Annual Report 2019-2020
P.O. Box 24866, Education City, Doha, Qatar Annual Report Phone: +974 4454 8400 www.qatar.cmu.edu 2019-2020 Annual Report 2019-2020 2 3 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY Annual Report IN QATAR 2019-2020
Acknowledgments In 2004, Carnegie Mellon and Qatar Foundation began a partnership to deliver select programs that will contribute to the long-term development of Qatar. For 15 years, we have shared a mission: to provide a world class education to students in Qatar. Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar thanks His Highness Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, Amir of the State of Qatar, for his leadership and commitment to progress and education. We also express our deep appreciation to His Highness the Father Amir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation, and Her Excellency Sheikha Hind Bint Hamad Al Thani, Vice Chairperson and CEO of Qatar Foundation, for their vision and leadership. 4 5 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY Annual Report IN QATAR 2019-2020
Contents
Introduction Community Engagement 06 We are Carnegie Mellon 52 The Dean’s Lecture Series 08 From the President 54 Our Strategic Partners 10 From the Dean 56 Collaborations with Qatar Foundation 58 QF Partners in Education 60 Carnegie Mellon Connections
Our Alumni Student Experience 14 Class of 2020 64 A Strong, Connected Community 16 The Global Alumni Network 66 Peer-to-Peer Learning 18 A Year of Accomplishments 68 Leadership and Career Development 20 Class of 2019 One Year Later 22 Networking and Mentorship
Our Students Research 26 Events for Pre-College Students 72 The Year in Faculty Research 28 The Admission Process 74 QNRF-funded Research Projects 30 Our Student Community 76 Student Research 78 Meeting of the Minds
Academics Our Stories 34 Academics at CMU-Q 82 Public Relations 36 Our Faculty 84 The Year in the News 38 Biological Sciences 40 Business Administration Our Leadership, Our Faculty, 42 Computer Science 44 Information Systems Our Partners 46 Arts and Sciences 90 Advisors and Senior Leadership 48 Interdisciplinary Collaboration 92 Faculty 94 Community Partners 96 About Us 6 7 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY Annual Report IN QATAR 2019-2020
We are Carnegie Mellon
Our Vision Carnegie Mellon University will have a transformative impact on society through continual innovation in education, research, creativity, and entrepreneurship.
Our Mission To create a transformative educational experience for students focused on deep disciplinary knowledge; problem solving; leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills; and personal health and well-being.
To cultivate a transformative university community committed to:
a. attracting and retaining diverse, world‑class talent;
b. creating a collaborative environment open to the free exchange of ideas, where research, creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship can flourish; and
c. ensuring individuals can achieve their full potential.
To impact society in a transformative way—regionally, nationally, and globally—by engaging with partners outside the traditional borders of the university campus. 8 9 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY Annual Report IN QATAR 2019-2020
Sixteen years after it was first established, Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar continues to stand as a global beacon of educational opportunity.
Today, the role of CMU-Q is more 15 new micro courses. Taught by important than it ever has been as professors from our main campus, they a result of humanity’s response to covered topics that typically lie outside the COVID-19 pandemic. The world CMU-Q offerings, including artificial is currently seeking solutions to the intelligence and society, blockchain, and challenges that we face in areas such computational medicine. as health care, education, policy and science. In these uncertain times, Our success to date would not be I am confident that CMU-Q students possible without the support of the and faculty will help build a brighter Qatar Foundation, and the founding tomorrow. vision of His Highness the Father Amir, Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa While the past year has certainly been Al Thani, Her Highness Sheikha Moza unique, I am proud of the way the bint Nasser, and Her Excellency CMU-Q community came together to Sheikha Hind Bint Hamad Al Thani. persevere and thrive. Thanks to these I continue to be deeply grateful for this collaborative efforts, 86 outstanding dynamic partnership. students graduated as part of the Class of 2020, bringing the total It has been a year unlike any other, number of CMU-Q alumni to and this Annual Report details many 935 Tartans. accomplishments in which we can all take pride. I invite you to explore its A focus on innovative learning has pages as we look ahead to what the always defined CMU-Q, and this year next year will bring. is no different. Not only did we shift
125 CMU-Q courses to remote learning Farnam Jahanian in only two days, we also introduced President, Carnegie Mellon University
From the President 10 11 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY Annual Report IN QATAR 2019-2020
Welcome to the Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar Annual Report 2019-2020.
I have been a faculty member at This report is also the story of how our Carnegie Mellon University for small community faced a challenge 30 years, and the dean of the Qatar that comes along once in a century, campus since 2017. Over the decades, and how we united around a single I have seen how higher education goal: to provide a quality education for adapts as the times change, and how our students. And our students have technology has challenged many of the likewise risen to the challenge. I am ways we deliver a university education. exceptionally proud of their creativity and determination. These challenges dwarf in comparison to the COVID-19 pandemic. I know As we reflect on the academic year that the pandemic has touched every of 2019-2020, it is clear that we are person on the planet in ways both big resilient because of our connections. and small, and those of us in higher We have risen to the challenges of education are no exception. My deep the pandemic because of hundreds gratitude goes out to those on the of dedicated and resourceful people: frontlines, and my heart goes out to our faculty, students, staff, alumni, all those who were afflicted or lost Qatar Foundation partners, Education From someone to the disease. City colleagues, the CMU faculty, staff and leadership, and our supportive The CMU-Q Annual Report 2019-2020 partners in Qatar’s academic, is the story of how our community government and industry sectors. the Dean contributed to an academic year full of Thank you. academic innovation, accomplishment and enthusiasm. There is much to
celebrate, and I encourage you to learn Michael Trick more about our achievements this year. Dean, Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar 12 13 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY Annual Report IN QATAR 2019-2020
Our Alumni
Since our first class graduated in 2008, nearly 1000 men and women have completed their undergraduate education at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar. As they build their careers, we follow their successes, connect them to one another, and encourage them to mentor the next generation of CMU-Q students. 14 15 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY Annual Report IN QATAR 2019-2020
86 5 19 47% graduates academic nationalities Qatari Class of 2020 programs citizens
I have watched these 86 graduates grow into accomplished and confident young professionals. “ While the pandemic may change how we celebrate, it cannot dampen our enthusiasm, or how proud we are of their accomplishments. Michael” Trick
The 86 graduates in CMU-Q’s Class of 2020 were scheduled to cross the stage at a formal ceremony, but the pandemic’s social distancing restrictions called for a creative solution. Instead, CMU-Q honored the class at a series of virtual events, which included a senior celebration and the formal conferral of degrees for Carnegie Mellon graduates worldwide.
Right from our orientation we were present and ready to take adventures on. “ Today, we are present with each other, despite the circumstances. I’m excited Graduates by program Outstanding Academic Andrew Carnegie Society Achievement Awards Scholars to see a world where our Biological Sciences presence contributes to ▪ Maha Al-Tamimi ▪ Muhammad Nahin Khan 17 (Biological Sciences) ▪ Fatima Mustafawi positive change. Business Administration ▪ Fahad Salah Bahzad 36 (Business Administration) Qatar Campus Scholars Computational Biology ▪ Raghid Bsat ▪ Fahad Salah Bahzad (Computational Biology) Dona Ferdinando 01 ▪ Raghid Bsat Student Speaker Computer Science ▪ Mohammed Nurul Hoque ” ▪ Mohammed Nurul Hoque Biological Sciences | Class of 2020 (Computer Science) 16 ▪ Muhammad Nahin Khan ▪ Hassan Nadeem Information Systems 16 (Information Systems) ▪ Fatima Mustafawi 16 17 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY Annual Report IN QATAR 2019-2020
The Global 13 935 Alumni live on 55 graduating alumni 5 nationalities Alumni Network classes continents
Alumni are working at top international organizations
San Francisco Pittsburgh Dublin Munich Beijing ▪ A r n ▪ Ro ot n t tute ▪ a e oo ▪ ne a ▪ an an ▪ A a on u ▪ er A an e ▪ A on er a ▪ oo le e nolo e roup London r ate u t un ▪ ro o t ▪ t n te n o Budapest ▪ uare Boston ▪ ▪ o a Lahore ▪ ana- ar er ▪ Ar o t Mountain View an er n t tute Luxembourg ▪ ure ▪ oo le ▪ A a on Melbourne New York ▪ Singapore ▪ a r e A o ate Seattle Amsterdam ▪ n ee o ▪ ▪ A a on ▪ Adelaide ▪ ▪ ot re pe a ▪ elerate ▪ out Au tral an Tokyo or an ▪ r et A o at on ▪ elo tte Redmond ▪ pot Zurich ▪ ro o t ▪ oo le Sydney Houston ▪ Toronto ▪ a er u e Dusseldorf ▪ e Ro al Au trala an ▪ ap tal ar et ▪ ot n ▪ n e olle e o an ▪ elo tte ▪ o pan ▪ orneau epell Auckland ▪ R n e tor ▪ ael a e rea ur er e
Our graduates are integral members of their communities, both within Qatar and across the globe. Alumni members are professionals, leaders and innovators who apply the skills they learned at Carnegie Mellon to shape the world around them.
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The first graduating class at CMU-Q was in 2008, and each year our alumni “20 women on the move in 2020” network grows in both numbers and achievements. In the last year, here are Entrepreneurs Maryam Al-Naemi just a few of our alumni accomplishments. (Information Systems 2018) and Min Kyung Kang (Biological Sciences Series A funding 2017) were selected for the “20 A startup that began women on the move in 2020” list as a student project for Doha Learning Days. The list raised $2.5 million in was compiled by WISE to recognize Series A funding. Haris influential women in Qatar. Aghadi (Information Systems 2014) and Abdulla Al-Khenji (Information Systems 2015) launched the physician booking DFI’s Short of the Week platform, Meddy, in Doha Film Institute (DFI) launched its new Short of the Week 2016. In response to screening series with “Al-Johara,” a film by Nora Al-Subai COVID-19, they added (Computer Science 2008). The film has been screened at tele-health services the Ajyal Youth Film Festival, the Sarajevo Film Festival, and that include video Festival de Cannes. medical consults and a symptom checker.
ISCRAM Best Paper First place, Girls Can Qatar Film Competition Umair Qazi (Information Systems Innovate, QITCOM 2019 Abdulrahman Alfayad 2018) and his fellow researchers Roda Al-Hor (Information Systems (Computer Science 2018) were awarded Best Paper by the 2017) was part of the winning team created the first Qatar 48-Hour Information Systems for Crisis of female innovators in the Girls Can Film Challenge. More than 200 Response and Management Innovate competition at the 2019 film enthusiasts tackled the (ISCRAM) Association. The study, Qatar IT Conference and Exhibition task of creating a five-minute which began as Qazi’s senior honors (QITCOM). Her team created a film over 48 hours. thesis, analyzed the usefulness one-stop shop app for abayas and of social media images to rapidly branded clothing. assess damage during a disaster.
