Qatar Airways presented a digital marketing lecture and challenge that was open to all students at CMUQ, particularly those studying business administration.

The students were given a case study describing a digital campaign for Qatar Airways as material to work with, and were tasked with finding creative solutions and ideas for the project.

Each group was then given just over one week to develop a solution to the challenge.  Two weeks later, the groups had the opportunity to present their proposed solutions to CMUQ faculty and a group of managers from Qatar Airways.

Out of 60 students who competed, 15 students in three separate teams proceeded to the finals. The teams participating in the challenge included six Qataris along with other nationals. The winning team consisted of junior business administration students Valerie Garcia, Narjis Premjee, Sana Britto, Hessa al-Thani and Bilal Sheikh.

“This competition was a great opportunity for Qatari youth to demonstrate their talents and skills to potential employers,” said Dr Kholode al-Obaidli, vice-president of National Talent Management in Qatar Airways. “These types of challenges truly engage students and help expose them to real-life experiences, which in turn helps prepare them for their future careers. It is through such initiatives that we hope to encourage other Qatari students to apply to the Qatar Airways Al Darb Scholarship, Internship and Graduate Development programmes.”

Tridas Mukhopadhyay, professor of e-Business at CMUQ, added: “The Internet has become the medium of choice for communication for people and companies worldwide as the number of users approaches 3bn by the end of this year. The digital marketing competition sponsored by Qatar Airways is, therefore, a valuable and timely opportunity for the students of Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar. Credit should be given to the foresight and effort of both the university faculty and Qatar Airways executives involved in this event.”

Qatar Airways provides an opportunity for all talented and enthusiastic young Qataris to apply to its Qatarisation programme, Al Darb. With nine programmes, Al Darb offers applicants a wide range of options to find the right position and a chance to develop their skills and discover their passion.

The Al Darb programme’s main focus is to give an opportunity to young talented Qataris to experience real-life work by engaging them in one of its nine programmes - Summer Internship, Graduate Development, Cadet Pilot, National Scholarship, Jossor, Airport Operations, Aviation Management, Aircraft Maintenance Engineering and Massey University MBA.

Now in its fourth year, Al Darb, which means “the pathway” in English, has continually invested in talented nationals who have proudly and confidently represented Qatar abroad.