Hamad Bin Jassim Computing Science Education exceeds expectations in terms of achievement and participation

Doha, Qatar: The Hamad Bin Jassim Centre for Computing Science Education, which was established by the Jassim and Hamad Bin Jassim Charitable Foundation in cooperation with Carnegie Mellon University in 2018, has showed outstanding results through many achievements.

The remarkable achievements were made by adopting and developing two advanced programmes in the field of computer science and programming, one of which is dedicated to designing and developing educational activities under the name of Mind Craft.

The other section is working to develop a curriculum for teaching programming and computer basics in schools using the Alice programme.

To enhance the centre’s performance in this regard, it launched the “Alice Middle East Computer Science” competition organised by Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, one of the QF partner universities.

This year, more than 80 students from 34 teams from 12 middle and high schools from across the country competed in programming skills and creativity in animation.

Regarding the organisation of the Alice Middle East Competition for Computer Science and its results this year, Fawaz Eid Al Shammari, Director of Support Services Department at the Jassim and Hamad Bin Jassim Charitable Foundation, congratulated the winning schools.

He noted that the Alice Middle East Computer Science Competition, which is organised by the Hamad Bin Jassim Centre for Computing Science Education, enhanced the status and objectives of the scientific centre to improve the skills of school students and encourage them to innovate and create in various fields.

Regarding the importance of the centre and its pivotal role in promoting computer science and programming, Al Shammari said that the Hamad Bin Jassim Centre for Computing Science Education is one of the most important development projects that the Jassim and Hamad Bin Jassim Charitable Foundation is proud of.

He said that it is a model for the qualitative transformation in the work strategies of charitable institutions, which adopts the aspect of sustainability in all development fields and in various educational stages, which enables it to possess various tools to keep pace with the changing labour market needs, in which technology is an essential element.

Dr. Khalid Al Haras, Director of the Hamad Bin Jassim Centre for Computing Science Education

For his part, Dr. Khalid Al Haras, Director of the Hamad Bin Jassim Centre for Computing Science Education said that the centre has exceeded the declared goals that it has sought to achieve since its establishment over the course of six years as the numbers at the level of participation and interaction exceeded all expectations.

He said that through the Mind Craft programme, the plan was to reach 500 students every year, but the current total number reached approximately 1,200 students annually, while the total that was reached over the six years was about 14,000 students through the Mind Craft programme only, through various activities such as going to schools and being keen to participate in community events.

Dr. Al Haras added that the adopts two main programmes, Mind Craft and Alice. He said that the new thing in the framework of developing the activities of the centre is the expansion, not through adding new programmes, but rather working to achieve expansion through the Mind Craft system, which was one programme, but now it includes four different programmes, namely Mind Craft Alpha, and Mind Craft on the Mind, in cooperation with different segments of society and Mind Craft Online, for the Arab region.

There was a remarkable response to this programme as students from 15 countries joined the Mind Craft Campus, which is an educational camp over a week, and the number of schools enrolled in the various programmes of the centre reached approximately 80 schools.

Covering a number of needy families in Qatar

Over QR549,000 donations were provided by Jassim and Hamad Bin Jassim Charitable Foundation in May.

Within the framework of its social responsibilities and supporting the various needy segments of society, Jassim and Hamad Bin Jassim Charitable Foundation continued its humanitarian activities in supporting the needy groups inside Qatar.

The move affirms its constant desire to support this segment of society and support its aspirations for a stable life, bringing the total of this assistance to QR549,580 in May.

Considering that the fields of health and education reflect the vision of the Foundation, the month of May witnessed the provision of aid in the fields of health and education that exceeded QR198,842, which included paying tuition fees for students of various educational levels in private and community schools in addition to universities.

The assistance provided by the Foundation also included many medical cases that required surgical intervention within the framework of the agreement signed with Hamad Medical Corporation, from expatriates in need, whose health conditions impose financial burdens on them that exceed their capabilities.