Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar (CMUQ) celebrated its ninth graduation ceremony as 89 graduates received their diplomas in the presence of family, friends, alumni, faculty and Carnegie Mellon leadership.
There are now 570 CMUQ alumni representing the classes of 2008 through 2016.
The 2016 graduating class comprises students in five programmes: 11 in biological sciences, 41 in business administration, 17 in computer science, 19 in information systems, and, for the first time, one student in the highly selective computational biology programme. The students join Carnegie Mellon University’s global network of more than 100,000 alumni.
Ilker Baybars, dean and CEO of Carnegie Mellon Qatar, said: “These young men and women exemplify the Carnegie Mellon qualities of hard work, collaboration across disciplines and innovation. They have volunteered their time and talents, organised large-scale events, participated in international academic competitions and conducted complex research projects.”
The ceremony’s student speaker was Nada Arakji, a business administration graduate and the first woman to represent Qatar in the Olympics. Since competing as a swimmer at the London 2012 Games, Arakji has continued to work with the QOC to promote sport and athletics to Qatar’s youth. Arakji will compete for Qatar once again at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
In her speech, Arakji said: “Carnegie Mellon has always celebrated and taken pride in its students’ diverse skills and talents – the variety of colours of the Tartan weave are an apt analogy for the many talents that define us as a community to which we proudly belong. The university enables us to thrive and grow by giving us opportunity to innovate, collaborate, flourish and excel, all while offering steadfast and strong support, freedom, care and attention.”  
The members of the graduating class represent 23 nationalities and speak a total of 26 languages. In the Class of 2016, 44% of graduates have studied abroad.
The Class of 2016 has compiled more than 47,000 hours of work experience, with 72% of the class completing at least one internship. More than 53% have been involved in community outreach, and 41% have started or led a student club.
CMUQ graduates are highly sought after by local, regional and international organisations. More than 90% of the university’s alumni are either in graduate programmes or employed in top organisations such as Google, Microsoft, Qatar Petroleum, Shell and Commercial Bank Qatar.