Our CSE department was awarded 2 National Priorities Research Project-Standard (NPRP-S) grants from Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) in their 14th cycle. This cycle was so competitive that Qatar University was awarded only 14 projects; 5 of which are awarded to the College of Engineering. The two awarded projects are led by Dr. Tamer Elsayed and Dr. Abdulla Al-Ali.
Dr. Abdulla Al-Ali
The project led by Dr. Abdulla Al-Ali is titled “Defense Against Hardware Intrinsic Attacks in Resource-Constrained COTS based Traditional and Futuristic Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT).” It is a collaborative grant between QU and Tennessee Tech University in collaboration with the Ministry of Interior, Qatar. The PIs from QU are Dr. Abdelkarim Erradi and Dr. Uvais Qidwai, while the Tennessee Tech University PIs are Dr. Syed Rafay Hasan, Dr. Tarek Elfouly and Dr. Terry Guo. The project revolves around three main objects: (a) The development of hardware intrinsic security mechanisms for Resource Constrained (RC) Commercial off the shelf (COTS) based traditional IoT systems, (b) Investigating the vulnerability of hardware intrinsic security mechanisms for RC-COTS based futuristic AIoT system, and (c) developing a testbed implementation to examine real world scenarios to make the proposed work technology ready.
Dr. Tamer Elsayed
The project led by Dr. Tamer Elsayed is titled “Dimension-Specific Automated Scoring of Arabic Language Writing Proficiency“. The project’s team is entirely based in Qatar, having Dr. Houda Bouamor from CMU-Q and Dr. Walid Massoud from QU, with complementary expertise in Arabic natural language processing, information retrieval, applied machine learning, and psychometrics and standardized testing. The goal of the project is to build an automated scoring system for the quality of students’ writing abilities (on different aspects) in standard Arabic exams (similar to IELTS or TOEFL English exams). The proposed system, which is potentially the first of its kind in the Arab region, will potentially help in assessing the students’ writing proficiency in Arabic exams offered at QU as well as several high schools at Qatar Foundation. The project is funded for 3 years.
Prof. Abdelaziz Bouras as speaker in the The Smart City Expo Doha 2022
Prof. Abdelaziz Bouras participated as speaker in the The Smart City Expo Doha 2022, organized by TASMU and the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in Msheireb, Doha, on 29th and 30th of March. He was one of the speakers of the panel titled “Unleashing the potential of disruptive technologies in urban management”. The panel addressed how different enabling technologies, such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, cloud computing or Internet of Things, will depict the transformation of urban management in the coming years and decades. These trends point out potential gains in terms of robustness, security, flexibility, adaptability, and reliability of public infrastructures running in cities and services delivered to urban dwellers. Unleashing this potential is not only a matter of technological availability and readiness, but also a mix of factors related to project financing and management, public procurement procedures, public-private collaborations, and partnerships, etc. The panel also explored the landscape of hurdles and barriers, and how to overcome them to turn promises of disruption into reality.
A team from QU, called Oryx, came second runner up in the local Microsoft Imagine Cup 2022. Imagine Cup brings together, every year, student innovators using passion and purpose to tackle social issues with tech. Each team creates an innovative solution from start to finish, while competing on a global stage for the title of World Champion. The Oryx team includes Raseena Haris, Jayakanth Kunhoth, Bajeela Aejas, and Najmath Ottakath. The team created Qalbee, a mobile system app for the early prediction of heart disorder risk, under the Health category. Using real-time ECG signals with the help of artificial intelligence algorithms.
The proposed system consists of a smart wearable band and a smartphone application. The smart wearable band is equipped with an ECG sensor and Bluetooth sensor. The embedded ECG sensor continuously records the impulses of the heart and transfers them to the smartphone application via Bluetooth. The smart application communicates with the AI decision-making model deployed in the cloud to predict the abnormality from the processed ECG signal. Upon detecting an anomalous heart rate, the user can be alerted along with authorities for further analysis or immediate action saving a life. The AI model is developed using a latest machine learning algorithm trained on the ECG dataset acquired from the public domain.
Congratulations for the team members!