IdeaCamp 2019 Yasir Khan and Abdul Wasay (both Made in Qatar hand sanitizers Forbes Magazine “30 under 30” Information Systems 2018) took first place in IdeaCamp 2019, a Digital Incubation Center (Business Administration (Computer Science 2015) and Mohammed Al-Matwi Sabih Bin Wasi program and part of the Ministry of Transport 2015) started the first perfume factory in Qatar (Computer Science 2015) were Rukhsar Neyaz and Communications. More than 250 teams in 2017, earning him the silver medal for Best selected for the North American Forbes “30 applied for the IdeaCamp program, which Startup at the 2019 Reyada Awards. In response under 30” list. They, along with Jiyda Moussa included training, mentoring and rehearsal to COVID-19, Al-Matwi shifted his business (Information Systems 2015) and Musab Popatia sessions over several months. focus to personal disinfectants—including hand (Computer Science 2016), have created Stellic, an sanitizers—for the Qatar market. academic planning tech startup. 20 21 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY Annual Report IN QATAR 2019-2020 Class of 2019 One Year Later
Global opportunity Although majoring in business I felt very prepared when I administration, Haris Syed was joined EY. During our one-week also interested in technology. At training program with the CMU-Q, he built an impressive best of the best from different interdisciplinary resume and after “ graduation, he was recruited for universities in the US, I felt I EY’s robotics process automation could step through the door division in Houston. and do whatever they do.
Interdisciplinary career path As a computer science student, ” Aside from our knowledge, the Zeina Darwiche planned to pursue programming after character of a CMU graduate graduation. Instead, she stepped is important. The people at into the business realm and “KPMG appreciate how we try joined KPMG Qatar to consult on to ask the right questions and digital innovation projects. broaden our perspective.
Graduate studies ” With a degree in biological I’m at the tip of the iceberg In May 2019, 78 young men and women completed their undergraduate degrees at sciences, Khalid Al-Naemi has and it’s a very deep decided to pursue graduate CMU-Q and began their careers. In the year since they graduated, the members of discipline that I am still the Class of 2019 have made significant strides in a myriad of fields. studies at McGill University. Bolstered by a prestigious “learning. But I have my CMU Employment status one year scholarship from Qatar University work ethic, and the drive and Platinum Education Excellence Award after graduation (QU), he will study genetic motivation to inspire future mycology, and eventually return to Aisha Fakhroo (Biological Sciences 2019), received a platinum students to pursue science. Employed Qatar to teach and research at QU. medal from His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani at the 13th annual Education Excellence Award ceremony. 63
Non-profit organization Best Demo Paper, Honorary As a student, Al-Dana ” Mention Not in market Al-Mohannadi was drawn to I never wanted a corporate job, Shaden Shaar (Computer Science the human side of information I wanted to find ways I could 2019) co-authored a paper on a system 01 systems, such as how technology to analyze propaganda techniques in can improve the quality of life for help people. CMU-Q helped me Graduate school the news. The paper received honorary people with disabilities. She joined “with the confidence to take on a mention by the Association for 07 Mada Center after graduation as position like this. Computational Linguistics. an ICT accessibility researcher. Still seeking 07 ” 22 23 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY Annual Report IN QATAR 2019-2020 Networking and Mentorship
I developed friendships here that I think will last a lifetime. I have this network “now, which consists of people, honestly, all over the world. CarnegieApps Hackathon mentors At the eighth edition of CMU-Q’s CarnegieApps Zaid Haque Hackathon, 10 alumni returned to mentor the Information Systems 2012 teams during the intense, 24-hour competition. Senior Program Manager, Microsoft” Most of the alumni mentors themselves participated in CarnegieApps Hackathon while they were students.
Dinner with Twelve Tartans Our alumni returned to campus to share their experiences and encourage our students as they begin their careers. The annual Dinner with Twelve Tartans also For our students, graduation is just the beginning of a new relationship with CMU-Q. included a speed networking segment to Our alumni remain closely connected to us, keeping us up-to-date with their personal introduce newer students to the graduates. milestones and career successes. Throughout the year, they return to CMU-Q to network with and mentor a new generation of students. Munich alumni gathering Carnegie Mellon alumni from both the Qatar Milestone class reunions and Pittsburgh campuses gathered in Munich In January, graduates celebrating milestone class reunions to meet and network with current CMU-Q reconnected with one another, as well as faculty and staff, students. The students were exploring the at an event hosted by Michael Trick. Graduates from the At CMU, we are asking a booming innovation entrepreneurship and tech classes of 2018, 2014, and 2009 were marking their one-, sector in Munich. five-, and ten-year reunions, respectively. fundamental question: How do we prepare the next Career networking “generation for a future CMU-Q alumni frequently return to campus for of work that is always networking events like Careers Platform, Professional changing? Services Career Day and information sessions. Representing their employers, these alumni share their work experiences, guide students and provide Farnam Jahanian information about internships and employment. President, Carnegie Mellon University Special reception with President Jahanian ”Qatar alumni reception At a special reception for CMU-Q alumni, November 2019 Farnam Jahanian outlined his vision for re-imagining Tartan Talks Tarnival alumni tent the student experience. The reception was also an Tartan Talks is an opportunity for current The annual CMU-Q Tartan carnival is a favorite event for opportunity for alumni to network with local business students to learn about life after graduation alumni, who return to network with one another and leaders, Carnegie Mellon leadership and faculty from alumni from each academic program. This reconnect with the university. There were 85 alumni who members from CMU-Q. year, CMU-Q hosted three Tartan Talk events. attended Tarnival 2019. 24 25 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY Annual Report IN QATAR 2019-2020
Our Students
Our student community is at the heart of all we do at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar. During the admission cycle each year, we seek out applicants who are motivated and eager to learn. Together, our enrolled students form a global-minded community that is enthusiastic, encouraging and supportive. 26 27 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY Annual Report IN QATAR 2019-2020 Events for Pre-College Students
When I attended SCPP in 2012, it gave me a sense of direction and made me “realize that what I wanted more than anything was to become a Tartan.
Summer College Preview Program Maryam Al Naemi Class of 2018 A total of 72 students participated in SCPP 2019, an Keynote speaker | SCPP 2019 closing intensive three-week program that introduces high ” ceremony school students to the programs offered at CMU-Q.
Pi Day Mathematics Competition The fifth annual math contest drew 126 teams from across Qatar. The top four teams were from the American School of Doha, Doha British School, and two from DPS Modern Indian School.
Each year, we introduce nearly 2,000 high school students to Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar. A slate of workshops, competitions and learning programs Botball inspire curiosity and exploration in the fields of business, science and technology. The Lebanese School of Qatar came first in a field of 17 teams at the 16th Botball competition. The annual contest challenges students to program a robot to maneuver through a game board of obstacles and challenges. Doha Secondary School came in second place.
Mindcraft Virtual Three months after the pandemic started, CMU-Q launched its first virtual Experience CMU-Q outreach program. Mindcraft Virtual is Experience CMU-Q is a one-day an online reimagining of the popular workshop to explore study and career Mindcraft workshop that introduces options in different CMU-Q programs. students to the concepts of computer Nearly 250 students attended the science. October and January sessions. 28 29 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY Annual Report IN QATAR 2019-2020
Class of 2023 The Admission 113 35 42 21 first-year Qatari international first-years students students students admitted under Process Early Decision
Recruitment for the Class of 2024
With application numbers up by 42%, the admission process for the Class of 2024 was exceptionally selective. We participated in Education City visits to more than 40 schools in the country and took part in Discover Education City, a two-day collaborative event.
Our admission team also travels as part of the Education City roadshow to meet with prospective students and Early Decision share with them the unique CMU-Q admitted 21 students for Early Decision, the largest group experience of studying in Qatar. since the university began the process in 2016. More than half were Qatari nationals, with a total of eight nations represented.
Today’s world needs solutions For each applicant to Carnegie Mellon, we look at more than grades: we consider for problems that are not the whole student. Through this careful process, we select an incoming class of confined to only one field of curious and motivated students who will support and challenge one another. “ study.
Layal Al-Alami Class of 2013 Commercial” Project Manager, Siemens Allow me to reassure Keynote speaker | Early Decision Dinner each one of you, we selected you because you “have talent, work ethic, Qatar Foundation Grant Program creativity and drive, and for new CMU-Q students we believe you will thrive Qatar Foundation introduced a need-based grant program for CMU-Q at CMU-Q. students of all nationalities entering the Class of 2023. Grants of up to the Michael Trick full cost of attendance were offered, Convocation | Class of 2023 based on financial circumstances. Marhaba Tartans ” The grant program was extended for Nearly 150 newly admitted students and their families logged in to the Class of 2024, and will support a a virtual welcome session to meet the faculty, staff, students and diverse and competitive student body. graduates of the university. 30 31 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY Annual Report IN QATAR 2019-2020
Student body composition Our Student 410 48 41% 60% students nationalities Qatari female Community enrolled
Enrolled students, by program
Source: Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar registrar 450
3 6 400 46 2 3 32 55 58 20 57 71 350 61 6 98 105 86 106 300 104 79 95 95 101 250 62 78 83 93 47 68 89 80 200 73 58 72 85 19 62 150 46 56
100 48 188 186 181 183 164 167 161 43 156 147 147 121 131 50 107 22 71 46 19 CMU-Q students come from diverse backgrounds, with a wide spectrum of 0 interests and aspirations. Together, they form a community of enthusiastic learners. 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Computational Biology Computer Science Biological Sciences Business Administration Information Systems
Financial Aid
Financial aid options are a vital component of a diverse, competitive and strong CMU-Q student community. In 2019-2020, there were several types of financial support available for our students:
▪ Amiri scholarship, Ministry of ▪ Qatar Foundation financial aid Education and Higher Education ▪ Qatar Foundation scholarship ▪ Sponsorship from a national ▪ Carnegie Mellon University in organization Qatar scholarship ▪ Qatar Foundation need-based ▪ FAFSA loans for U.S. citizens grant
Organizations that sponsored CMU-Q students
▪ Amiri Diwan ▪ Qatar Airways ▪ Aspire Zone Foundation ▪ Qatar Armed Forces ▪ Embassy of the State of Kuwait ▪ Qatar Chemical Company AFGHANISTAN ETHIOPIA KENYA PAKISTAN SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS ALBANIA FRANCE KOREA PALESTINE SUDAN ▪ Ministry of Administrative ▪ Qatar Foundation ALGERIA GEORGIA KUWAIT PHILIPPINES SYRIA Development, Labour and ▪ Qatar National Bank AUSTRALIA INDIA LEBANON QATAR TANZANIA Social Affairs BAHRAIN INDONESIA LESOTHO ROMANIA TUNISIA ▪ Qatar Petroleum BANGLADESH IRAN MOLDOVA RUSSIA UNITED KINGDOM ▪ Ministry of Education and Higher ▪ Sidra Medicine CANADA IRAQ MONGOLIA RWANDA UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Education CHINA JAPAN MOROCCO SAUDI ARABIA UZBEKISTAN EGYPT JORDAN NEPAL SERBIA ▪ Ministry of Interior ESWATINI KAZAKHSTAN OMAN SRI LANKA 32 33 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY Annual Report IN QATAR 2019-2020
Academics
For decades, Carnegie Mellon has been at the forefront of educational science, and this history was crucial when the challenges of the pandemic arose. A strong collaboration of CMU-Q experts in technology, education and subject areas ensured that students continued to learn and grow, even in exceptional circumstances. 34 35 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY Annual Report IN QATAR 2019-2020
Academics at 5 282 125 undergraduate courses offered spring courses moved to CMU-Q programs over 3 semesters remote mode in March
Education during a pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic spurred Initially, the focus was to replace As the university adjusted, faculty a swift move to remote delivery in-person lectures and maintain the members worked closely with halfway through the spring continuity of learning objectives. CMU’s Eberly Center for Teaching semester. CMU-Q completed the A task force of CMU-Q technology Excellence and Educational full transition within two days of and educational experts guided Innovation to ensure students At Carnegie Mellon, we begin with a broad introduction to the liberal arts and the official directive by the Qatar the move of 125 courses to virtual would have an exceptional learning sciences during the first semesters. Students then focus on major core classes in the government. delivery. experience. middle semesters, and they deepen and broaden their scope in the last semesters through advanced electives.
