Ahmed Mohamed, whose arrest in his Irving, Texas high school for bringing a homemade clock to class brought him nationwide attention and a visit to the White House, is leaving the United States.
Mohamed and his family will move to Qatar, where he has been offered a spot in a “young innovators” program backed by Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, the former Emir of Qatar, and his wife Sheikha Moza bint Nasser. “We have accepted a kind offer from Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF) for Ahmed to join the prestigious QF Young Innovators Program,” the family said in a news release.
Mohamed will receive a scholarship that supports “young, exceptional Arabs by offering educational opportunities in Qatar,” the foundation said.
The foundation also runs a popular innovation program, about to enter its seventh year, which selects young Arab entrepreneurs and investors from thousands of applicants, and helps them refine their ideas with mentors and experts. It showcases the most successful ideas on a popular television show billed as the “X-factor of Qatar,” called Stars of Science:
The family’s announcement to move comes just 24 hours after Mohamed met US President Barack Obama in the White House.
In addition to Obama, Mohamed has met with NASA officials, Google founder Sergey Brin and Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir. He was also invited to Facebook’s headquarters by Mark Zuckerberg and was offered an internship at Twitter.