By Hermoine Macura-Noble
Special to The Times Kuwait
The National Museum of Qatar opened the Digital Centre for youth in collaboration with Microsoft this week. The Centre aims to create a space for students and the wider youth to practice digital skills and learn new ways of thinking and working.
“It is our responsibility to spark interest in STEM at an early age…. we are proud to partner with the museum to make their vision a reality, with an innovative highly engaging platform that introduces aspiring young minds to technologies like AI , IoT and gaming so they can learn about Qatar’s social heritage and culture in a fun immersive way while developing the skills of the future,” explains Lana Khalaf, General Manager, Microsoft Qatar.
Microsoft enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. With a mission is to “empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more,” the Microsoft AI Digital Centre is just one of the company’s many initiatives across the Gulf. Over the last year, hundreds of students across schools in Doha have participated in engaging virtual sessions on Minecraft Education, Paint 3D, Flipgrid, Hour of Code, MakeCode, Cognitive Solutions, CyberSecurity and more.
Sheikha Amna bint Abdulaziz bin Jassim Al-Thani, Deputy CEO of Qatar Museums and Director of the National Museum of Qatar, said: “This co-innovation partnership with Microsoft that led to the creation of this Centre reflects our long-term commitment to exploring new ways of engaging with our communities and developing interdisciplinary and creative ways of learning. Such partnerships bring us closer in realizing our vision of being a museum that provides new platforms for creativity and innovation to all.”
The opening of the Digital Centre for youth follows the launch of NMQ Explorer, a custom-developed solution designed to mirror the immersive interactive approach of the museum, and encourage visitors’ participation and engagement with the Museums’ offerings regardless of their location.
With the launch of the Digital Centre for youth, the museum is rolling out a series of free creative workshops and field trips for children aged 8–16. Running throughout the summer from June to August, the series will include:
Sundays: Coding Through Minecraft: Coding is an employable skill that teaches students to improve and refine their critical thinking skills in order to solve problems. Although not all students will become computer programmers by the end of this workshop, participants will acquire an understanding of computer programming that will be important for other activities as well.
Mondays: Cybersecurity: In this workshop, participants will learn how to keep themselves and their community safe from cyber threats.
Tuesdays: Design & Engineering: Learn how to create your own games and applications using Microsoft MakeCode, and explore the world of STEM through hands-on projects.
Wednesdays: Filmmaking: Participants will learn the basics of storytelling, cinematography and editing as they bring their vision to life on the big screen.
Thursdays: 3D And Virtual Reality: Explore the world with this new course on 3D design. Learn how to create stunning 3D designs and take virtual tours of amazing places from the comfort of your own home.
For further information about the free courses and how you can join contact: nmoqdigitalcenter@qm.org.qa
Qatar Museums is the country’s leading institution for art and culture and provides inspiring cultural experiences through a growing network of museums, heritage sites, festivals, public art installations, and programs. It preserves, restores, and expands the nation’s cultural offerings and historical sites, sharing art and culture from Qatar, the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia (MENASA) region with the world.
The first Australian English speaking News Anchor in the Middle East. She is also the Author of Faces of the Middle East and Founder of US-based 501c3 charity – The House of Rest which helps to ease the suffering of victims of war. For more from our Contributing Editor, you can follow her on Instagram, here.
