DOHA: Attracting women into science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields traditionally has been a challenge, but Carnegie Mellon University Qatar (CMUQ) is taking steps to improve women representation in these areas.
In an effort to accomplish this, Carnegie Mellon hosted CS4Qatar for Women, an outreach programme that aims to introduce young women into computer science.
“With CS4Qatar for Women, we want to help students understand what computer science is. As these young women are trying to decide their future fields of study, we want them to make a more informed decision about computer science. Moreover, these workshops teach students how to think about solving computational problems more systematically,” said Saquib Razak, assistant teaching professor of computer science.
More than 80 high-school girl students from 12 schools across Qatar attended the event, which consisted of three lectures and two workshops: one on programming with Java and another on computational thinking.
“Computer Science plays a role in the evolution of technology in our everyday life. This programme helps young women think about fundamental issues in computer science.
“We use practical approaches that get students to think about different simple yet innovative approaches to solve fundamental problems. This is central to understanding what computer science is all about – problem solving,” said Majd Sakr, associate teaching professor of computer science.
Parents of the students were also introduced to the field and numerous career opportunities open to computer science majors.
“CS4Qatar for Women’s achieved its purpose, which is to encourage Qatari women to consider computer science. I have met professors. They are full of knowledge and have great experience,” said Dodo Nodi, a participant.
CS4Qatar for women is a series of computer science workshops designed for both computer science educators, as well as high school students in Qatar.
The Peninsula