Courses offered The faculty and the programs Minors were offered in 15 different will be stronger having gone 106 30 subjects through this. Our faculty ▪ Arabic Studies ▪ Global Systems and “ members have had to think 29 ▪ Biological Sciences Management carefully about what goes in Business ▪ History ▪ their courses and how they 42 3 Administration ▪ Information Systems ▪ Cognitive Neuroscience ▪ Mathematical Sciences all fit together. 72 ▪ Computational Biology ▪ Neuroscience ▪ Computer Science ▪ Professional Writing Michael Trick ▪ Economics ▪ Psychology Arts and Sciences Computer Science Biological Sciences Information Systems ▪ English ” Business Administration Computational Biology
I miss CMU, but apart from that, online classes are perfect. We can talk to professors and friends face to face, ask “ questions and get feedback.
Muhammad Ali Raza ”Class of 2023 36 37 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY Annual Report IN QATAR 2019-2020
Our Faculty
Meritorious Teaching Awards In a campus first, CMU-Q selected two faculty members to receive the 2019-2020 Meritorious Teaching Award. Lauren Burakowski and Nui Vatanasakdakul were recognized for going beyond expectations to contribute to student learning.
Micro courses for 2019-2020 ▪ Basics of cryptocurrencies, ▪ Impacts of AI: AI and blockchains, and applications, intelligence, Nicolas Christin Simon DeDeo ▪ Basics of food science, ▪ Information graphics, Gloria Silva Suguru Ishizaki ▪ Bilingualism, ▪ Introduction to computational CMU-Q faculty members are experts in their fields and dedicated to Erik Thiessen medicine, Christopher Langmead undergraduate education. Faculty members provide individualized attention and ▪ Biology for life, special topics, Daniel Brasier ▪ Introduction to environmental focused instruction so that all students can reach their potential. Micro courses ▪ Blockchains in industry, ideas, Faculty members, by program The Qatar campus offered an extensive Divakaran Liginlal Abigail Owen slate of micro courses throughout the ▪ Business acting, ▪ Making short films, Arts and Sciences academic year, first in hybrid format and Geoffrey Hitch Dylan Vitone then in remote mode to comply with 26 ▪ Impacts of AI: AI and ethics, ▪ Product and service pandemic restrictions. Taught by professors David Danks innovation, from main campus, micro courses offer Biological Sciences Impacts of AI: AI and society, Peter Boatwright CMU-Q students a sampling of the myriad ▪ Molly Steenson ▪ Text mining in practice, 05 areas of study at CMU. Three micro courses Carolyn Rose are equivalent to one semester course. Business Administration New faculty members 12 ▪ Kira Dreher, assistant ▪ Deepa Nair, assistant One of the real benefits is the very teaching professor, teaching professor, history Computer Science English ▪ Veli Safak, assistant 09 constrained nature of a micro course. It’s ▪ Simon Faulkner, teaching professor, a very focused, intense experience for the assistant teaching economics Information Systems professor, chemistry “ students, but it’s an opportunity to dive ▪ Varun Sharma, ▪ Agustín Indaco, assistant teaching 09 deeply, quickly into a subject. assistant teaching professor, marketing professor, economics ▪ Jeff Squires,assistant Promotions David Danks Jasmine Kirby, teaching professor, ▪ ▪ Mohamed Bouaouina, associate teaching Head, Department of Philosophy instruction and English professor. biological sciences L.L. Thurstone Professor of Philosophy” and Psychology engagement librarian Patrick Walsh, Carnegie Mellon University ▪ ▪ Ihab Younis, associate teaching professor, ▪ Ezzohra Moufid, assistant teaching biological sciences lecturer, French studies professor, philosophy 38 39 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY Annual Report IN QATAR 2019-2020
Biological 42 71 77 biological sciences students alumni Sciences courses Precision medicine symposium Ihab Younis spoke at the first symposium for genomics in clinical practice in Qatar. This collaboration between HBKU’s College of Health and Life Sciences and the Qatar Council for Health Practitioners brought together geneticists, researchers, technicians and health care professionals to share perspectives on precision medicine.
CMU changed my passion and my future goals entirely, and helped me choose the field I have “ pursued in my master’s and PhD studies. Safa Salim Biological Sciences 2017 PhD student, Biological and Biomedical Sciences,” HBKU
Student summer research SRI Biological sciences students at CMU-Q study the Mellon College of Science Six CMU-Q students were selected for Summer Research curriculum that emphasizes problem-solving, communication, and analytical Institute 2019: Vincent Adiong, Ayah Al-Ansari, Laila skills. Students learn to follow their curiosity, explore hypotheses, and contribute Assami, Mahnoor Fatima, Thamanna Muhammed in a meaningful way as young scientists and researchers. Hashir and Ayah Salameh. SRI is an immersive molecular biology and biochemistry research experience at the Mellon College of Science in Pittsburgh.
QBRI CMU-Q students Fajer Al-Marzooqi, Noora Al-Mohannadi and Zenab Siddig were selected for the fifth annual Summer Research Program at Qatar Biomedical Research Institute, which provided intensive laboratory experience in the areas of diabetes, neurological diseases, and cancer.
Elizabeth W. Jones Award SPRINT Dona Ferdinando, a 2020 biological Two rising seniors were selected for the first Summer Fifth year scholar sciences graduate, was awarded the Program for Research and Internship, a 10-week research Nahin Khan, who completed his degree in biological sciences Elizabeth W. Jones Award for Excellence opportunity at a lab outside of CMU-Q. Ayşe Haruka in 2020, was selected for the Carnegie Mellon Fifth Year Scholar in Undergraduate Research in Açıkbaş worked in the Ettensohn Lab for Developmental Program. Based at the main campus, the program provides a Experimental or Computational Biology. Regulatory Genomics at CMU’s main campus, while Weilin small number of exceptional students the opportunity to take an The award was given by the Department Li went to the Central European Institute of Technology extra year to enhance their undergraduate education. of Biological Sciences at Carnegie (CEITEC) in Brno, Czech Republic. Mellon’s home campus in Pittsburgh. 40 41 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY Annual Report IN QATAR 2019-2020
Business 72 147 469 business administration students alumni Administration courses
Thought leadership during a pandemic
Qatar Stock Exchange webinars Hack COVID-19 The Qatar Stock Exchange invited CMU-Q faculty George White spearheaded CMU-Q’s participation members Fuad Farooqi, Agustín Indaco and in Hack COVID-19, a competition to develop John O’Brien to lead webinar sessions on ideas for tackling pandemic-related challenges. portfolio diversification and how behavioral biases Gordon Rule, Annette Vincent and Mohammad affect investors. More than 100 members of the Hammoud contributed their expertise during community joined each webinar. the four-day event. Hack COVID-19 was a Qatar Business Incubation Center initiative with sponsorship from Qatar Development Bank.
Productive and balanced remote teams Cecile le Roux penned two articles for the local community on building happy, productive remote teams and balancing blended roles.
Business administration students at CMU-Q learn quantitative decision-making, our pioneering approach to undergraduate business education. With an emphasis on analytics and leadership development, students are prepared for the challenges of Saving the economy from the coronavirus the global business landscape. Agustín Indaco analyzed measures that different McKinsey Case Competition governments enacted in the wake of the COVID-19 The student-led Carnegie Consulting Club pandemic, and offered recommendations for a swift organized the McKinsey Case Competition, the economic recovery. first consulting competition of its kind in the region. Six teams competed, including participants from Qatar University and Texas A&M University at Qatar. The CMU-Q team of Mohammad Teaching and learning in online mode Shahmeer Ahmad, Mariyam Amir, Omar Naim, Faiha Sahirah and Muhammad Ahmed Zahid Serkan Akgüç shared a professor’s perspective of ultimately won. online learning at a webinar organized by the U.S. Embassy in Qatar for students who were beginning their studies in the United States. Carnegie Mellon is not just an education, it’s a full experience. As a BA grad, you have all of these different aspects that you can shape into your Doha Debates “ career in the corporate world. Business administration student Joud Ghalayini was a panel member for the inaugural #DearWorld Asma Al-Kuwari Live, a new initiative by Qatar Foundation’s Doha Business Administration 2011 Debates. The interactive livestream series is a Head of Digital Experience/Digital” Content Services venue for experts and young leaders to discuss the Qatar National Library issues that face a post-pandemic world. 42 43 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY Annual Report IN QATAR 2019-2020
Computational Biology Computer 29 85 153 6 3 computer science students alumni students alumni Science courses
First place, Oman programming competition A CMU-Q student team won the top prize at the Oman Collegiate Programming Contest (OCPC). Mohammed Nurul Hoque, Muhammad Ahmad Khan and Zaryab Shahzaib placed first among the nearly 30 teams who competed. A second CMU-Q team, which included Keivin Isufaj, Swapnendu Sanyal and Omar Sinan, placed fourth.
Second place, Qatar Sports Tech Hackathon Keivin Isufaj placed second at the Qatar Sports Tech Hackathon, along with Johanne Medina and Mohamed Amara, both students in the Hamad Bin Khalifa University computer engineering program. The team created an app to improve the fan experience during World Cup 2022.
Google Hash Code hub in Qatar Computer science students at CMU-Q are studying the world-class curriculum of For the third consecutive year, CMU-Q hosted the only Carnegie Mellon’s School of Computer Science, learning both the theoretical Google Hash Code hub in Qatar. The programming foundations and the practical knowledge to push the frontiers of the field and competition is open to teams around the world. This year, the CMU-Q hub hosted eight teams, including two from make a real-world impact. Qatar University.
Coming to CMU-Q was a dream come true. I’ve First place, Capture the Flag always been obsessed with computers and I chose CMU-Q Mohammed Yusuf Ansari, technology, and here I was able to feed my Mohammed Nurul because it was “ passion. Hoque, Akhyar Kamili and one of the few Muhammad Ahmad Khan “ universities with took first place in the Capture Talal Al-Haddad the Flag cyber challenge a computational Computer Science 2013 featured during Qatar biology program. Graduate student,” Artificial Intelligence, Warsaw University of Technology University’s Cyber Week. I didn’t realize that Third graduate in I would study both Robotics Institute First prize, QCRI project computational biology computer science Summer Scholar program Zaryab Shahzaib secured Raghid Bsat became the third student in first prize for his project on and biology on such Maimoon Siddiqui was the history of the Qatar campus to graduate graph theory for predicting selected for RISS, an intensive with a degree in computational biology. a deep level. flight faults during Qatar summer research program Following the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon where Computing Research curriculum, the interdisciplinary program Raghid Bsat she assisted on applications Institute’s 2019 summer includes core coursework in computer Computational Biology 2020 internship program. of computer vision to sense science, biology, science and mathematics. facial expressions. ” 44 45 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY Annual Report IN QATAR 2019-2020
Information 30 101 223 information systems students alumni Systems courses
GIS Technology Day 2019, Special Award Chadi Aoun received a special award for his presentation, “GIS for emergent challenges: Empowering future information systems leaders,” at the 2019 GIS Technology Day, hosted by the Center for Geographic Information Systems in Qatar.
