Carnegie Mellon Connects Campuses and Cultures

DOHA, QATAR – In an initiative aimed at promoting cross-cultural experiences between its Pittsburgh and Qatar campuses, Carnegie Mellon University celebrated the opening of the “Pittsburgh Room” (in Doha) and the “Doha Room” (in Pittsburgh) on Tuesday. The ceremony was attended by students, faculty members and university leadership from both campuses.

The opening of the “Pittsburgh Room” gives Carnegie Mellon students in Qatar a unique chance to learn about student life at Carnegie Mellon’s home campus in Pittsburgh without leaving Qatar. Located in Carnegie Mellon Qatar’s student center, the room was designed to raise and promote cultural awareness between both campuses, while giving students a rare opportunity to live and share the same academic and on-campus experience.

“The two rooms (the “Doha Room” and the “Pittsburgh Room”) will help our students exchange cultural experiences with students from the Pittsburgh campus and vice versa, which is key to building an increased understanding and awareness between the two campuses. This will be done virtually and in real time, using technologies at Carnegie Mellon for which we are so preeminent,” said G. Richard Tucker, dean of Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar.

“We want Carnegie Mellon students to feel that they belong to both campuses; live and share the same academic and meta-curricular experiences. We want them to expand their social circles and study groups, so that they can more easily interact with each other and better prepare themselves to participate effectively in the emerging global knowledge-based economy of the 21st century. The two rooms will help bridge the gaps that the distance parting the campuses has created,” Tucker added.

The “Pittsburgh Room” in Doha features a glimpse of student life on the home campus through souvenirs from student visits and other memorabilia including photos, a map of the Pittsburgh campus, pennants and open video conference facilities, where students can interact both visually and virtually from both campuses. A main feature in the room will portray “The Fence” on the Pittsburgh campus, where students paint and display witty or poignant messages. In Doha, the students will be writing their messages on a dedicated wall.

“It is so exciting that half way around the world there is a room that is designed to bring us closer together through cultural exchange. I am delighted that the “Pittsburgh Room” in Doha shares the civic and cultural history of my hometown, Pittsburgh, through the artifacts and decoration in the room” said Amy Burkert, vice provost for Education at Carnegie Mellon University. “But – the history in these rooms is merely a backdrop to what the rooms represent for the future. We are here to collaborate together – to build virtual and physical bridges which will make us closer and enable us to share what we have done, what we are doing, and what we inspire to do.”

The “Doha Room” in Pittsburgh features a majlis, a large marble table reminiscent of the ones in the atrium of the Qatar building, a stained glass feature representing the one in the Qatar library, and the quote by His Highness the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani in Arabic with an English translation.

Carnegie Mellon University has developed many initiatives and cultural exchanges to continuously promote its ‘one global university’ vision. The university also runs an exchange program called Initiating Meaningful Pittsburgh and Qatar Ties (IMPAQT), where a group of students travel to the other campus and interact with local students, experiencing the social and cultural traditions of both countries.

Reflecting on the positive experience of connecting with students from the Pittsburgh campus during her IMPAQT exchange was Khadeejah Al-Husseiny, a sophomore at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar. “This is a great idea to have a “Pittsburgh Room” in Qatar’s campus and a “Doha Room” in Pittsburgh, as they will help link both campuses together and connect students, who come from different backgrounds, by enabling them to explore each other’s cultures,” she said.

She continued: “It is exciting to be able to keep in constant touch with the students in Pittsburgh that I met during IMPAQT, and I am looking forward to making new friends through the “Pittsburgh Room”. I look forward to the academic benefits of the room as we can easily exchange ideas and help each other on projects.”

To further celebrate exchange of cultures at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, the university hosted “International Day”- an annual event where students showcase the diverse heritages and traditions of different countries through performances, entertainment and culinary delights.

The staff, students and visitors of the Doha campus were able to share the celebration of the “International Day” with the Pittsburgh campus, through the live airing of the event via the video placed at the “Pittsburgh Room”.