Secondary school students from across Qatar spent three weeks learning about careers in science, technology and business during the annual Summer College Preview Program at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar. This year was the largest class yet, with 79 students participating.
Throughout the program, students explored the fields taught at CMU-Q — biological sciences, business administration, computer science and information systems — and learned about college life. For many students, the program is an introduction to their future careers. Nearly 25 percent of last year's freshman class at CMU-Q attended the summer program as high school students.
"The Summer College Preview Program exposes students to college-level math and writing and encourages them to develop new skills through project work. This is an important introduction to new fields of study for many students," said Kemal Oflazer, associate dean of research at CMU-Q, who addressed students and parents at the SCPP closing ceremony.
The fast-paced program includes workshops on becoming a master student by setting goals, managing time effectively and preparing a competitive application for college.
"The main issue new college students face is that they are not well oriented within the higher education system," said Saif Jassim Al-Kuwari, a parent of one of this year's participants. "The SCPP program is a great opportunity for them to get exposed to academic life at CMU-Q."