The most important things I carry from CMU are the skills of working smart, putting the right effort “ in the right place, and time management. Omar Shaath Information Systems 2011 Project” Specialist Ministry of Transport and Communications
Doha Oasis for Innovation Information systems sophomore Mohammed Al-Qassabi was awarded the gold medal in the individual category at the Doha Oasis for Innovation. Al-Qassabi designed a prototype that helps soccer referees detect offside players during matches. Carnegie Mellon announced a new information systems curriculum, offered as a joint program from the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy. The new curriculum equips students to lead change at the interfaces of Nursing Informatics Symposium technology, organizations and society. Anis Charfi moderated the panel on cybersecurity in health care at Hamad Medical Corporation’s third annual Nursing Informatics Symposium. Tech startup winners Students in the tech startup Social commerce course presented their final entrepreneurship projects to a judging panel from Information Systems junior AbuIssa Holdings, E-Butler, Reem Al-Haddad created an Ooredoo, and Qatar Science and Instagram khanfaroosh bakery President, AIS Technology Park (QSTP). The top as part of a fall 2019 course in Nui Vatanasakdakul was elected president of the team, which included Yasmin e-commerce. When the course Association of Information Systems, Qatar Chapter. Her Abdelaal, Zainab Akhtar and ended, she transformed the term runs until 2022. Aya El-Sakka, won a spot in the class project into a busy social QSTP XLR8 program. commerce business, @BakedByReem. 46 47 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY Annual Report IN QATAR 2019-2020
Arts and 26 72 faculty courses offered Sciences members in 13 disciplines
CMU-Q Library The library is an essential resource for both study When the CMU-Q building closed due to the and research. Housing a large collection of print pandemic, the library shifted to online mode, volumes, databases, e-journals and ebooks, the ensuring students and researchers had continued library also coordinates textbooks for all courses access to textbooks and information through at CMU-Q. digital sources.
Students in every program learn to draw connections and work effectively outside their majors through study in the arts and sciences, including Gloriana St. Clair Lecture Series on 21st PR Xchange Award required courses such as chemistry, English, math and physics, and electives Century Librarianship The CMU-Q library won the PR Xchange Award from in a wide variety of disciplines. CMU-Q hosted Megan Lotts, the art the Library Leadership and Management Association. Library director Teresa MacGregor, along with Top spots, QU Math Competition librarian from Rutgers University, for a lecture on fostering a culture of creativity CMU’s Jill Chisnell and Heidi Wiren Bartlett, At the Qatar University Math Competition, and play in libraries. Lotts also delivered created the winning campaign to raise awareness first-year student Igli Mlloja placed first in the workshops at both CMU-Q and the Qatar of the many research databases available from men’s category, with Keivin Isufaj and Fangjiao National Library. the University Libraries. Xu placing second in the men’s and women’s categories, respectively. Swapnendu Sanyal rounded out the men’s top three. Niraj Khare served as faculty advisor. Farewell to Lansiné Kaba Historian Lansiné Kaba retired after spending more than a decade teaching at CMU-Q. The author of several WISE report on language policy QU Math Day books on African and Muslim history, Kaba joined the Dudley Reynolds shared the findings of his Hasan Dermirkoparan delivered a faculty of the Qatar campus in 2009 and was named research report, Language Policy in Globalized presentation at Qatar University’s Math Day the Thomas M. Kerr Distinguished Career Professor of Contexts, at the WISE Summit 2019. The report, on the impact of the Pi Day Mathematics History in 2017. which was prepared in collaboration with WISE, Competition on high school students in calls on education systems around the world to Qatar. Demirkoparan and Zelealem Yilma examine how they support their communities’ created the competition in 2016. language resources. 48 49 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY Annual Report IN QATAR 2019-2020 Interdisciplinary Collaboration
iGEM Bronze Achievement Creative video contest A student team created a fast, inexpensive method to test for carriers winner of genetic diseases like sickle cell anemia and cystic fibrosis. The team presented the kit at the 2019 International Genetically Engineered Reem Al-Haddad, a junior in the Machines (iGEM) competition held in Boston, where they were Information Systems Program, recognized with a Bronze Achievement award. created two original videos for a Snapchat contest for best The project brought together biological sciences students Dona creative video hosted by social Ferdinando, Dania Kaddoura, Muhammad Nahin Khan, Weilin media influencerMohammad Li, and Reema Subeh, computer science students Đorđe Popović, Al-Dosari. The two videos tied Radu Revutchi, Rameez Saiyid and Omar Sinan, and information for first place in the contest. systems students Jinan Azem and Andrew Edward.
Rhetoric, Science and the Public Sphere Kira Dreher redesigned a course where students investigate how science is communicated in the public sphere. The course was offered for the first time in Students and faculty members at CMU-Q are encouraged to reach beyond traditional the spring semester, which provided students with the program boundaries to solve problems. Interdisciplinary projects and classes extraordinary opportunity to examine in real time how encourage creativity, innovative problem solving and teamwork. science is used to frame public health decisions with respect to the pandemic.
The Arts in Qatar Jennifer Bruder, Zelealem Yilma and Benjamin Reilly created a Statistical Consulting Center new interdisciplinary course Taeyong Park and Daniel that examines the arts in Qatar. Phelps created the Statistical Students explored Qatari Consulting Center to offer literature, film, and art exhibits as support to CMU-Q faculty, a springboard for learning more staff and students from all about how cultural institutions disciplines on research design, reflect Qatari identity. psychometrics and statistical modeling and analysis. 50 51 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY Annual Report IN QATAR 2019-2020
Community Engagement
We have strong, living connections to the global Carnegie Mellon community, Qatar Foundation, and our strategic partners in government and industry. These collaborations offer rich learning opportunities for our students as we help build Qatar’s knowledge economy. 52 53 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY Annual Report IN QATAR 2019-2020
The Dean’s 58 Dean’s Lectures Lecture Series since 2011
His Excellency Sheikh Abdulla His Excellency Ali bin Ahmed Bin Saoud Al-Thani Al Kuwari Governor, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Qatar Central Bank State of Qatar Qatar’s strategy for fintech The role of the private sector in Qatar’s economic and industrial development
One of our central roles as a university is to serve as a knowledge hub for the Sheikha Hanadi Nasser Al Thani Kamel Abdallah community, initiating the discussions that move society forward. Founder, Chairperson and CEO, Group Chief Executive Officer, Amwal Baladna Food Industries Empowering women in business and Managing sustainability in national food entrepreneurship security programs Education City is an open space for learning and discovery, and we want the Mary Ellen Weber “ community to come and experience it. Veteran astronaut, NASA Leadership, governance and decisions: Lessons Michael Trick ” from space 54 55 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY Annual Report IN QATAR 2019-2020 Our Strategic Partners
Hamad Bin Jassim Center for K-12 Computer Science Education In 2017, CMU-Q and Jassim and Hamad Bin Jassim Charitable Foundation joined forces to create the Hamad bin Jassim Center for K-12 Computer Science Education. The center’s goal is to introduce school-aged children in Qatar to concepts and career paths in computer science.
Computing Hub The Computing Hub is a new initiative to inspire interest and curiosity in computer science in K-12 students in Qatar. Targeting both students and educators, the Computing Hub provides a central place for learning, exploring, Mindcraft and Mindcraft Virtual creating and collaborating in the area of Taking place more than a dozen times each academic year, computer science. Alice Middle East is Mindcraft one-day workshops have introduced more than an essential part of the Computing Hub. 5,000 students in Qatar to computer science. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the team created Mindcraft Virtual to engage students remotely.
We are proud to have strong, collaborative relationships within the Qatar community. Each year, we strive to strengthen the connections with our strategic partners, and reach out to form new partnerships. Computing skills are fundamental for Community Partner Workshops children who will “ spend their careers in ▪ Leadership coaching for engagement and performance ▪ Cyber resilience in the digital transformation age a knowledge economy. ▪ Mastering corporate innovation and corporate entrepreneurship Alice Middle East We encourage all ▪ Perspectives on entrepreneurship: Alice educational software was originally developed at CMU and young people in Qatar Innovation-driven enterprises and startup valuation techniques adapted for Qatar with support from the Qatar National Research ▪ Social engineering prevention: Helping employees and customers not be phished Fund. In partnership with the Ministry of Education and Higher to explore the world Education, Alice Middle East is now part of the information of programming and communication technology curriculum at Qatar government schools. computing. Qatar IPv6 Taskforce In 2019-2020, the Computing Hub provided teaching training for the Alice computing curriculum to roughly 120 middle school teachers. Memoranda of Understanding CMU-Q is part of the IPv6 Taskforce, appointed by the Saeed Al-Hajri Nearly 5,000 students have benefited from the program to date. Board Member and CEO ▪ beIN MEDIA GROUP Communications Regulatory Authority to guide the Jassim and Hamad Bin Jassim ▪ Mada - Assistive Technology Center Qatar adoption of IPv6 in Qatar. CMU-Q and Qatar University At the annual Alice Middle East Programming Competition, more ” prepared the plan to upgrade the government network, Charitable Foundation ▪ Qatar Biomedical Research Institute than 100 students presented digital animations and games, with two and CMU-Q’s Khalid Warraich presented the IPv6 teams from Al Khor International School taking first place. AbuIssa deployment update at QITCOM 2019. Holdings generously provided the prizes for the competition. 56 57 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY Annual Report IN QATAR 2019-2020 Collaborations with Qatar Foundation
Darb Al Saai To celebrate Qatar National Day, CMU-Q created an interactive activity for football fans to explore the analytics of their favorite teams at Darb Al Saai. Researchers built the sports analytics activity using Q-Smartlab, a visual dashboard for big data that was created by CMU-Q as a teaching tool for studying financial markets.
Rimads startup Mohammad Hammoud launched a technology startup, Rimads, at Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP). Rimads is building an end-to-end, AI-based medical ecosystem that aims to transform the health care experience.
