Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar
Carnegie
Consulting
Student consulting teams from Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, working pro bono with organizations that create social value.
The university
About Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar
Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar was established in 2004 at the invitation of Qatar Foundation, in Education City, Doha. It is a campus of Carnegie Mellon University.
Students here meet the same graduation requirements as students in Pittsburgh, and receive Carnegie Mellon degrees. Undergraduate programs are offered in Business Administration, Computer Science, Information Systems, Biological Sciences, and Artificial Intelligence.
The campus enrolls around 450 students from more than 60 countries, and has produced roughly 1,400 graduates since the first class in 2008. In 2025, CMU-Q and Qatar Foundation renewed their partnership for a further ten years.
- 2004
- Campus established in Education City, Doha
- 450
- Students, approximately
- 60+
- Countries represented
- 1,400
- Graduates since the first class in 2008
The club
About Carnegie Consulting
Carnegie Consulting is a student club at CMU-Q, founded in [[founding year]]. Members are CMU-Q undergraduates, mostly from Business Administration, and the club currently has [[member count]] active members.
Teams are small, and the work is scoped and time-boxed. A typical team is three to five students with a student lead. Students bring analytical training, research discipline, and time. They are not a substitute for a professional firm, and we are direct about that with every client.
The club is advised by Hussein Fadlallah, Assistant Teaching Professor of Strategy at CMU-Q. The advisor joins the scoping call, reviews the approach at defined checkpoints, and reviews the final deliverable before it reaches the client.
Student officers for the current academic year are [[club president]] and [[vice president]].
What a team looks like
- Team size
- Three to five students, with a student lead
- Duration
- 6 to 10 weeks, inside one academic semester
- Faculty role
- Scoping, checkpoint review, and final review before handover
- Cost to the client
- None. Engagements are pro bono
- Capacity
- A limited number of projects each semester
Process
How an engagement works
Four steps, from first contact to handover. The club takes a limited number of projects each semester (currently [[projects per semester]]), and the timeline follows the CMU-Q academic calendar.
- 01
You submit a request
Tell us about your organization, the challenge, and what a good outcome would look like. The form takes about ten minutes.
- 02
Scoping call
You meet the faculty advisor and the student leads. Together we agree on the question, the boundaries of the work, the deliverable, and the timeline.
- 03
A 6 to 10 week project
A small team works on the scoped question with a defined deliverable and regular checkpoints with you and with faculty.
- 04
Final presentation and handover
The team presents its findings to your leadership and hands over the underlying materials so your staff can carry the work forward.
Requests submitted mid-semester are usually scheduled for the following term. If your timing is urgent, say so in the form and we will tell you quickly whether we can help.
Clients
Who we serve
We work with organizations in Qatar and the region whose purpose is social rather than commercial.
- Non-profits
- Charities
- Foundations
- Social enterprises
- Community initiatives
- Public-benefit programs
Problems we can help with
Market or needs assessment
Understanding the population you serve, the demand you are not meeting, or the landscape of organizations working alongside you.
Operating model and process review
Mapping how work actually moves through your organization, and finding where effort is lost or duplicated.
Growth or fundraising strategy
Structuring the case for support, testing a growth option, or comparing routes to a more stable funding base.
Digital and data readiness
Reviewing the tools and records you rely on, and setting a realistic sequence for improving them.
What is out of scope
We do not provide legal advice, accounting or audit services, or anything else that requires a licensed professional. We do not sign off on financial statements, draft contracts, or represent your organization to third parties. Where a question needs a licensed professional, we will say so at the scoping call rather than at the end of the project.
Students
For CMU-Q students
Members work on real problems for real organizations, with a client who is waiting for an answer. You learn how to scope a question, run interviews, build an argument from evidence, and present to people who did not sit through your analysis. Those are the parts of the job that a course cannot easily simulate.
Recruitment happens at the start of each semester. If you want to join, email [[club email]] with your major, your year, and a short note on why you are interested. No prior consulting experience is expected. Meetings are held [[meeting time and place]].
Have a problem worth a semester of student attention
Tell us about it. The request form takes about ten minutes, and we reply to every organization that submits one.
Request a pro bono engagement