The Tasmu Coders’ Hour of Code programme, an initiative of the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MoTC) in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, has been launched.
It was launched by Reem Al Mansoori, Assistant Undersecretary for the Digital Society Development Sector at the Ministry of Transport and Communications, and Dr Ibrahim bin Saleh bin Khalifa al Nuaimi,
Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, on the sidelines of QITCOM 2019 which ended on November 1.
The event also witnessed the presentation of prizes and certificates by Dr. Ibrahim bin Saleh Al Nuaimi, to the winners of the Tasmu Coders’ inaugural Codefest competition held for primary, preparatory and secondary schools’ students in Qatar on October 30 and 31. A total of 20 contestants each, competed in the Primary and Preparatory schools’ categories while 28 students contested in the secondary school category.
Tasmu Coders is primarily about encouraging young people to engage in coding and the initiative includes Hour of Code, Codefest and Girls Can Innovate.
Participants in the primary school category of Codefest were tested for speed and efficiency in the Scratch programming language while the preparatory school category competitors tested their skills in Lego MindStorm Robotics kit. The secondary school category students, however, were tested for their dexterity with the Python programming language.
Abdulrahman Mohammed from Saad bin Moath Boys School emerged winner in the Primary School category while Khaled Waleed School from Alzubair Bin Alawam Boys School and Yosra Sultan from Alkhansa Primary school for Girls School were the first and second runners-up respectively.
For the Preparatory School category, Alzubair Nashwan from Abu Bakir Alsidek School came out tops while Abdullah Sherif also from Abu Bakir Alsidek School and Yamen Assem from Hamza Preparatory School emerged second and third respectively. Mazen Alsayed from Tareq Bin Zeyad School won the Secondary School category while Ahmed Yousef from Ali bin Jassim emerged second and Ahmed Essam Aldin also from Ali Bin Jassim School came third. Each of the winners were rewarded with trophies, certificates and prize money.
Codefest, proposed to be an annual event, is a national competition designed to create a platform for young minds to tap into their ICT knowledge and skills.
Hour of Code seeks to create opportunities for the young people in Qatar to explore their interest and develop their skills in coding. Schools that volunteer to take part will be offered the opportunity to host a 2-hour event at their school in the presence of local media. Children will undertake one hour of coding as a staged event alongside others who will be part of the program e.g. the school principle, a VIP Ambassador, a young Qatari Role Model and school teachers.
Reem Al Mansoori, said: “The Ministry is delighted with the success of the first edition of the Codefest competition as well as the increasing interest in the Hour of Code initiative. It is gratifying to see our young programmers displaying their skills at this competition which is in line with the Qatar National Vision 2030 of building a diversified knowledge-based economy that is predicated on developing the skills of the people. We believe that this competition will aid in generating more interest in coding activities among our young ones as well as helping them in taking up IT as a career choice.”
