Tamuq incoming students benefit from math camp

Students set to begin their engineering studies at Texas A&M University at Qatar (Tamuq) posted significant improvements in their mathematics knowledge and skills through Pathways for Retention in Engineering Programmes (PREP), according to examination scores at the conclusion of the programme.Overall, the students improved their exam scores by an average of more than 20%  from the beginning to the end of the programme, reflecting the success of the initiative. The PREP course, which ran three weeks from July 23 through August 10, was taught by Dr Sandra Nite from Texas A&M’s main campus in College Station, Texas, USA.Nite said, “I have enjoyed working with this talented group of students. They have worked diligently to deepen their understanding of concepts needed for success in engineering calculus. I have high confidence that these students are more prepared for their engineering careers as a result of their effort this summer.”PREP is part of the Dhia: Engineering Leaders initiative, a partnership between Tamuq and longtime collaborator, Maersk Oil Qatar, that aims to help young Qataris to choose and succeed in educational pathways in science, technology, engineering and mathematics which are critical to the success of the Qatar National Vision 2030. PREP aims to provide students a solid foundation in mathematics, which is essential in sciences and engineering, to support the academic success of incoming engineering students. The programme comprises intense instruction in mathematical topics such as functions, trigonometry and linear systems. Faisal al-Baker, an incoming engineering student, said the programme significantly strengthened his mathematics skill ahead of his enrolment in university studies.“The PREP programme has helped me a great deal because most of the things I’ve studied here I haven’t seen before at school, and they were introduced to us in new and creative ways,” he said. “The teachers here care about whether or not the information was understood, and the equipment and the tools we used in class helped us visualise the problems to better solve them.”