We are an integral part of Qatar Foundation, and our students, faculty and Awareness walk staff work with entities across Education City to build a hub of learning, Qatar Green Building Doha Debates CMU-Q was a co-organizer of cooperation and discovery. Council Doha Debates, in the Breast Cancer and Domestic was part of a partnership with UNESCO, Chadi Aoun Violence Awareness Walk along Qatar Green Building Council hosted a panel discussion with QF Community Development, Park and Plant webinar to discuss how the at CMU-Q titled, “Can Qatar University, the QF partner COVID-19 pandemic will technology be used to make CMU-Q celebrated universities, QF Protection and affect climate change. Aoun peace.” Sustainability Week Social Rehabilitation Center (AMAN) is an expert in sustainability by participating in and Sidra Medicine. the Park and Plant and smart cities. Initiative. Members of the CMU-Q community helped Health and Wellness Fair plant 109 trees Education City students, faculty and staff around the building explored Qatar’s resources for well-being at the as part of QF’s annual Health and Wellness Fair, held at CMU-Q. multi-phase plan I AM QF The event, which featured 34 organizations that to restore Qatar’s cover different aspects of health and wellness, is rich indigenous CMU-Q showcased two student-led projects at organized collaboratively by CMU-Q, the partner landscape. the Qatar Foundation community event, I AM QF: the interdisciplinary research team, iGEM, and the universities and Qatar Foundation. CarnegieApps Hackathon team. 58 59 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY Annual Report IN QATAR 2019-2020
QF Partners in 17 12 Academic Bridge HBKU Computer Program students Engineering students Education enrolled at CMU-Q enrolled at CMU-Q
Visit to CMU main campus As an educational institution, we are in a unique position to influence and help Vice chairperson and CEO of Qatar Foundation Her Excellency Sheikha Hind Bint Hamad Al Thani visited develop the ways that people learn in Qatar. Through targeted programs, CMU-Q is CMU’s main campus in Pittsburgh, where she participated in a roundtable discussion on artificial intelligence and toured academic centers focused on entrepreneurship, innovation, and teaching excellence. enhancing learning opportunities in key areas.
CMU-Q students to Education Pre-University Education Qatar Faculty Forum City universities Annette Vincent was appointed to the board At the Qatar Faculty Forum, Taeyong Park of advisors for Qatar Academy for Science discussed his statistical research into fear, and Technology (QAST). Cecile le Roux information seeking, and the vote, and Teresa was appointed to the board of advisors for MacGregor presented her research on the 43 Academyati. impact of training on e-textbook platform preference.
Renad Academy World Mathematics Team Students in Jennifer Bruder’s class on autism Championships 65 visited Qatar Foundation’s Renad Academy to gain Zelealem Yilma coached a team of high Doha Learning Days a deeper understanding of autism in elementary school students from several Qatar Foundation CMU-Q’s Jennifer Bruder, Faten El Ayache and Dudley Reynolds school-aged children. schools for the World Mathematics Team Championship in South Korea. Two of the team were invited to present workshops at Doha Learning Days. The Education City students to learning festival was held as part of Qatar Foundation’s WISE CMU-Q members achieved special honors. Summit 2019. 60 61 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY Annual Report IN QATAR 2019-2020
Carnegie Mellon 17 15 CMU-Q students Carnegie Mellon spent fall 2019 in professors delivered Connections Pittsburgh CMU-Q micro courses Wimmer Faculty Fellow Finalists, CMU Teaching Nesrine Affara was Innovation Award named one of six Silvia Pessoa, Maria Pia Gomez- Wimmer Faculty Laich, Cecile le Roux, Divakaran Fellows for the 2020-21 Liginlal and Thomas Mitchell academic year. Wimmer developed a process for improving fellowships are offered student writing in information by CMU’s Eberly Center systems, organizational behavior for Teaching Excellence and history. and Educational Innovation to encourage Chadi Aoun and Gordon Rule junior faculty members to created an innovative approach to explore the way they teach. the PROPEL class.
Washington Semester Program Aisha Al-Ali, Abraham Farooqui, Naram Hajjar and Auguste Piromalli became the first students from the Qatar campus to participate in the Washington Semester Program, offered by CMU’s Institute for Politics and Strategy.
A. Nico Habermann Distinguished Lecture We are proud to be part of the Carnegie Mellon global community, connected to Srinivasan Seshan spoke to CMU-Q about the past, present and the scholarship, research, spirit and culture that defines Carnegie Mellon future of delivering multimedia on the internet. Seshan is the worldwide. department head for CMU’s Computer Science Department, and the Joseph F. Traub Professor.
President’s visit Distinguished lectures in computer science are named in honor of Farnam Jahanian, the president of A. Nico Habermann, head of the Computer Science Department at Carnegie Mellon University, visited the Carnegie Mellon University from 1980 to 1988 and founding dean of Qatar campus to meet with alumni, the School of Computer Science. students, faculty and staff. At a special reception for alumni and community leaders, he outlined his vision for John Patrick Crecine Distinguished Lecture reimagining the student experience both within and beyond the classroom. While Jeff Gill spoke to CMU-Q on the present and future of data science. Gill is a in Qatar, President Jahanian also met distinguished professor in the Department of Government and a professor with His Excellency Sheikh Dr. Khalid in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at American University. Bin Thani Bin Abdullah Al Thani, Distinguished lectures in arts and sciences are named in honor of John chairman of Ezdan Holding Group. Patrick Crecine, dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University from 1976 to 1983. 62 63 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY Annual Report IN QATAR 2019-2020
Student Experience
Our students go through a transformation over the four years of their undergraduate education. We encourage them to come together as a community of learners, explore their interests, and develop the skills they will need in their careers. 64 65 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY Annual Report IN QATAR 2019-2020 A Strong, Connected Community
Hackathon 2020 Thanksgiving lunch The interdisciplinary team of Maryam Al-Darwish, CMU-Q celebrated Thanksgiving together at Haya Al-Kaabi, Haya Al-Kuwari and Buthayna a lunch for students, staff and faculty. The Almulla took the top prize at the 2020 Hackathon November holiday is a tradition in the U.S. and competition. There were 19 teams at the eighth edition an opportunity to express gratitude, kindness of the student-led competition, including innovators and the joy of community. from CMU-Q, College of the North Atlantic – Qatar, Qatar University and Texas A&M University at Qatar.
We felt that these initiatives were Our campus is a unique place to study: the students, alumni, faculty and staff form a important so that our international close-knit, diverse community that is enthusiastic, supportive and energizing. students, who were residing in the “ dorms, felt supported and connected New student orientation In August 2019, CMU-Q welcomed the with their CMU-Q community. new class for a four-day orientation experience to introduce first-year Atorina Benjamin students to the campus, and to one Psychologist CMU-Q Student Affairs another. Orientation is organized by ” a team of current CMU-Q students and includes an intensive introduction Pandemic food pantry to the resources, expectations, and academic areas at CMU-Q. As Education City made the shift to remote learning, CMU-Q put important supports in place for international students. CMU-Q assigned a Student Affairs staff member to each international student, and provided regular Tarnival care packages. CMU-Q also stocked a food pantry in each dorm, which Carnegie Mellon’s Tartan carnival, was available to all Education City international students. better known as Tarnival, took place on the Education City Green Spine in October. A long-standing tradition Art Club exhibition at CMU-Q, Tarnival brings together Co-founders of the Art Club, Khulood Al-Haroon and students, faculty, alumni and staff for Noora Al-Shukri, organized a two-week exhibition an evening of fun, games and prizes. of CMU-Q artwork at the Qatar Foundation Student Center. The exhibition included paintings, poetry and photographs submitted by members of the CMU-Q community, including students from all majors. 66 67 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY Annual Report IN QATAR 2019-2020
Peer-to-Peer 10 96 34 StuCos undergraduate nominations for course assistants Outstanding Course Learning Assistant
Undergraduate course assistants Outstanding Course Assistant Course assistants are an essential part of the learning Each year, the Outstanding Course Assistant award team at CMU-Q. Undergraduates who have excelled recognizes a student who has made an exceptional in specific courses can become a course assistant in contribution to student learning. This year, later years, working with faculty and the Academic Swapnendu Sanyal, a senior in computer science, Resource Center to support student learning. There received the award. were 96 course assistants during the fall and spring academic sessions. At CMU-Q, learning continues beyond the classroom. Discovery and exploration is at the heart of the CMU-Q experience, and students have many StuCo program opportunities to share their knowledge, skills and talent with their peers. The Student Courses (StuCo) program offers students the opportunity to design and deliver a unique course at CMU-Q. Students who are selected StuCo receive training and resources, including guidance on course design, syllabus writing, and teaching. Peer Health Advocates ▪ ABCD: Any Body Can ▪ Introduction to Peer Health Advocates (PHA) is Dance Ballroom Dancing a peer-to-peer organization that increases awareness of health and ▪ Controversies: Think, ▪ Introduction to wellness in the CMU-Q community. Speak, and Listen Improvisational Through events and awareness ▪ Conversational Comedy campaigns, PHA students promote Arabic for Non-Native ▪ Introduction to an open exchange of information Speakers Pakistan and its and ideas, while developing Language Bridges ▪ Creative Expression Culture leadership and communication skills. Language Bridges is a student-led organization through Japanese ▪ Introduction to where CMU-Q students teach English to QF Culture Qur’an Recitation service workers. For many students, participating ▪ Drawing and ▪ Qur’anic Stories in Language Bridges is an introduction to teaching Surrealism and sharing knowledge. 68 69 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY Annual Report IN QATAR 2019-2020
Leadership and 18 417 career information career counselling Career Development sessions appointments
Internship Showcase Internship Showcase 2019 brought together students from all years and programs of study to learn how internships can help put knowledge and learning into practice. Fahad Salah Bahzad, Imane Bendou, Sondoss Hassan and Đorđe Popović shared how interning helped to solidify the concepts they learned in the classroom.
Arabic language debate A team of CMU-Q students placed third at the Asian Arabic Language Debating Championship held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Rahaf Abutarbush, Ammar Karkour and Abdullah Shaar were among nearly 50 teams from across Asia participating in the tournament.
Through a slate of offerings outside the classroom, students learn how to Career networking work in teams, organize and lead groups, and network with people within and CMU-Q hosted several networking events for outside of the CMU-Q community. These skills are critical for new graduates students to meet and learn from employers to contribute and succeed in the workplace. in discipline-specific industries. Bio Career Day included organizations who hire students 30 student-led clubs and graduates in the biological sciences, and Academic Professional Services Career Day featured management consulting companies. The annual 05 Careers Platform 2019, Technology Edition, hosted 22 organizations. Cultural 02 Shift to virtual career Student Majlis Student Leadership Awards development Service The Student Majlis is the official student committee at CMU-Q, Each year, CMU-Q acknowledges graduating seniors As the pandemic shifted the representing the student body with faculty leadership, overseeing clubs 03 who have excelled in the areas of leadership, service and outlook for summer internships and and activities and ensuring the community is cohesive and engaged. community building. employment, CMU-Q, along with the QF partner universities, organized ▪ Muhammad Ahmed Zahid, ▪ Yara Al-Shakhs, Special interest ▪ Haya Al-Kaabi ▪ Hanna Farooq Moazam the first career-focused remote President Head of Clubs and Organizations 14 ▪ Omar El-Saka ▪ Fatima Mustafawi, event titled, “Career opportunities and challenges in times of ▪ Muhammad Syed, ▪ Mubarak Al-Sulaiti, ▪ Dona Ferdinando with distinction Vice President Head of Communications COVID-19.” Nearly 130 students Sports ▪ Divi Mishra ▪ Đorđe Popović, ▪ Arambha Niraula, joined the virtual event to learn Head of Finance Head of Sports and Wellness 06 about the hiring landscape in Doha. 70 71 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY Annual Report IN QATAR 2019-2020
Research
At its heart, research at Carnegie Mellon looks for practical answers to complex, real world problems. In this spirit, we at the Qatar campus encourage our faculty members and students to explore their fields and engage in projects that will have an impact. 72 73 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY Annual Report IN QATAR 2019-2020
The Year in 13 5 75 51 ongoing NPRP book published conference grants chapters articles presentations and Faculty Research invited talks
JISE Best Paper award SmartTech ’19 Research Silvia Pessoa, Maria Pia Gomez-Laich, Divakaran Outcome Seminar Liginlal, and Thomas Mitchell received the 2019 Best Anis Charfi presented his work Paper award from the Journal of Information Systems on Arabic author profiling for cyber Education (JISE). The paper is one of seven articles and security at the SmartTech ’19 20 presentations to arise from SLATE-Q, a multi-year Research Outcome Seminar, hosted project called Scaffolding Literacy in Academic and Tertiary by Qatar National Research Fund. Environments in Qatar, which was funded by Qatar National Research Fund.
