President of the Qatar Statistics Authority to speak at Carnegie Mellon

Press release

Published May 1st, 2012 - 10:24 GMT

Carnegie Mellon University

On Wednesday, May 2, the Dean’s Lecture Series at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar will host a public lecture by His Excellency Sheikh Hamad Bin Jabor Bin Jassim Al-Thani, president of the Qatar Statistics Authority, on Qatar’s National Strategy for the Development of Statistics and the involvement of higher education in the National Development Strategy.

The lecture will take place at Carnegie Mellon’s building in Education City from 12 to 1p.m., and is open to the public.

“The Dean’s Lecture Series is the principal forum for high-level leaders and industry officials to bring their knowledge and perspectives to Carnegie Mellon and to broaden students understanding of important issues,' said Ilker Baybars, dean of Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar.

Sheikh Hamad was instrumentalin the formation of the Qatar Statistics Authority in June 2007. He supervised the preparation of the National Strategy for the Development of Statistics NSDS; pioneered the 2010 National Population, Housing and Establishment Census; established the National Population Policy; and established the Qatar Information Exchange QALM.

Until November 2011, Sheikh Hamad also served as Director General of the General Secretariat for Development Planning GSDP. He played a vital role in the development of Qatar Vision 2030 and the National Development Strategy 2011-2016. He is also a member of the board of directors for the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee.

The Qatar Statistics Authority provides the necessary data to support research in the country. For example, data from the authority is currently being used in research undertaken by Carnegie Mellon faculty Kelly Hutzell and Rami el Samahy, who are looking at the physical growth of Doha and the city’s architecture over time in a project titled 4d Doha (www.4ddoha.com). Those attending the lecture may visit an exhibition of their research at Carnegie Mellon Qatar’s Library.

The Dean’s Lecture Series have featured such not able speakers as Dr. Ibrahim Al Ibrahim, Secretary General of the General Secretariat for Development Planning and Economic Advisor to His Highness the Emir Sheikh Bin Khalifa Al Thani and Hassan Al-Thawadi, secretary general of the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee.

Background Information

Carnegie Mellon University Qatar

For more than a century, Carnegie Mellon University has challenged the curious and passionate to imagine and deliver work that matters. A private, top-ranked and global university, Carnegie Mellon sets its own course with programs that inspire creativity and collaboration.

In 2004, Carnegie Mellon and Qatar Foundation began a partnership to deliver select programs that will contribute to the long-term development of Qatar. Today, Carnegie Mellon Qatar offers undergraduate programs in biological sciences, business administration, computational biology, computer science, and information systems. Nearly 400 students from 38 countries call Carnegie Mellon Qatar home.