Qatar
CMU-Q showcases nation’s top coders at Qatar collegiate programming contest
Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar (CMU-Q), a Qatar Foundation partner, hosted the seventh annual Qatar Collegiate Programming Contest (QCPC), bringing together 100 high school teams and 35 university teams for a challenging test of coding and problem-solving.
The event gave young programmers a platform to showcase their technical abilities, teamwork, and problem-solving skills in an intensive, timed competition. The Hamad Bin Jassim Centre for Computer Science Education organised the contest, a collaboration between CMU-Q and the Jassim and Hamad Bin Jassim Charitable Foundation.
"The Qatar Collegiate Programming Contest has helped create a community of young programmers in Qatar,” said Michael Trick, dean of CMU-Q. "As young programmers develop their skills, this community flourishes and creates a culture of innovation, progress and creativity in Qatar.”
First held at CMU-Q in 2021, QCPC has grown to become the largest national programming competition in the GCC region.
Ali Ibrahim al-Gharib, CEO of the Jassim and Hamad Bin Jassim Charitable Foundation, said: "We are proud to see the reach of the Qatar Collegiate Programming Contest continue to grow and attract such creative young minds. Equipping students with advanced computing skills is essential for driving innovation. The talent and determination on display this year give us great optimism for Qatar's technological future.”
Throughout the two-day competition, participating teams tackled a series of complex programming challenges under strict time constraints, demonstrating their technical knowledge, creativity and ability to work together.
In the university track, teams from Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar swept the top three positions, securing gold, silver, and bronze medals.
In the high school track, DPS-Modern Indian School won gold, Park House English School took silver, and Birla Public School earned bronze.
The top two university and high school teams will advance to the Africa and Arab Collegiate Programming Championship, bringing them one step closer to competing on the international stage.
Eduardo Feo Flushing, assistant teaching professor of computer science, was part of the team that brought QCPC to Qatar in 2021, said: "The level of problem-solving we saw this year was outstanding. These students aren't just writing code; they are working under pressure to solve highly complex programming challenges. It is incredibly rewarding to witness the next generation of computer scientists pushing their limits and succeeding."