aspire Zone Foundation, Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, Texas A & M University at Qatar, ictQatar, Qatari Diar, deltaDOT, Qatar Computing Research Institute, Total Research Center Qatar, Vodafone Qatar, iHorizons and Al-Jazeera.

قيم، بحث يضيف إلى المعرفة ويثريها. وأتمنى وأنا مقبل على التخرج األسبوع القادم أن أكون قد تركت

عالمة بارزة في الجامعة ببحثي هذا، كما أتمنى أن يبدي الجيل القادم من الطالب مزيدا من االهتمام بتعزيز

وزيادة البحث حول التمويل اإلسالمي”.

راجي الحموري الطالب في السنة النهائية، عالم كمبيوتر وأحد مبدعي مؤسسة قطر، ويعمل راجي مع

مركز ويليامز للتكنولوجيا في مشروع يحمل اسم “إعداد سيناريوهات لجهاز محاكاة خاص بسالمة

الطرق في قطر”، ويهدف المشروع إلى إعداد برامج تدريبية خاصة قائمة على المحاكاة لتدريب السائقين

المبتدئين في الدوحة. وقد احتل راجي الحموري المركز الثاني في المنافسة، بينما جاءت طالبة علوم

الكمبيوتر آمنة الزيارة بمشروعها الذي يحمل اسم “تقييم قدرة إنسان آلي في تجسيد سمات ثقافية

مختلفة” في المركز الثالث.

يقول إيلكر بايبرس، عميد كارنيجي ميلون في قطر “بالنسبة لطالبنا، يتعدى البحث أن يكون مجرد جزء

من موضوعات المنهج الدراسي، إنه يمثل، بخالف ذلك، األساس للتعليم في جامعة كارنيجي ميلون. إن جامعتنا تعمل بال كلل لتزرع في طالبها ملكات

البحث والتحقيق وتجعلها منهج حياتهم، وهذا ليس خدمة ألنفسهم فحسب، ولكن خدمة للتطوير

المستقبلي في الدولة أيضا”.

لقد قام ما يقرب من 30 فريقا من الطالب الجامعيين وطالب الدراسات العليا بعرض مشروعاتهم البحثية

في الندوة السنوية التي أبرزت بعض أفضل أبحاث الطالب الجارية في جامعة كارنيجي ميلون في قطر.

وكان من بين أبرز مشروعات األبحاث تلك األبحاث الخاصة بالطالب المتخصصين في إدارة األعمال

وعلوم الكمبيوتر وأنظمة المعلومات، إلى جانب مشروعات األبحاث التي أجراها طالب أقسام الهندسة خالل هذا الفصل الدراسي بجامعة كارنيجي ميلون في

قطر.

يقول جون روبرتسون، مساعد العميد للشؤون األكاديمية بجامعة كارنيجي ميلون في قطر “يعد

البحث واحدا من األجزاء البالغة األهمية في البرامج والمقررات التعليمية في جامعة كارنيجي ميلون

في بيتسبرغ وهنا في قطر. وتعتبر خمسة من المشروعات التي يتم تقديمها اليوم ثمرة لبرنامج

البحث الصيفي الذي نقوم بتمويله والذي يجمع الباحثين من الطالب مع أساتذة الجامعة في مشروع

بحثي يمتد لمدة عشرة أسابيع”.

باإلضافة إلى ذلك، لقد عكس باحثو الدراسات العليا ما حققوه من استفادة من العمل في لقاء العقول. وقد

حاز بحث السيد عبد الرحمن المطيبع “تحديات شبكة الهواتف المحمولة االستغاللية”على جائزة أفضل

مشروع بحثي لطالب الدراسات العليا.

تولى مهمة تقييم كل مشروع من المشروعات البحثية التي تم عرضها لجنة مراجعة تضم خبراء من

شركات ومؤسسات قطر األكاديمية، بما في ذلك ممثلون من األمانة العامة للتخطيط التنموي وبنك

الدوحة ومركز شل لألبحاث والتكنولوجيا بقطر وقطر شل جي تي إل وجامعة قطر ومؤسسة أسباير زون

وكلية طب وايل كورنيل في قطر وجامعة تكساس إيه آند إم في قطر والمجلس األعلى لالتصاالت

وتكنولوجيا المعلومات بقطر وشركة ديار القطرية وشركة دلتا دوت ومعهد قطر لبحوث الحاسب اآللي

ومركز األبحاث الشاملة بقطر وفودافون قطر وآي هورايزنز والجزيرة.

Feature

5050

The ladies dressed up and the men donned their suits for Carnegie Mellon Qatar’s first Masquerade Ball. Organized by Student Majlis, more than 70 students enjoyed an evening of live music and masks.

