Gulftimes : Ministry holds first future programmers' competition – Gulf Times

The Ministry of Education and Higher Education organised the first edition of future programmers competition at Hassan Bin Thabit Secondary School for boys and Al-Iman Secondary School for girls, targeting secondary school students in Qatar. The competition, supervised by the ministry’s Educational Guidance Department, involved 45 students among 15 teams, and 30 students among 10 teams. The competition aims to discover a new generation of creative programming students in schools that apply the technological path at an advanced level in Python programming.

The competition encourages the development of students ‘ programming abilities and seeks to transform their ideas into successful and integrated careers, creating a sporting spirit among competitors and applying the meaning of team spirit within a collective team working on a single goal in developing the ability to find solutions to problems in the world of technology.
The competition included the opening ceremony in each school, preparing students, and instructing them general information before moving to the computer labs, where each team was allocated two devices, one for implementing programs and the other for preparation and research, after which the competition began to last for 90 minutes, a meeting was held between the IT Guidance and the teachers of the technological track of the participating schools.
This competition, whose results are expected to be announced next week, comes as part of the preparation for the qualification of three teams to represent Qatar in the eleventh Arab future programmers competition, organised by the University of Applied Sciences in Jordan from September 23 to 24. The first three places will be determined for the categories of boys ‘and girls’ schools, after judging the works by a neutral jury composed of coordinators and teachers in schools not participating in the competition and under the direct supervision of the Information Technology Department.
The assistant director of the Educational Guidance Department, Dr Abdullah al-Marri, explained that this competition embodies the ministry’s vision to keep abreast of everything new, especially in information technology and computer software.
The ministry is working to strengthen the technological track in secondary schools and in the field of programming in general, as it provides real opportunities for students to join future jobs in various sectors. It will also meet the requirements of qualified programmers and technicians able to keep up with the latest global developments and excellence in the required programming languages, to contribute to economic development, achieving the sustainable development goals and accelerating the digital transformation process.
Head of the ministry’s IT Educational Guidance Gassan Sabsaby said that the support for the technological curricula in computer and IT subjects comes as extracurricular activities and provides an interactive environment for students with their peers from schools, enabling them to exchange experiences and get acquainted with modern educational means to increase their knowledge amid an atmosphere of scientific and practical competition. (QNA)