Ibtikar Qatar
Since my 10th grade, I have been blessed with opportunities provided by Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar to enhance my knowledge of computer science, robotics and college routine. I have been given a valuable insight into the wonderful world of programming and robotics, through the outreach events I attended at the university.
These outreach programs for high school students have helped me develop an understanding about college majors and have bolstered my penchant for computer sciences and engineering.
My first interaction with CMUQ was through the information systems competition called Ibtikar 2011. “Ibtikar is a program aimed at encouraging high-school students to design innovative solutions to address challenges faced by society using an information technology based approach.”
91 high school students from 20 different schools across the country were asked to design an application that would connect FIFA 2022 World Cup visitors with Qatar’s history and cultural heritage through the use of the ‘Nirvana’ smart phone application. We then had to display our designs using a poster after the selection process. We received valuable advice from an Information Systems professor at CMUQ through his lecture in the pre-competition workshop.
My team comprised of 4 members: 3 of my seniors and I. We decided on an entertaining team name: Erstaunliche Technologie (German translation for “amazing technology”). We first designed a symbol for the application in the “Nirvana” smart phone. Since the app had a target audience of soccer fans in the 2022 world cup in Qatar, our logo was that of a soccer ball in Qatar’s national colours. We then designed a preview for the app contents which initialised with a language selection menu for the international soccer fans. Consequentially, the app contents were divided into 3 subparts: History, Culture and Heritage; these features were developed to provide a holistic preview of Qatar as the host nation, to the FIFA 2022 World Cup visitors. The “History” feature briefly summarized Qatar’s major historical events from the 1700s to 2000s and also provided additional information when the events from the drop down were clicked upon. The events ranged from Qatar’s pearl and trade settlement to the establishment of metro lines and FIFA stadiums. The “Culture” feature provided a brief insight for the visitors into Qatar’s traditions and festivals. The dressing customs and savoured dishes of the country were also elaborately described with just a click. Finally, reports on important heritage sites like the National Museum, “Souq Waqif”, Katara Village etc and their routes were provided in the “Heritage” feature of the application.
In the process of developing our poster, I learnt a lot about information systems program and also the need to efficaciously communicate innovative ideas.
To learn about my other endeavors with Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, Click
