36 students attend QCRI summer internship in Qatar

(MENAFN- Gulf Times) The summer internship programme at Qatar Computing Research Institute (QCRI) has kicked off with a fresh batch of students.

Under the theme "Hot Summer-Cool Research", 36 undergraduate students from local, regional and international universities are participating in the eight-week applied computing research training programme.

The programme, which runs until July 2, provides an opportunity for talented undergraduate students studying computer science, computer engineering and other related disciplines to explore and get hands-on experience in priority research areas for technology.

The growing interest in the programme, which is in its fourth year, is a testament to its continued success. Launched in 2012 with the participation of six interns, it has evolved into a sought-after computer science trainee programmes in Qatar, according to a statement.

From among 110 students who applied this year, 36 students hailing from universities in Qatar, Lebanon, India and the US were accepted. Over the course of eight weeks, the interns will have the opportunity to develop their innovation and technical skills in a hands-on environment, under the mentorship of world-renowned QCRI researchers and scientists.

"This is the time of the year when QCRI is buzzing with the energy that our interns bring. We are excited about the learning opportunities this programme offers to our interns and mentors," said Dr Eman Fituri, director of educational initiatives at QCRI.

From making the next viral game to designing a new architecture for the social web and leveraging Artificial Intelligence for disaster response, the students will have the chance to work on real projects that are part of ongoing research at QCRI.

This year, students chose from among 50 projects across QCRI's priority research areas: Arabic language technologies, computational science and engineering, cyber security, data analytics, distributed systems and social computing. Each student is paired with a mentor based on their background and area of interest.

"The QCRI internship will provide me with the opportunity to gain skills and knowledge and experience real-life applications," said Abdul-Rahman al-Fayyad, a freshman student majoring in Social Computing at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar (CMUQ).

Qatari student Haya al-Thani, currently pursuing her Master of Science degree in Computer Science at Qatar University (QU), is returning to QCRI for the second time. "I had previously worked with the computational science and engineering group at QCRI. It was a great learning experience that encouraged me to come back. This year, I join the data analytics team."

"Connecting mentors and summer interns provides both parties with opportunities to learn," said Heather Leson, a programme manager in social computing and a mentor on the QCRI summer internship programme.

In addition to conducting rigorous research, the students will have the chance to participate in educational and team-building activities. These include weekly Lunch & Learn sessions, a mid-internship bowling event and an end-of-internship Iftar.

During the closing ceremony, due to be held in the third week of September, students will showcase their research, followed by a poster session. A judging panel comprising scientists from QCRI and faculty members from Hamad bin Khalifa University, QU and CMUQ will then select the best three posters, and prizes will be awarded to the winners.