Doha, March 16, 2016

The Qatar Computing Research Institute (QCRI), a national research institute under Hamad bin Khalifa University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (MIT CSAIL) will hold their annual research projects review meeting at the Qatar National Convention Centre on Sunday, March 20 and Monday, March 21. The event will be open to the public on Sunday.

In the fourth of a seven-year agreement, the partnership between QCRI and MIT CSAIL continues to gain momentum, with scientists on each side of the collaboration co-leading multidisciplinary core computer science research projects. The partnership, named the Computer Science Research Program, is a medium for knowledge transfer and the exchange of expertise, as well as a platform to engage and train young researchers who are helping to build Qatar's research capacity.

The annual research projects meeting will review the partnership's eight main collaborative computing projects: Video Magnification and Video Comparison for Sports, Content-Adaptive Video Retargeting, Cross-Cloud: Phase 2, Understanding and Identifying Cultural Identities Across Platforms, Data Integration, Speech and Language Processing for Arabic, A Vertically-Integrated Approach to Resource-Efficient Shared Computing, and Understanding Health Habits from Social Media Pictures.

"We are at the midpoint of an incredible scientific collaboration with MIT CSAIL and are excited about what will happen during the partnership's second half," said Dr Ahmed K. Elmagarmid, Executive Director, QCRI. "We enjoyed an extremely positive response to last year's annual projects review meeting and look forward to furthering participants' understanding of the importance and impact that each of our eight projects is having on Qatar, the wider Arab region, and the world. QCRI and MIT CSAIL scientists have worked in earnest to build robust and impactful projects by tapping into what each does best and leveraging each other's expertise. This year's meeting will showcase these efforts." 

Supplementing the annual research projects meeting will be a public talk titled "Self-Driving Cars Are Coming" by Dr Daniela Rus, director of MIT CSAIL. Scheduled on March 20 at 4pm, the talk will focus on the development of state-of-the-art autonomous cars and the potential to increase the safety and efficiency of our transportation systems. A MacArthur Fellow and member of the National Academy of Engineering, Dr Rus' research concentrates on robotics, data science and mobile computing. To register for the public talk, please visit https://self-driving-cars-are-coming.eventbrite.com.

Also on the sidelines of the annual meeting is QCRI's "Coding is Cool" workshop, taking place on Monday, March 21 at 9am. The workshop is aimed at encouraging secondary school students to explore the field of computer science as a potential career. Last year's event attracted nearly 100 student participants from eight schools in Qatar. This year, the workshop will focus on teaching basic concepts related to mobile app development using App Inventor, an MIT mobile app development tool.

To attend the event or review the agenda, please register at https://qcri-mit-csail-meeting2016.eventbrite.com.

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About Qatar Computing Research Institute
Qatar Computing Research Institute (QCRI) is a national research institute within Hamad bin Khalifa University. As a national research institute, QCRI aims to build Qatar's innovation and technology capacity by focusing on large-scale computing challenges that address national priorities for growth and development, supporting Qatar's transformation from a hydrocarbon-based economy to a knowledge-based economy. In doing this, QCRI conducts world-class multidisciplinary computing research that is relevant to the needs of Qatar, the wider Arab region, and the world. It performs cutting-edge research in such areas as Arabic language technologies, social computing, data analytics, distributed systems, cyber security and computational science and engineering. The research conducted at QCRI is aligned with the Qatar National Research Strategy and supports the strategic priorities outlined in the Qatar National Vision 2030. 

For more information, please visit www.qcri.qa

About Hamad bin Khalifa University
Hamad bin Khalifa University (HBKU), a member of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, is an emerging research university that is building its foundation upon unique collaborations with local and international partners. Located in Education City, HBKU delivers undergraduate and graduate programs through its College of Science and Engineering, Law School, College of Public Health, Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies, and its College of Humanities and Social Sciences. It also provides unparalleled opportunities for research and scholarship through its three national research institutes, and its Center of Executive Education delivers customized programs for the business community of Qatar and the region, in line with Qatar National Vision 2030.

© Press Release 2016