The Oryx Team Receiving the 2022 Microsoft Imagine Cup Qatar Competition
In a recent study conducted by researchers at Stanford University, three faculty members from our department were featured in the list of the top 2% of the world’s most-cited scientists during 2020, in addition to the list of the top 2% of the most-cited scientists during their full academic journey. Dr. Cagatay Catal, Prof. Sumaya Al-Maadeed, and Dr. Elias Yaacubhave made it to the first list. Furthermore, Dr. Cagatay and Dr. Elias were featured in the second one.
The number of scientists from Qatar University increased by nearly 20% in the first list and by nearly 30% in the second list compared to last year. The lists included more than 100,000 researchers around the world according to Scopus database till August 1, 2021.
The inclusion of Qatar University faculty members in the list, for the second year respectively, is a clear acknowledgment of Qatar University’s success endeavor in preparing highly skilled cadres, producing high-quality research, and leading in research and education.
Qatar University Top Scholars- Selected Single Calendar Year 2020 Citation Impact Results.
Qatar University Top Scholars- Selected Career-Long Citation Impact Results
يشرفنا أن تنضم إلينا في حدث توعوي حول الأمن السيبراني بجامعة قطر الذي يستمر من 7/2/2022 حتى 7/3/2022.يأتي هذا الحدث نتيجة تعاون كلا قسم علوم وهندسة الحاسب ومركز الكندي للحوسبة بكلية الهندسة
احضر هذه الجلسات التفاعلية مع متحدثين بارزين في مجال الأمن السيبراني. استمع إليهم وهم يناقشون أكبر التحديات التي تواجه الأمن السيبراني. تفاعل مع قادة صناعة تكنولوجيا المعلومات حول أحدث الاستراتيجيات والتقنيات والأدوات لضمان تأمين بياناتك واستخدام لشبكة المعلومات
سيعرض هذا الحدث العديد من الشركات والسلطات القطرية الواعدة. محتوى البرنامج موجه للأفراد العامة من المجتمع القطري و نحو قادة في صناعات مثل كيو سيرت ووزارة الداخلية والجزيرة وتناقش فيها أسس استخدام وتأمين البيانات في الشبكة ومواقع التواصل. ستتاح الفرصة للخبراء وأفراد الجمهور لتبادل المعرفة حول قضايا الأمن السيبراني الأكثر أهمية في هذا الحدث الحصري
س: ما أهمية أخذ التهديدات الإلكترونية على محمل الجد؟
ج: توفر الرقمنة والاتصال مزايا عديدة اليوم ، ولكن بتكلفة. تؤثر الهجمات الإلكترونية الآن على حياتنا اليومية وليس البيانات فقط. للسيطرة على هذه المخاطر وتجنبها ، تحتاج المنظمة إلى آليات أمنية شاملة وموقف مدرك لتأمين تلك الاستخدامات
The department of Computer Science and Engineering and the KINDI center for computing are cohosting Qatar University’s Cyber Security Awareness Event from February 7th to February 3rd, 2022.
Attend these interactive sessions with leading cybersecurity talkers. Hear them discuss the biggest challenges facing cyber security. Interact with leaders from the IT industry about the latest strategies, technologies, and tools to guarantee your personal or company’s cyber security.
This event will showcase several promising Qatari firms and authorities. The program content is geared towards the general public and QU students. Experts and members of the public will have the opportunity to share knowledge on the most critical cyber security issues at this exclusive event.
Q: Why does it matter taking cyber threats seriously?
A: Digitalization and connectivity offer numerous benefits today, but at a cost. Cyberattacks now impact our everyday lives and not just data. To control and avert this risk, individuals need comprehensive security mechanisms and a security-conscious attitude throughout.
For QU students:
Time
Topic/Title
Speaker
Language
Attendance/Venue
7th FEB 2022
12:30PM –
2:00PM
PersonalSecurity (Why you should have a strong password? Social engineering attacks and Identity theft?)
Dr Noora Fetais
ARABIC
Physical: C07-175
Female ONLY
Online: WebEx
Male & Female
9th FEB 2022
12:30PM –
2:00PM
ComputerSecurity (What is malware? Types of Malware? Security against malware.)
