Hamad Bin Jassim Center
Preparing the youth in Qatar for a better tomorrow

In 2018, Carnegie Mellon University and Hamad Bin Jassim Charitable Foundation came together to create the Hamad bin Jassim Center for K-12 Computer Science Education. The center aims to help Qatar’s students learn the fundamentals of Computer Science. The center runs two projects in order to achieve this goal; Alice Middle East and Mindcraft. Saeed Mathkar Al-Hajri, Board Member and CEO of Jassim and Hamad Bin Jassim Charitable Foundation, says: “The center’s goal is essential for the future of Qatar: to foster students’ computing skills and raise awareness of the importance of computer science to progress and development.” Michael Trick, dean of CMU-Q, acknowledged the support of Jassim and Hamad Bin Jassim Charitable Foundation: “The foundation’s support has been very important to our efforts to help educate Qatar’s students in the area of computer science. This partnership ensures we can continue to reach out and share our passion for computing with the next generation.” The center promotes computer science education in schools throughout Qatar. The Hamad bin Jassim Center for K-12 Computer Science Education aims to educate students in the fundamentals of computer science, helping to develop basic computational thinking skills. Computer science education is a key component of increasing Qatar’s human development, in line with the Qatar National Vision 2030 and 2nd National Development Strategy 2018-2022.

Mission

Our mission is to create and promote creativity, critical thinking and problem solving skills amongst students in K-12 education system throughout the Middle East.

Vision

Our vision is to become a leader in educational innovation in the Middle East, and to build a platform that provides the foundation of computer science education.

Strategy

Our work focuses on implementing Computer Science curriculum and workshops that enriches the knowledge and experience of younger generation in Qatar.

Team Meet the memebers

Programs HBJ Center funds two main projects

Alice

Alice Middle East


Alice is a 3D programming environment tool that helps novice programmers to learn fundamental programming concepts in the context of creating animated movies and simple video games. Alice Middle East is part of the curriculum at all Qatar government schools that teach information communication technology.

MindCraft

MindCraft Outreach Events


MindCraft is an outreach program for Computer Science that was launched on September 2016. The program aims to raise awareness about the importance of CS via events and workshops. MindCraft targets high school students from schools across Qatar, as well as tailored events for the younger students.

Partners Our gratitude for the support of Our partners

Contact us

If you are interested in CS educational events, or you would like to discuss ideas on evolving CS education and outreach, we would love to hear from you. Please don't hesitate to contact us on the email below!


mindcraft@andrew.cmu.edu