Feature

52

54

On: The Pittsburgh Connection

More than 6,900 miles separate Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States from Doha. However, Carnegie Mellon University’s international focus and emphasis on diversity has shrunken that gap and made others similarly insignificant.

Ten students from Doha travelled to Pittsburgh during their mid-semester break as part of the university’s IMPAQT (Instigating Meaningful Pittsburgh and Qatar Ties) program, which was founded in 2008. A week later, seven students from Pittsburgh followed them home by travelling to Doha for their own cultural experience.

Amal Osman, a junior in business administration, said she participated to explore the main campus in Pittsburgh and strengthen the partnership between the two campuses. She also visited Washington, D.C., and experienced some of the diversity of the United States.

“Going to those two cities made me realize how different they are, in terms of people, urban design, lifestyle and much more,” she said.

William Mistiano, an International Relations and Politics major, became interested in visiting Doha upon hearing about IMPAQT during orientation. He applied to travel to Qatar, searching for a chance to see “what life is like for his fellow students.”

As part of the trip, he visited Al-Jazeera’s Studios and Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, as well as participated in a Qatari cultural event, “Freej,” which was put on by Carnegie Mellon’s Qatar Student Association.

“Having gone to Qatar, I have realized how much of an amazing place it is, and how great it is that Qatar Foundation is putting resources into education, which will prove invaluable in the future,” he said.

Closing the Gap

Going to those two cities made me realize how different they are, in terms of people, urban design, lifestyle and much more.

Amal OsmanBusiness Administration Student, Carnegie Mellon Qatar.


On: Class Notes

2008Ibrahim Hassan (TPR) is a Islamic project manager and senior relations manager at Qatar Development Bank.

2009Dana Haidan (TPR) is head of Corporate Social Responsibility at Vodafone Qatar.

Mohammed Abu Zeinab (TPR) is the founder of the sports events company TIMKOPP.

Hend Kamal Gedawy (CS) is a research associate at Qatar Computing Research Institute. She graduated in 2012 with a master’s of science in computer science from Carnegie Mellon.

2011Laila Murad (TPR) is a program management analyst at Qatar Foundation

Yasser Masood (IS) is a social media strategist with ILoveQatar.net.

2012Tarkay Jamaan (CS) is a penetration testing specialist with QCERT at ictQATAR.

Ideas that are worth spreading attracted more than 500 people to Qatar’s first multi-university TEDx event, which took place at the Qatar National Convention Centre in April.

Yasser Masood (IS’11) and students from Carnegie Mellon and other Education City universities organized the event, which featured talks by professors from Education City’s branch campuses.

TED is a nonprofit organization supporting the spread of world-changing ideas through annual conferences held in California and Edinburgh. In the spirit of ideas worth sharing, so-called “TEDx” conferences are independent, self-organized events that bring people in other areas together for TED-like experiences.

Themed “Flash Forward,” the country’s first multi-university TEDx aimed to share Education City innovations with the community and weave the contributions of each of the branch campuses into a common thread.

David Gray, a postdoctoral fellow at Carnegie Mellon, spoke about the philosophical roots of tolerance and its importance in today’s world. Also representing Carnegie Mellon’s faculty was Matthew Szudzik, assistant professor of mathematics, who shared the story of Wolfram|Alpha, a computational answer engine that helps power Microsoft’s Bing and Apple’s Siri.

Carnegie Mellon Alumnus, Students, organize Education City’s First TEDx Conference

Yasser Masood speaks at Qatar’s first multi-university TEDx conference.

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Twenty-three MBA students from the Tepper School of

Business at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh

visited Doha in March. A networking reception on campus connected the graduate students

with Qatar and regional alumni.

In partnership with Qatar Foundation, Carnegie Mellon University’s Executive and Professional Education Program can help ensure that your organization is equipped with the tools needed for success.

Designed for anyone who wants to improve ski l ls crit ical to good management, Carnegie Mellon University is pleased to offer three new courses in the fal l of 2012. Each course is del ivered over a three-day period at Carnegie Mellon’s beautiful bui lding on the Education City campus.

You are invited to join us for:

• DynamicOrganizatiOnalleaDership (September 18-20)

• BusinessstrategyanDtactics (October 21-23)

• theartanDscienceOfnegOtiatiOn(November 20-22)

For further information and registration instructions, please visit : www.qatar.cmu.edu/ExecEd

If you have any questions, please contact us at: [email protected]

In a fast-changing world, are your people prepared to confront the challenges of tomorrow?

executive&professionaleducationi n v e s t i n g i n h u m a n c a p i t a l

on magazine, summer/fall 2012

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