Admissions committee
← Interview review

Hamza Qureshi

Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering

Pakistan · A-Levels, A*A*A · IELTS 8.0

Interviewed 15 October 2026 at 0:00 · 5 min

Summary

Hamza shows strong, self-driven interest in computer engineering, rooted in a drone project and sustained through workshops and courses. Hamza's clearest strength is leadership, having built and repaired a tutoring network through direct feedback and a concrete change.

Check before deciding

  • Hamza's reasons for choosing Khalifa University are general, so the committee may want to probe specific interest in its programs or labs.
  • The tutoring network's attendance recovery was not quantified, so the committee may want to ask for the actual numbers.

Khalifa University interview criteria

  1. Proficiency in English communication

    4/5

    Hamza communicates clearly and fluently in English, with some filler words but no real breakdowns in meaning.

    “I want to be somewhere where I can build things, not only read about them.”

    Hamza, in the interview

  2. Familiarity with the relevant profession

    4/5

    Hamza describes the field accurately, including circuits, firmware, and debugging, and backs it with a concrete drone debugging example, though reflection on the profession itself is limited.

    “I added a complementary filter and then tuned the PID values”

    Hamza, in the interview

  3. Commitment to pursue a professional degree program

    4/5

    Hamza has sustained interest since age fourteen across a drone project, an online embedded systems course, Arduino and Raspberry Pi builds, and weekend workshop attendance.

    “It's not like a big competition thing, but I kept doing it, so I think that counts.”

    Hamza, in the interview

  4. Reasons for choosing Khalifa University

    3/5

    Hamza gives relevant reasons such as English-medium teaching and research labs, but the answer is general and does not name specific programs or faculty.

    “I also liked that it's a research university, so undergrads can maybe get involved in labs.”

    Hamza, in the interview

  5. Evaluation of potential leadership capabilities

    5/5

    Hamza started a tutoring network, grew it to about forty students with volunteer tutors, and personally diagnosed and fixed an attendance problem by shortening sessions.

    “Now it's around forty students, and I have like six volunteer tutors who help me organize the schedule.”

    Hamza, in the interview

Full transcript

20 turns
  1. Nura

    Hi Hamza, I'm Nura, and I'll be doing your Khalifa University admissions interview today. It takes about six minutes and there are no trick questions. To start, what first got you interested in Computer Engineering?

  2. Hamza

    Okay, so, um, when I was around fourteen my cousin had this cheap drone and it kept drifting to the left, like always. I opened it up and I was just... curious why it did that. Then I found out it's the flight controller and the sensors, and I got kind of hooked on how hardware and code have to work together.

  3. Nura

    What does someone with a computer engineering degree actually do day to day?

  4. Hamza

    I think it's not only coding, right? Like, you work with circuits, you write firmware, you test things and then you find out why they broke. I read that a lot of the job is debugging and talking to other teams, which, I mean, I didn't expect that part, but it makes sense.

  5. Nura

    Can you give me one specific example from your own drone project?

  6. Hamza

    Yeah. So the gyroscope readings were really noisy and the drone would shake on takeoff. I spent like three weeks on it. I added a complementary filter and then tuned the PID values, and the first few times I just crashed it into my neighbor's fence, which was not great.

  7. Nura

    What have you done outside class toward the field?

  8. Hamza

    Besides the drone, I did an online course on embedded systems and I built small projects with Arduino and a Raspberry Pi. Also I joined a robotics workshop at a community center on weekends. It's not like a big competition thing, but I kept doing it, so I think that counts.

  9. Nura

    Which of those taught you the most, and why?

  10. Hamza

    The workshop, I think. With the drone I was alone, so I could just guess. In the workshop, other people would look at my code and say, why did you do it like that? And, um, sometimes they were right, so I learned to accept feedback faster.

  11. Nura

    Why Khalifa University and not another university?

  12. Hamza

    I looked at a few options, but Khalifa is in Abu Dhabi and the teaching is in English, which helps me a lot. I also liked that it's a research university, so undergrads can maybe get involved in labs. I want to be somewhere where I can build things, not only read about them.

  13. Nura

    Thanks, that's helpful. Can you tell me about a time you led others or took the first step?

  14. Hamza

    Okay, so I run a tutoring network. It started with just my friends in grade ten, because a lot of students were struggling with physics online during the lockdown. Now it's around forty students, and I have like six volunteer tutors who help me organize the schedule.

  15. Nura

    What did you do when the network wasn't working well?

  16. Hamza

    At first, attendance was really bad, like half the students stopped coming. I asked them directly what was wrong, and most said the sessions were too long and too boring. So I cut them to forty-five minutes and started using short practice problems, and attendance went back up. It was a bit embarrassing that I didn't ask earlier.

  17. Nura

    Is there anything you'd like the committee to know that we haven't covered?

  18. Hamza

    Um, I guess I'd just say I'm not the kind of person who waits to be told what to do. If something is broken, I want to fix it, and I'm still learning how to do that well. I'm excited to keep learning at Khalifa.

  19. Nura

    Thank you, Hamza. That concludes your interview, and the committee will be in touch.

  20. Hamza

    Thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate it.