New seed grants ▪ Cognition in context, Jennifer Bruder ▪ Understanding social, physical, and mental health and cognitive processes in the next generation of Qatar’s leaders and influencers,Lauren Burakowski ▪ Unleashing the power of social commerce in the C2C platforms: A cross cultural analysis, Nui Vatanasakdakul
International research community collaborations CMU-Q researchers are actively engaged with the international research community, leading or collaborating on a myriad of projects. Faculty members also contribute Khaled Harras was appointed associate editor for IEEE Transactions on Mobile Computing, a scholarly journal published by the IEEE Computer Society. to the engines that drive international research, including academic publications, professional organizations, and conference organizers. Kemal Oflazer served as senior program committee member for the 58th Annual Meeting of the Association for Computational Linguistics. He also served as area chair for the 2019 Conference on Empirical Methods in Natural Language Processing.
Linguistic map of Qatari dialects Saquib Razak served as advisor to the National Curriculum Committee for Pakistan’s Ministry of Education and Professional Training, for the design of a national curriculum for middle school computer studies. Zeinab Ibrahim is leading a team to create an interactive linguistic map of Qatari dialects. The Benjamin Reilly was appointed to the editorial board of the Journal of World History. project was selected for QNRF’s National Priorities Research Program. The team, which includes CMU-Q’s Giselle Reis was the co-chair for the 2019 Proof Exchange for Theorem Proving in Brazil. She also served on Houda Bouamor, as well as researchers from Doha the program committee for Tableaux 2019 in the UK and the 2020 Joint Workshop on Linearity in Logic and International Family Institute, Georgetown University Computer Science and its Applications in France. in Qatar, and Qatar University, will map the variations Ryan Riley was the technical program committee co-chair for the International Conference on Cyber Security of Qatari dialect and create a digital tool for exploring for Emerging Technologies, hosted by Qatar University’s KINDI Research Center. pronunciation, usage and expressions. Nui Vatanasakdakul served as the research track chair for the Green IS and Sustainability special interest group for the Americas Conference on Information Systems.
Ihab Younis was appointed an associate editor for Frontiers in Oncology – Cancer Genetics. 74 75 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY Annual Report IN QATAR 2019-2020 QNRF-funded Research Projects
For more than a decade, Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar has been proud to contribute to the Qatar National Vision 2030 through Qatar National Research Fund’s National Priorities Research Program.
Role of the PDZ and LIM containing protein Zasp in Testing English reading comprehension through integrin mediated cell adhesion deep text analysis and question generation Lead PI: Mohamed Bouaouina Lead PI: Kemal Oflazer PI: Teruko Mitamura, Carnegie Mellon University
Arab author profiling for cyber‑security SLATE-Q: Scaffolding literacy in academic and Lead PI: Anis Charfi tertiary environments: The case of communication in Subaward partners: Mohamed Bouaouina Houda Bouamor Selma Limam Mansar Thomas Mitchell information systems PI: Wajdi Zaghouani, Hamad Bin Khalifa University Lead PI: Silvia Pessoa PI: Abdelmajid Ben Hamadou, Centre de PI: Maria Pia Gomez-Laich Recherche en Numérique de Sfax, Tunisia PI: Selma Limam Mansar PI: Paolo Ross, Polytechnic University of PI: Thomas Mitchell Valencia, Spain PI: Susan Hagan PI: Divakaran Liginlal Subaward partners: New mathematical models for the large strain PI: Ryan Miller, Kent State University swelling response of biological tissues: Applications PI: Ahmar Mahboob, University of Sydney to edema, inflammation, and pregnancy Anis Charfi Hasan Demirkoparan Kemal Oflazer Silvia Pessoa Co-Lead PI: Hasan Demirkoparan Bringing computer science to secondary schools – Lead PI: Thomas Pence, Michigan State University, UA Curriculum design and implementation Lead PI: Saquib Razak Teams of aquatic/aerial robots for marine The garbled computer: Towards computing without environmental monitoring (TARMEM) seeing Lead PI: Gianni Di Caro PI: Ryan Riley Subaward partners: Subaward partner: PI: Enrico Simetti, University of Genova Lead PI: Qutaibah Malluhi, Qatar University PI: Filippo Arrichiello, University of Cassino and Gianni Di Caro Maria Pia Gomez-Laich Saquib Razak Ryan Riley Southern Lazio Using bacteriophages as biomonitoring tools for water quality measurements Towards mobile opportunistic cloud computing: Lead PI: Annette Vincent Enabling generic computation offloading to extreme PI: Valentin Ilyin heterogeneous entities Subaward partner: Lead PI: Khaled Harras PI: Basem Shomar, Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), HBKU
MADAR: Multi-Arabic dialect applications and Susan Hagan Khaled Harras Annette Vincent Ihab Younis Circumventing of microbial bioinvasion controls by resources ballast water Co-Lead PI: Kemal Oflazer PI: Annette Vincent PI: Houda Bouamor Subaward partner: Subaward partners: Lead PI: Basem Shomar, Qatar Environment and Lead PI: Nizar Habash, New York University Abu Energy Research Institute (QEERI), HBKU Dhabi Molecular profiling of breast cancer transcriptome PI: Owen Rambow: Columbia University in the City and splicing aberrations of New York Lead PI: Ihab Younis Valentin Ilyin Divakaran Liginlal 76 77 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY Annual Report IN QATAR 2019-2020 Student Research
Summer Undergraduate Research Apprenticeship Nesrine Affara, Mohamed ▪ Reem Al-Sayed Bouaouina, Gordon Rule, ▪ Maryam Aslam Annette Vincent and Ihab Younis created a new opportunity ▪ Laila El-Beheiry to introduce students to research. ▪ Mariam El-Esnawy Available to students in any major, ▪ Maher Habboub SURA participants learn the basics of ▪ Syeda Hira Hashmi research design and work under the ▪ Mohammed Tareef Sayed mentorship of a faculty researcher.
Qatar Student-Initiated Undergraduate Research Program The Qatar Student-Initiated ▪ Mariyam Amir Undergraduate Research ▪ Mohammad Shahmeer Program offers support Ahmad for students pursuing ▪ Raghid Bsat a research, scholarly or ▪ Dona Ferdinando artistic project over the ▪ Mohammed Nurul Hoque summer. In 2019, seven Muhammad Nahin Khan students were selected for ▪ QSIURP awards. ▪ Hari Krishna Through research projects, students develop the skills of intellectual rigor and creative problem solving that are integral to their careers and future studies. Senior Honors theses Sixteen graduating students in all five For some time now, these 16 graduating academic programs completed a senior honors thesis. The students presented their students have experienced one of the UREP project on attitudes research at a virtual event for students, best feelings in research: to know toward Qatar wildlife faculty, families and the wider community. “something no one else in the world Four information systems students are researching Qatar knows. Today, they will tell the world residents’ awareness and about their findings. attitudes toward native wildlife species. The team of Reem Michael Trick Al-Haddad, Sara Al-Hemaidi, College Honors presentations Amal Al-Korbi and Almayasa Class of 2020 Al-Naimi, along with faculty ” advisors Jennifer Bruder and Lauren Burakowski, received ▪ Yasmin Abdelaal ▪ Faiq Defiandry ▪ Fatima Mustafawi a grant for the project from ▪ Alanood Al-Thani ▪ Aya El-Sakka ▪ Jize Ning the QNRF’s Undergraduate ▪ Haya Al-Kaabi ▪ Dona Ferdinando ▪ Ayşe Haruka Açıkbaş Research Experience Program. ▪ Mohammed Yusuf Ansari ▪ Mohammed Nurul Hoque ▪ Reema Subeh ▪ Fahad Salah Bahzad ▪ Muhammad Nahin Khan ▪ Raghid Bsat ▪ Hanna Farooq Moazam 78 79 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY Annual Report IN QATAR 2019-2020 Meeting of the Minds
Anis Charfi At its essence, research is about ▪ Comparative study of NoSQL databases: Planning, modelling, implementation, management, collaboration. The Meeting Mariyam Amir, Mohammad Shahmeer Ahmad of the Minds website reflects “the Carnegie Mellon culture Susan Hagan of mentoring, teamwork and ▪ ICTruly Human Life: Using technology to help low-income expat workers in Qatar achieve a truly innovation, especially in human life, Fatima Mustafawi challenging times.
