Doha, Qatar – Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar (CMUQ) hosted the fifth annual Qatar Collegiate Programming Competition (QCPC). The competition set a new record for participation, attracting a total of 114 teams, comprising 349 students and coaches from universities and high schools in Doha.
After the end of an intense and competitive weekend, CMU-Q’s Thang Bui-Nguyen, George Chkhaidze, and Dilshodbek Khujaev took the top spot in the university track, solving an impressive 11 problems out of 13. 
In the high school track, Aditya Menon and Yash Sah from DPS Monarch International School were the top team, with six problems solved. It was an extraordinary showing from the high school students, whose results matched those of the second and third ranked teams in the university track. 
Michael Trick, dean of CMU-Q, is delighted to see the enthusiasm for programming among the youth of Qatar: “Programming competitions are about more than a single event—they are about building a community around creative problem solving,” he said. “It is extraordinary to see so many students here who are passionate about programming.” 
The QCPC is the only national programming competition in Qatar. The two-day competition challenges students to answer complex programming questions using their programming skills. QCPC is part of the International Collegiate Programming Competition, the oldest and most prestigious competition worldwide. 
Qatar National Bank was the official bank sponsor of prizes for the 2024 QCPC. The Hamad Bin Jassim Center for Computer Science Education and Scale AI also supported the event.
Representatives from the Africa and Arab Collegiate Programming Competition attended to oversee and judge the competition. 
Giselle Reis is area head for computer science at CMU-Q and a co-organizer of the event. 'Each year, the students improve and the QCPC becomes more competitive,” she said. “We are simply delighted to see so much programming talent at both the high school and university levels in Qatar.”
In addition to computer science, Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar offers undergraduate degree programs in biological sciences, business administration and information systems.