Entrepreneurship and cyber security are among range of areas the Carnegie Mellon University Qatar (CMU-Q) is keen to focus on in the coming years, says Michael Trick, the new Dean. The campus is also seeking to enhance student experience in education and other activities.
Trick took over as Dean of CMU-Q in September and he is also the chief academic officer of the campus in Education City.
“We are very strong in computer science and information systems. Issues like cyber security are clearly huge in the US and all around the world, so we are strengthening our role there. Also by strengthening our link with the researchers at the main campus in Pittsburgh, we bring the best of what’s happening there to our campus here,” he said yesterday speaking to the media about his plans for CMU-Q and the campus’s role in Qatar as a whole.
“The other thing I would highlight is entrepreneurship. As the economy of Qatar matures and moves away from mono-economy, we want to make certain that we are doing our part in creating a vibrant entrepreneurship ecosystem. Whether that is on the computer science side, or there are tremendous entrepreneurship opportunities in biology as well. And the things we learn in business and entrepreneurship, this can be applied across all the campuses here, whether it’s the engineers at Texas A&M- Qatar or the journalists and social media people at Northwestern University in Qatar. Any of the schools can take advantage of what we try to do in entrepreneurship,” he added.
Dean Trick also said that CMU-Q would soon introduce short term courses in entrepreneurship.
CMU-Q offers programmes in biological sciences, business administration, computational biology, computer science and information systems. It has 388 students with a Qatari population of 44 percent.
Boosting student experience during their study period at CMU-Q is another major area which will be focused during the tenure of Dean Trick.
“Student experience will be a major focus. Trends in education recognize that a lot of what happens outside of the classroom. I’m comfortable with what happens in the classroom. I’m happy with the educational experience people are getting there I want to have a strong sense of community, both within CMU-Q and with the overall system here in Education City,” he said.