Mohammad Hammoud Michael Trick ▪ An experimental study of multi-stage retrieval systems, Mohammed Yusuf Ansari ” Giselle Reis Khaled Harras ▪ Sequoia: A playground for logicians, meta- properties, Zan Naeem, Mohammad Hashim ▪ WebAssembly for agile offloading in edge ▪ Sequoia: A playground for logicians, proof computing, Mohammed Nurul Hoque tree building and unification, Zan Naeem, Mohammad Hashim Christos Kapoutsis ▪ Classical and constructive logic interactive ▪ Improved complement for two-way alternating theorem prover, Samar Rahmouni automata, Mohammad Zakzok Nui Vatanasakdakul Cecile le Roux ▪ Augmented reality and user satisfaction in leisure tourism, Sara Al-Mohanadi, Reem Al-Haddad ▪ Student achievement motivation at CMU-Q: Since 2007, Meeting of the Minds has been an annual opportunity for students ▪ Factors affecting the adoption of social commerce Investigating the types of academic goals, in the Indonesian retail industry: A consumer’s to present their research work to the community. With pandemic restrictions reasons for goal pursuit, and goal-reason perspective, Faiq Defiandry preventing an in-person event, CMU-Q created meetingminds.qatar.cmu.edu, combinations that relate to academic a new digital channel for students to share their projects. achievement behavior for undergraduate Annette Vincent university students in Qatar’s branch campus of CMU, Alanood Al-Thani ▪ Nitrogen fertilizer - go or foe?, Hissa Al-Fakhri, Meeting of the Minds 2020 projects, by faculty advisor Mariam El-Esnawy, Reem Al-Sayed ▪ L-leucine, a potential drug to inhibit cancer Nesrine Affara Mustafa Akan Cecile le Roux, Marisella Rodriguez, Michael Melville metastasis, Weilin Li, Joana Khatib Characterization of recruitment, activation, and Measuring efficiency of Qatari public secondary ▪ ▪ Zelealem Yilma induction of naïve fibroblasts in a tumor-educated boys schools outside Doha, Shireen Ahmed, ▪ Can we support students to think independently environment, Maha Al-Mulla Fahad Salah Bahzad and develop reflective judgement?,Mariyam Amir ▪ Eigencentrality in bipartite graphs, Mohammed ▪ Profiling colorectal cancer cells and their ▪ Social welfare maximization for public Nurul Hoque interactions with fibroblasts in 3D spheroid transportation in Qatar, Fahad Salah Bahzad Selma Limam Mansar Ihab Younis cultures, Joana Khatib Mohamed Bouaouina ▪ Examining the relationships and patterns ▪ Investigating the alternative splicing patterns of ▪ Comparative analysis of the role of the tumor in patient-initiated vlogs and their effect on ▪ ECM effects on integrin-mediated signaling in RNA binding proteins (RBPs) in breast cancer, cells in educating naïve fibroblasts into vloggers’ wellbeing, Yasmin Abdelaal cancer-associated fibroblasts using 2D vs. 3D breast cancer cells, Sondoss Hassan Mariam El-Esnawy ▪ Facilitating medical refills at the age of environments, Ayşe Haruka Açıkbaş ▪ Machine learning-based method to identify ▪ Characterization of minor intron and minor intron- drones, Aya El-Sakka coverslips on microscopy slides, Abubaker Omer containing genes, Beom Jin Park 80 81 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY Annual Report IN QATAR 2019-2020
Our Stories
Throughout the year, and through a variety of media channels, we share our achievements and milestones with the Qatar community. We believe the stories of the CMU-Q community are part of the larger story of Qatar’s transformation into a knowledge-based economy. We also hope to inspire a new generation of students to imagine and deliver work that matters, both to Qatar and the world. 82 83 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY Annual Report IN QATAR 2019-2020
109 284 228,705 384 282 Public news events unique visitors to Instagram tweets and stories supported by www.qatar.cmu.edu posts and retweets from MPR stories @CarnegieMellonQ Relations and @DeanTrick Top news stories
Minister of Commerce and Industry: CMU-Q welcomes Class of 2023 Diversification, self-sufficiency are keys to Qatar’s development
Innovative courses open up new worlds for Governor of Qatar Central Bank: we can Carnegie Mellon students future-proof the nation’s banking sector
Carnegie Mellon Qatar research wins 2019 All-female Qatari team wins top award at Best Paper award Carnegie Mellon innovation competition
Hamad bin Jassim Center and Carnegie Carnegie Mellon Qatar launches virtual Mellon recognize winners of programming computer science discovery workshop competition
Carnegie Mellon Qatar faculty explores the Carnegie Mellon Qatar celebrates Class of future of teaching 2020
Digital channels We reach out to our audiences through several digital channels by producing stories, event Through marketing and public relations, we share our achievements with the posters, photo galleries, posts and video, and then community, reach out to bright and ambitious high school students, and raise promoting that content through targeted use of social media. awareness of our talented graduates with potential employees.
Coverage by language Type of coverage
Collaboration with Qatar CMU-Q in the news Foundation Local, regional and As a Qatar Foundation partner international media university, CMU-Q is proud to published 462 articles 233 229 246 216 work with QF to showcase the about our events and achievements of our faculty and accomplishments over students. In the past academic the academic year. year, CMU-Q participated Virtual events in nine interviews or story With the pandemic restrictions on in-person events beginning in collaborations with QF. Arabic Online March, CMU-Q turned to virtual events to celebrate the community’s English Print many achievements. CMU-Q hosted 24 virtual events as the academic year wrapped up. 84 85 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY Annual Report IN QATAR 2019-2020 The Year in the News
Oct 2019 Press release CMU-Q website story News coverage Gulf Times: Carnegie Mellon startup achieves international tech success
Carnegie Mellon Qatar lecture explores national food security Jul 2019 Governor of Qatar Central Bank: we can future-proof the nation’s banking sector Aspire Zone Foundation and CMU-Q sign agreement with fintech
Carnegie Mellon graduate launches movie theater app for Qatar Carnegie Mellon team wins Oman programming competition Carnegie Mellon Qatar celebrates academic excellence Getting the best of both worlds: CMU exchange student Lena Li on her Qatar experience Personal struggle inspires launch of innovative healthcare platform
“Now, it’s time for culturally-relevant businesses” “Being part of CMU-Q’s Class of 2018 was a defining moment of my life”
Sidra Medicine, CMU-Q sign pact to promote collaboration Meddy series A funding CMU-Q community plants trees as part of campus-wide commitment to Gulf Times: International stem cell research org honors CMU-Q alumna sustainability QCRI concludes summer internship programme Nov 2019
CMU-Q’s Mohamed Bouaouina named 2019-20 Wimmer Faculty Fellow CMU-Q student takes second at sports tech hackathon
Qatar high school students explore careers and campus life at Carnegie Mellon Entrepreneurial alum wins “Best Startup” silver medal
Aug 2019 Mada MOU signing with CMU-Q Qatari entrepreneur urges Carnegie Mellon students to strive for global excellence CMU-Q student secures first prize for QCRI research project in business and innovation
Carnegie Mellon professor compiles decades of research into Turkish Natural Qatar tech firms share knowledge, opportunities at Careers Platform event Language Processing High school students test drive CMU-Q’s academic programs CMU-Q anthology celebrates creativity, artistic talent CMU-Q alums take first place at IdeaCamp 2019 Class of 2023 Orientation: Envision endless opportunities CMU-Q alum empowers people in Qatar to find a sport they will love CMU-Q welcomes Class of 2023 President of Carnegie Mellon: "We will lead the transformation of higher education” Annual scholarship from Carnegie Mellon for most deserved Srinivasan Seshan on the past, present and future of the internet Sep 2019 CMU-Q’s Dudley Reynolds: “We live in an age where multilingualism is the norm” Qatar Foundation welcomes students at orientation event Dec 2019 Minister of Commerce and Industry: Diversification, self-sufficiency are keys to Qatar’s development CMU-Q alum organizing second Qatar 48-Hour Film Challenge
Carnegie Mellon Qatar welcomes new faculty members CMU-Q team creates fast, inexpensive screening kit for genetic disease carriers Carnegie Mellon leads team to create interactive map of Qatari dialect Veteran NASA astronaut shares insights on decision-making dynamics at Carnegie Mellon Carnegie Mellon celebrates Qatar National Day with football big data CMU-Q announces class of 2020 scholars Alum entrepreneurs make Forbes “30 under 30” list
Carnegie Mellon Qatar welcomes most diverse new class in campus history CMU-Q debaters place third at Asian Arabic language championship
CMU-Q students apply learning and knowledge through internship experiences Zaid Haque on his years at CMU-Q: “If I could go back, I would tell myself to sleep less and enjoy the experience even more” Education City Health and Wellness Fair comes back to CMU-Q Innovative courses open up new worlds for Carnegie Mellon students 86 87 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY Annual Report IN QATAR 2019-2020 The Year in the News
Apr 2020 Press release CMU-Q website story News coverage Hamad bin Jassim Center and Carnegie Mellon recognize winners of programming competition
Jan 2020 CMU-Q creates open mini-course on remote teaching
Molly Wright Steenson on AI: “Every time you talk about an algorithm, you’re also CMU-Q announces winners of Pi Day Math Contest 2020 talking about a person” Carnegie Mellon Qatar celebrates academic excellence in first virtual ceremony Alum Asma Al-Kuwari on mentoring current CMU-Q students: “I want to be that person for them.” Carnegie Mellon Qatar faculty explores the future of teaching
Sheikha Hind meets heads of QF’s international education partners in US The future of libraries in a social distancing world
CMU-Q student wins gold medal at Doha Oasis for Innovation CMU-Q community rolls out the virtual red carpet for Class of 2024 Information Systems professor joins panel on climate change and coronavirus 117 high school students explore their study options at CMU-Q BA student joins discussion on post-pandemic era Fatima Amir on her CMU-Q experience: “As a senior, you look back at your freshman self and say, wow, that growth has been kind of crazy.” CMU-Q professor shares how to keep remote teams connected, happy, and productive Carnegie Mellon Qatar admits largest group of Early Decision students Nahin Khan’s career path brings together two very different fields of study CMU’s David Danks on the new micro course experience Film by CMU-Q grad launches DFI's "Short of the Week" series Dean's Lecture Series enters 10th stimulating year May 2020 Ihab Younis: Precision medicine can become a reality through knowledge sharing and collaboration Carnegie Mellon Qatar goes virtual to celebrate Class of 2020
Fatima Mustafawi’s experience at CMU-Q inspires career in education Feb 2020 CMU-Q alumnus perfumer adapts his business to battle COVID-19 CMU-Q: Unmatched expertise QF partner universities unite to help job-seeking students All-female Qatari team wins top award at Carnegie Mellon innovation competition Carnegie Mellon Qatar celebrates Class of 2020 CMU-Q students win first place in Qatar University cyber challenge Comp bio grad Raghid Bsat finds community, opportunities at CMU-Q Lebanese School of Qatar wins top prize at Carnegie Mellon’s Botball
Carnegie Mellon team wins management consulting case competition Working remotely: Balancing blended roles and competing demands
CMU-Q computer science students take top spots at Qatar University Math Jun 2020 Competition Qatar's resilience has been an inspiration: Dean of CMU-Q Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar alumni celebrate milestone reunions Fahad Bahzad has deepened his connection, contribution to Qatar CMU-Q hosts only Google Hash Code hub in Qatar CMU-Q alum reimagines the education landscape Biological sciences students encourage creativity, artistic exploration CMU-Q recognizes five graduates with top academic award Mar 2020 Hanna Moazam contributes to Carnegie Mellon community on three continents Simon DeDeo discusses the nature of intelligence and AI CMU-Q recognizes two professors for exceptional teaching award Quantitative reasoning is critical for 21st century careers Carnegie Mellon Qatar research wins 2019 Best Paper award Alumna MinKyung Kang is a blossoming entrepreneur CMU announces Nesrine Affara as 2020-21 Wimmer Faculty Fellow CMU-Q student creates two winning videos for Snapchat contest CMU-Q Class of 2020 grad develops mobile app for low-income workers CMU-Q grad receives platinum Education Excellence Award Carnegie Mellon graduates to Al Sharq: The development of the business Seven thousand miles away from campus, CMU-Q students experience Washington, DC environment to reduce the risk of corona on society