Dr Noora Fetais
ARABIC
Physical: B05-231
Male ONLY
Online: WebEx
Male & Female
14th FEB 2022
12:30PM –
2:00PM
InternetSecurity (Internet, Email, Browser Vulnerabilities, Malvertising, Drive-by Downloads, Internet Security Best Practices)
Dr Armstrong Nhlabatsi
ENGLISH
Physical – C07-175
Female ONLY
Online: WebEx, YouTube
Male & Female
16th FEB 2022
12:30PM –
2:00PM
MobileSecurity (Attacks on WiFi and Bluetooth; Attacks on Mobile Devices; Home WiFi security defenses; Precaution when using Public WiFi )
Dr Armstrong Nhlabatsi
ENGLISH
Physical – B05-231
Male ONLY
Online: WebEx, YouTube
Male & Female
Attendance of the sessions is hybrid (both online and physical). Those attending physically will be issued with certificates of attendance. The sessions will broadcasted live on WebEx and YouTube but the physical audience will not be shown. Password for WebEx is security. Please register your interest :here
For Public participants:
Date
Time
Topic/Title
YouTube link
Venue
28th Feb 2022
4:00pm-5:00 pm
Risks related to Cybercrime
H10 Auditorium
7th March 2022
4:00PM – 5:30PM
News/stories verification: How can I verify the authenticity of news/stories circulation on Social Media?
Qatar University’s Computing Club (QUCC) held its first and the biggest university-wide programming competition, QUCCC’22, with the aim to prepare QU programmers to represent the State of Qatar in international programming contests. QUCCC’22 was sponsored by the Qatari Ministry of Defense, Huawei, and Snoonu. The competitive spirit between the students lasted until the very last second. The end of the competition brought light to three teams with potential to represent Qatar in international programming competitions. The “Apes Stick Together” team got the 1st place, while the 2nd and 3rd places were earned by “Hackerz” and “Badr” teams respectfully.
The competition was held on the 3rd January 2022, and lasted for three days attracting over 100 QU competitive programmers, QU CSE Department, and sponsor’s representatives. The contest was organized to emphasize the importance of developing and enhancing the technical skills of university students. The core QUCC organizing team included Ahmed Ashraf Abdou (President), Mahnoor Akhund (VP), Hani Jafer (Internal Relations Specialist), and Salha Al-Khayyat (Media Director).
Dr. Khaled Naji, Dean of the College of Engineering, said; “It was a pleasure to collaborate with QUCC to organize such programming competition, an educational program to stimulate the imagination of students, develop their skills, and encourage them to explore the broad possibilities of engineering and programming outside the scope of the classrooms to present different qualitative work in this field and in support of Qatar Vision 2030.”
Dr. Abdulla Al-Ali, Head of the CSE Department, stressed on the importance of this competition, which targets QU students to develop their skills and knowledge related to computing, in addition to graduating a generation of specialists in computer science and engineering, and providing the Qatari community with specialists in software developers, website designers, network engineers, and systems protection consultants.” He explained that the competition represents an opportunity to reveal students’ talents, creativity, and skills.
Mr. Abdullah Al Mulla, Director of Student Activities Department, pointed out that the students of QUCC took the initiative to organize such large-scale competition. “Through these initiatives and programs, students are able to highlight and refine their important technical abilities in the field of computing and their specialization, in addition to refining their personal and leadership skills, which will reflect positively on their academic aspect and student life.”, he said.
Henry Yee, Vice President of Huawei in the North Gulf, said: “We are proud to cooperate with one of the largest public universities in Qatar, which reflects our commitment to empowering ICT talent in Qatar, and supporting the country’s ambitious visions and plans in the digital transformation journey. We will continue our efforts in Huawei through open cooperation with our partners and joint work to build ecosystems for local ICT talent through our many initiatives, which include the ICT competition in the Middle East, Seeds for the Future and Huawei Academies that offer accredited certificates, and others in order to prepare tomorrow’s leaders”.
QUCC’22 1st place Team Apes Stick Together consisting of Mohammad Fauzan, Mohanad Akram, and Hanzalah HassanQUCCC’22 2nd place Team Hackerz consisting of Hamza Saleh, Abdhigyan Kishor, and Marawan KhankhanQUCCC’22 3rd place Team Badr consisting of Omar Elshenhabi, Omar Ahmed, and Osama Harden
