Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar (CMUQ) recently organised the seventh annual Professional Day career and networking fair with the aim of connecting skilled students with potential employers in the country.
Nearly 50 companies from industries as varied as consumer goods, digital media and healthcare participated in the event, looking to hire the university’s students, especially those who would graduate next month.  
The evening highlighted year-long career development efforts undertaken by the university. “Over the past seven years, Carnegie Mellon Qatar has been connecting blue-chip companies with a pool of talented and driven students both on Professional Day and throughout their undergraduate years at Carnegie Mellon. Through the strength of our collaboration, we have nurtured high-calibre students and alumni - young men and women who are intelligent, professional and innovative,” said Amy Walker, the newly appointed director of career services at CMUQ.
Dana Haidan, head of corporate social responsibility at Vodafone Qatar, spoke to students on the importance of participating in extracurricular activities.
Hamad International Airport’s Zaid Haque briefed potential employees on professional branding, while Shahriar Haque, a software engineer at GE, mentored aspiring computer scientists on trending subjects in the industry.
Elaborating on why they recruit at CMUQ, HSBC’s head of commercial banking Fadi Fattal said: “HSBC has been in the local market for over 50 years. We have a commitment to the community to develop local talent. It is part of our strategy.”
Carnegie Mellon’s Professional Day career and networking fair provides an opportunity for students to meet private and public companies from a wide array of sectors in Qatar, across the region and around the world.
This year, many of the alumni returned to the university to help current students transform their education into professional success.
CMUQ’s commitment to preparing students for the workplace ranges from résumé building to providing fashion tips. The CMba business fashion show hosted last week showcased formal business outfits designed to help students impress potential employers.
Companies that attended CMUQ’s Professional Day for the first time included Abdullah Abdulghani & Bros, Al Faisal Holding, Barclays, Citi, Doha News, Forbes Associates, Hamad Medical Corporation, Hill+Knowlton, ILoveQatar.Net, Nestle, Qatar Fuel Additives Company and Qatar Insurance Company.
Firms that returned to Professional Day in 2013 were Al Jazeera Network, Aspire Zone, Commercialbank, Credit Suisse, Doha Bank, Doha Film Institute, Enterprise Qatar, ExxonMobil, General Electric, Google, Gulf Talent, Hewlett Packard, HSBC, ICTQatar, iHorizons, KPMG, Michael Page International, Microsoft, Oryx GTL, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Qatar Airways, Qatar Computing Research Institute, Qatar Development Bank, Qatar Foundation, Qatargas, Qatar Mobility Innovations Center, Qatar Museums Authority, Qatar Petroleum, RasGas, Shell, Sidra Medical & Research Center, Standard Chartered, Tasweeq and Williams Advanced Engineering.






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