First CS Graduates at CMU Qatar
Yesterday we held the commencement ceremony for the very first graduating class at CMU Qatar. 28 students graduated, 10 of them in computer science. This is a major milestone for our operation in Qatar. These 10 students (plus 3 more scheduled to graduate in the fall) completed all of the requirements for a bona fide B.S. degree in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University.
It seems a good time to step back and reflect a bit on the experience thus far.
- Our recruiting of faculty for CMU Qatar has gone better than I (or probably anyone else) ever expected. We have had good success in recruiting new permanent faculty for CMU Qatar (people like Majd Sakr, Iliano Cervasato, and several others have been just great), and this recruiting continues today. Also, a number of very good Pittsburgh-based faculty have spent significant amounts of time in Qatar. These include, for example, Mark Stehlik, Bernadine Dias, and many others. Chuck Thorpe is ending his fourth year on the ground in Qatar. Considering that the operation is only four years old, I think the quality of the people in CMU Qatar is high and improving steadily. We’ve learned a lot about how to do this.
- Our implementation of the CS program has also been improving steadily. While we have constant worries about how to export the “special sauce” that makes a Carnegie Mellon CS degree so unique, so far the job we have done with this has been very good and, as with the faculty, improving steady. The implementation of our program isn’t just the delivery of courses. There are numerous extracurricular activities, such as the Meeting of the Minds undergraduate research symposium. CMU Qatar students took second place in the IEEE Extreme Global Programming Competition. They play sports. And throughout the year, the faculty and staff run special outreach programs in the local high schools.
- Finally, the students also show steady improvement. In a recent message from Dean Randy Bryant, he points out: “When you meet these students, you will realize that they have faced a unique set of challenges, being the first ever students in a program that was figuring out how to do things as it went along. 5 of them will be attending commencement in Pittsburgh, and I think you’ll find their individual stories quite inspiring.” As trailblazers, I am extremely pleased to see them complete their degrees successfully. Having said that, a major challenge has been the decline in enrollments. Four years ago we had 18 students enter the CS program. Each successive entering class has been smaller than the previous, reflecting the decline of interest in computer science in many parts of the world (including the US, though not at CMU-Pittsburgh). This is a troubling trend, and something that we definitely need to turn around if the program is to become successful.
So, overall, things seem in decent shape. We are not where we want to be yet, but it has been only four years and the trajectory is definitely in the right direction. I have two main worries at this point. The first is the low enrollment. For this, I think it crucial that we start recruiting students outside of Qatar, to the entire gulf region and beyond. The second is a need to lower the amount of bureaucracy in the financial dealings with the Qatar Foundation (the primary funders of our operation). In my view, there is a tendency towards micromanagement, which impedes creative solutions to problems as they arise.
Looking ahead to the next four years, if we can overcome the enrollment and micromanagement issues, I think there is a good chance that continued improvement will lead to a program that will do us all proud.
Finally, it is a bit of an embarrassment to admit this, but it has been four years since I last visited Qatar. I really owe Chuck and the entire crew a few visits, and hope to start doing this once the new school year starts up again this coming fall.
Peter Lee @ May 6, 2008