Dean Michael Trick says collaboration, community is making remote learning a success Education City Graduation 2020
Agustín Indaco: Saving the economy from the coronavirus Carnegie Mellon Qatar launches virtual computer science discovery workshop 88 89 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY Annual Report IN QATAR 2019-2020
Our Leadership, Our Faculty, Our Partners 90 91 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY Annual Report IN QATAR 2019-2020 Advisors and Senior Leadership Academic Year 2019-2020
Joint Advisory Board Dean’s Office
Qatar Foundation H.E. Dr. Hessa Sultan Al Jaber Michael Trick Dean members Chairperson, Es’hailSat, The Qatar Satellite Company Harry B. and James H. Higgins Professor of Operations Research Senior Associate Dean, Education H.E. Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Selma Limam Area Head, Information Systems Chairman, Al Faisal Holding Mansar Teaching Professor, Information Systems Reem Al Mansoori John O’Brien Senior Associate Dean, Faculty and Outreach Assistant Undersecretary, Digital Society Development Sector Area Head, Business Administration Ministry of Transport and Communications Associate Professor, Accounting and Experimental Economics Ahmed Elmagarmid Kemal Oflazer Associate Dean, Research Executive Director, Qatar Computing Research Institute Area Head, Computer Science Hamad Bin Khalifa University Teaching Professor, Computer Science
Carnegie Mellon James H. Garrett, Jr. Fadhel Annan Associate Dean, Government and Corporate Affairs University members Provost and Chief Academic Officer Renee Camerlengo Associate Dean, Student Affairs and International Education Mary Jo Dively Vice President and General Counsel Edna Jackson Director, Dean’s Office
Amy Burkert Richard Mundy Chief Operations Officer Vice Provost for Education Kara Nesimiuk Executive Director, Marketing and Public Relations Duane Seppi (Fall 2019) Chief Information Officer The BNY Mellon Professor of Finance Khalid Sarwar Tepper School of Business Warraich
Jonathan Caulkins (Spring 2020) Faculty Leadership H. Guyford Stever University Professor of Operations Research and Public Policy Heinz College Chadi Aoun Program Director, Information Systems Associate Teaching Professor, Information Systems Independent N. Balakrishnan members Associate Director Khaled Harras Program Director, Computer Science and Computational Biology Indian Institute of Science Teaching Professor, Computer Science
Gabriel Hawawini Patrick McGinnis Program Director, Business Administration The Henry Grunfield Professor of Investment Banking Distinguished Career Professor, Business Communication INSEAD Marion Oliver Area Co-Head, Arts and Sciences Kurt Mehlhorn Teaching Professor, Mathematics Director, Max Planck Institute for Informatics Saarland University Dudley Reynolds Area Co-Head, Arts and Sciences Teaching Professor, English Ex officio members Michael Mitchell General Counsel, Qatar Foundation Gordon Rule Area Head, Biological Sciences Professor, Biological Sciences Michael Trick Dean Annette Vincent Program Director, Biological Sciences Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar Associate Teaching Professor, Biological Sciences 92 93 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY Annual Report IN QATAR 2019-2020 Faculty Academic Year 2019-2020
Nesrine Affara Assistant Teaching Professor, Biological Sciences Selma Limam Mansar Senior Associate Dean, Education Area Head, Information Systems Mustafa Akan Associate Professor, Operations Management Teaching Professor, Information Systems
Serkan Akgüç Assistant Teaching Professor, Finance Teresa MacGregor Director, Library Patrick McGinnis Program Director, Business Administration Chadi Aoun Program Director, Information Systems Distinguished Career Professor, Business Communication Associate Teaching Professor, Information Systems Eduardo Miranda Associate Teaching Professor, Information Systems Ravichandra Bachu Assistant Teaching Professor, Chemistry Thomas Mitchell Associate Teaching Professor, English Serra Boranbay-Akan Assistant Teaching Professor, Economics Ezzohra Moufid Lecturer, French Houda Bouamor Assistant Teaching Professor, Information Systems Deepa Nair Assistant Teaching Professor, History Mohamed Bouaouina Associate Teaching Professor, Biological Sciences John O'Brien Senior Associate Dean, Faculty and Outreach Area Head, Business Administration Jennifer Bruder Assistant Teaching Professor, Psychology Associate Professor, Accounting and Experimental Economics Lauren Burakowski Assistant Teaching Professor, Psychology Kemal Oflazer Associate Dean, Research Area Head, Computer Science Anis Charfi Associate Teaching Professor, Information Systems Teaching Professor, Computer Science Milton Cofield Distinguished Service Professor, Business Management Marion Oliver Area Co-Head, Arts and Sciences Teaching Professor, Mathematics Hasan Demirkoparan Associate Teaching Professor, Mathematics Taeyong Park Visiting Assistant Teaching Professor, Statistics Gianni Di Caro Associate Teaching Professor, Computer Science Silvia Pessoa Associate Teaching Professor, English Kira Dreher Assistant Teaching Professor, English Daniel C. Phelps Associate Teaching Professor, Information Systems
Fuad Farooqi Associate Teaching Professor, Finance Saquib Razak Associate Teaching Professor, Computer Science
Simon Faulkner Assistant Teaching Professor, Chemistry Benjamin Reilly Teaching Professor, History
Maria Pia Gomez-Laich Assistant Teaching Professor, English Giselle Reis Assistant Teaching Professor, Computer Science
Susan Hagan Associate Teaching Professor, Information Systems Dudley Reynolds Area Co-Head, Arts and Sciences Teaching Professor, English Mohammad Hammoud Assistant Teaching Professor, Computer Science Ryan Riley Associate Teaching Professor, Computer Science
Khaled Harras Program Director, Computer Science and Computational Biology Gordon Rule Area Head, Biological Sciences Teaching Professor, Computer Science Professor, Biological Sciences Erik Helin Special Lecturer, Spanish Veli Safak Assistant Teaching Professor, Economics
Zeinab Ibrahim Teaching Professor, Arabic Studies Varun Sharma Assistant Teaching Professor, Marketing
Valentin Ilyin Associate Teaching Professor, Computational Biology Jeff Squires Assistant Teaching Professor, English Michael Trick Dean Agustín Indaco Assistant Teaching Professor, Economics Harry B. and James H. Higgins Professor of Operations Research Lansiné Kaba Thomas M. Kerr Distinguished Career Professor Nui Vatanasakdakul Associate Teaching Professor, Information Systems
Christos Kapoutsis Associate Teaching Professor, Computer Science Annette Vincent Program Director, Biological Sciences Associate Teaching Professor, Biological Sciences Niraj Khare Assistant Teaching Professor, Mathematics Patrick Walsh Assistant Teaching Professor, Philosophy Jasmine Kirby Instruction and Engagement Librarian George White Distinguished Career Professor, Entrepreneurship
Ramesh Krishnamurti Professor, Architecture Zelealem Yilma Assistant Teaching Professor, Mathematics
Cecile le Roux Assistant Teaching Professor, Organization and Behavior Ihab Younis Associate Teaching Professor, Biological Sciences
Divakaran Liginlal Teaching Professor, Information Systems Mohamed Zayed Associate Teaching Professor, Physics 94 95 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY Annual Report IN QATAR 2019-2020 Community Partners
Huawei Qatar Electricity & Water Co. INJAZ Qatar Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute Internal Security Force (Lekhwiya) Qatar Fertilizer Company Intesa Sanpaolo Qatar Finance and Business Academy Investment Promotion Agency Qatar Qatar Financial Center Jassim and Hamad Bin Jassim Charitable Foundation Qatar Financial Center Regulatory Authority Katara Cultural Village Qatar First Bank Kearney Qatar Foundation KPMG Qatar Foundation Research, Development and Innovation Mada - Assistive Technology Center Qatar Qatar Investment Authority Malomatia Qatar Mobility Innovation Center Mazars Qatar Museums Authority Mazaya Qatar Qatar National Bank McKinsey & Company Qatar National Research Fund Meddy Qatar Olympic Committee Carnegie Mellon has built relationships with companies and organizations across Medihealth Solutions At-Home-Doc Qatar Petrochemical Company (QAPCO) various sectors. Our partners work closely with us by speaking through our Career Microsoft Qatar Petroleum Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Qatar Science and Technology Park Development Office, providing internships and jobs, participating in Community Social Affairs Qatar Shell Partner Workshops, sponsoring students, sponsoring events and strengthening ties Ministry of Commerce and Industry Qatar Solar Technologies Ministry of Defense Qatar Stock Exchange through Memoranda of Understanding. Ministry of Education and Higher Education Qatar University Ministry of Finance 004 Arabia Darwish Holding QatarGas Ministry of Foreign Affairs AbuIssa Holding Davidson Consulting QInvest Ministry of Interior ADabisc Deloitte QLife Pharma Ministry of Municipality and Environment Adecco Group DHL Regency Group Holding Ministry of Transport and Communications Al Emadi Enterprises Digital Incubation Center Rheinmetall Barzan Advanced Technology Academy Modaris Salam Technology Al Faisal Holding EBLA Computer Consultancy Company Nakilat Saleh Hamad Al Mana Co. Al Jazeera Media Network EButler National Center for Cancer Care and Research SAP Al Khalij Commercial Bank (al khaliji) Education Above All Nestlé SDK Marketing Al Sawari Holding Education USA Northwestern University in Qatar Sidra Medicine AlFaisal Without Borders Foundation Embassy of Belgium in Qatar Oliver Wymann Siemens Qatar Alfardan Group Embassy of Canada to Qatar Olympic Stars Silatech Ali Bin Ali Group Embassy of France, Doha Omani Embassy in Doha, Qatar Amiri Diwan Embassy of Italy in Doha One Foods Snoonu Aspire Zone Foundation Embassy of the Republic of Serbia Oola Sportswear STA Enterprises Bain Embassy of the State of Kuwait Ooredoo Standard Chartered Barzan Holdings Equine Veterinary Medical Center Oryx GTL State Audit Bureau Bayt.com EY Planning and Statistics Authority Subol Innovation beIN MEDIA GROUP ExxonMobil Qatar PwC Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy Boeing GE Qatar Airways Teach For Qatar Boston Consulting Group Georgetown University in Qatar Qatar Armed Forces TESOL International Association Canon German Embassy in Doha Qatar Biobank Texas A&M University at Qatar Careem Girnaas Qatar Biomedical Research Institute Trio Investment Center for GIS Qatar Gulf Bridge International Qatar Business Incubation Center U.S. Embassy in Qatar Cisco Gulf Business Machines Qatar Cancer Society VCUArts Qatar Coca-Cola Hamad Bin Khalifa University Qatar Central Bank Vodafone Qatar Commercial Bank of Qatar Hamad Medical Corporation Qatar Chemical Company Ltd (Q-Chem) Weill Cornell Medicine—Qatar Communications Regulatory Authority Henkel Qatar Computing Research Institute World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) Cosette Solutions Hilti Qatar Credit Bureau Woqood Council of Ministers Hochtief Vicon Qatar Development Bank Zomato 96 97 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY Annual Report IN QATAR 2019-2020
About Us For more than a century, Carnegie To learn more, Mellon University has challenged visit www.qatar.cmu.edu and the curious and passionate to follow us on: imagine and deliver work that matters. A private, top-ranked and global university, Carnegie Twitter: @CarnegieMellonQ Mellon sets its own course with Instagram: programs that inspire creativity and @carnegiemellonq collaboration. Facebook: In 2004, Carnegie Mellon and Qatar CarnegieMellonQ Foundation began a partnership YouTube: CarnegieMellonQatar to deliver select programs that LinkedIn: will contribute to the long-term Carnegie Mellon Qatar development of Qatar. Today, Carnegie Mellon Qatar offers undergraduate programs in Contacts: biological sciences, business Dean’s Office: administration, computer science, [email protected] and information systems. More than Research Office: 400 students from 52 countries call [email protected] Carnegie Mellon Qatar home. Admission Office: [email protected] Graduates from CMU-Q are Media Inquiries: pursuing their careers in top [email protected] organizations within Qatar and around the world, and many have started their own entrepreneurial Produced by the Office of Marketing and Public ventures. With 13 graduating Relations at CMU-Q. classes, the total number of alumni is nearly 1000.