QATAR University’s Department of Computer Science and Engineering yesterday launched its second website design contest, QU_WSC 2009, for all high school students in the country. The launch event was attended by QU College deans, students, faculty as well as over 200 students and teachers from high schools in Doha. In her opening remarks, vice president and chief academic officer Sheikha Jabor al-Thani noted that Qatar was rapidly moving into the technological age. “The momentum is taking place in the high schools where the students are showing initiative and creativity researching and presenting their school projects,” she said. “This contest is the College of Engineering’s participation in promoting computer science and IT in the community to encourage young talent,” dean Mazen Hasna said. In his remarks, department head Prof Qutaibah Malluhi said the aim of the contest was to increase high-school students’ interest in the field of computing science and technology and its relevance to the issues of the day. “The students are also being offered the opportunity to work together and demonstrate their creative web design, team-work and research skills. In addition, the contest will encourage better interaction between the department and high schools, students and IT teachers,” he added. Outlining details of the contest, organising committee head Mohamed Samaka said students could work individually or in pairs, under the supervision of a school mentor. “Last year about 60 projects were submitted; this year, interest in the contest is much higher and we expect to see many more entries,” he added. The first prize is a scholarship to study at the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, plus QR10,000. The second prize is QR6,000 and the third QR4,000. The submission deadline is March 19, 2009. Students will be judged on their ability to follow the objectives through a set of criteria. Websites can be submitted through the website http://www.qu.edu.qa/wsc/09 which also contains information on selection criteria, judging procedure, and prizes. Jury deliberation and selection of finalists will be completed on March 22. The award ceremony will be held on April 20, when the names of the chosen finalists will be announced. All contest participants will be invited to the ceremony where they will receive a certificate of participation. The launch event also included a short presentation by last year’s first prize winner Tejas Kumar of Ideal Indian School. http://gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=256462&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16

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