Story starts with the visit of ACM Education Board to Qatar University with the objective to
evaluate and what possibly can be done for computer education in the Middle East as well as
india. Famous Hoffstra University professor spear headed the activity organizing various
meetings with ACM President and Executive Directors with few others and meeting Qatri
counterparts was a rich but unique experience.
Qatar University enrolls 70% female students which was a surprise for the visiting guests. It was told that male students usually prefer to opt to a degree that has been labeled as “Engineering” and that means higher pay rate in the market. The Qatar University people told that computer related jobs in Qatar are not well paid as those jobs are only about customizing computer applications and not for developing new applications. These applications are usually imported and students simply use those applications while working in the Middle East. There are jobs in the market and the university faculty is enhancing computer studies curriculum. The female students are eager to face more challenges for developing computer application and facing the market requirements head on. They want international competition where they can participate and make their place in the market. All they want is to have a challenge but then comes whether they win or they lose.
Qatar houses Education City built by Qatar Foundation where there are six satellite campuses of American Universities. The place is built to develop a non-oil economy presently supported by the oil income. Purpose is to tell people that oil will not last forever and they need intellectual properties and assets to work in future. This will encourage Qatri students to learn more and innovate for their own future.
Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Qatar runs a Computer Science program where male/female participation is equal. They are working to develop a Geek Culture asking students to learn, build and do it yourself to make a future. This approach was altogether missing in Qatar or even the whole of Middle East. This is co-education system and students have no intention to go abroad at all. Local culture however encourages female students to have only female education campus and that is all engrained in Qatari society in general. CMU however, has plans to add more from CS and less from IT or IS and Qatar Foundation supports this idea. The foundation also supports this change to create more computer related jobs in coming days. The computer science studying ladies at Qatar University too, are eager to develop their own applications and build their future in coming days.
The other approach is all about 180 degrees, the other way round. Some Qatari intellectuals see this as a common understandable issue between cultures. That they will be able to copy western intellectual things for their benefit as once in past west had copied Islamic world intelligence based on scientific knowledge for their own benefit but they did not choose to copy or translate Quranic knowledge. This is what they call cultural privacy. Westerners, when decided to copy the Islamic wisdom they selected only the scientific research part and skipped Islamic or Quranic part. This way the Qatari intellectuals feel that co-education does not fit into Qatari society so we can skip this part and stick to what Islam teaches.
For becoming a computer scientist a Qatari woman does not need to sacrifice Islamic values but needs to remain within the four walls of Islam where the religion wants to keep her. If there is a pressure from the West to adopt western values, then Qatari society will not accept nor respect this demand. Typical Qatari intellectuals do not permit nor recognize this type of moderation and enlightenment from Western Culture.
Qatar Foundation and all infrastructures are there to educate people not to impose western culture on locals. That is why ACM Education Board has managed this visit where they can focus on education and professional training to making Qatari people fit for future providing support for future changes as they occur.
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