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AUK College of Engineering and Applied Sciences (CEAS) hosted a talk in collaboration with the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait entitled, Adapting to Future Cybersecurity Threats: Thoughts from the United States, presented by U.S cybersecurity expert, Mr. Guillermo Christensen. 

Mr. Christensen is a partner at K&L Gates, Washington, D.C. He is a member of the Antitrust, Competition, and Trade Regulation practice group. During the talk, Mr. Christensen discussed how cybercrime is a national security risk with cyber-attacks disrupting thousands of lives globally. He also highlighted the ways in which societies, governments, and private sectors can become more resilient in the face of cybercrime threats. Implementing multifactor authentication, preventing credential compromise, and resolving privacy and data transfer issues are some of the cybersecurity measures Mr. Christensen shared with the audience. 

The dean of CEAS, Dr. Amir Zeid, explained how such talks pave the way for a comprehensive understanding of the current issues facing society at large, “Mr. Christensen is a world-class cybersecurity expert and the real-life experiences he shared with us from the U.S were incredibly insightful. We hosted him before in 2019 and this year’s collaboration was just as successful and eye-opening.” 

In attendance were industry experts, the general public, and members of the AUK community to broaden their knowledge within the cybersecurity field.  

The event concluded with open discussion and a Q&A session with the speaker.  

 
   

Mr. Guillermo Christensen during the presentation
  
 

Group photo of dean of CEAS, Dr. Amir Zeid, and Mr. Guillermo Christensen with attendees

The Counseling Center at AUK is an establishment that ensures the students’ wellness as they navigate their journey on campus. It offers services that include personal counseling and disability accommodations to support students as they overcome what inhibits their success and prepare them for lifelong learning and development.
 
The Center carries out its mission to not only cater to mental health needs, but to engage students in back-and-forth conversations about mental wellbeing. One such example of this is the series of workshops that the Counseling Center had introduced throughout this academic year. In the workshop titled, I Know How You Feel, the Center discussed the ways in which students can show empathy and reciprocity towards themselves and others.
 
Meanwhile, in the Toxic Relationships workshop, students shared their personal experiences to stimulate deep and meaningful conversations about the different forms of manipulation, and even role-played scenarios of passive aggressive behavior to better identify it.

Additionally, workshops like Emotions Matter, encouraged students to learn how to regulate their emotions effectively, and recognize the most common myths about emotions, including how to counter them. The Counseling Center followed the same effective model of guidance and counsel in the De-Stress with Origami, Mental Health Matters, Anxiety Stops Here, Don’t Worry be Happy, Gaslighting, and the New Year New Bullet Journal workshops.

Dr. Georges Chedid, director of the Counseling Center, stressed the importance of instigating initiatives that shed light on mental health, “The goal of the Counseling Center concerning our initiatives and workshops is to spread awareness on various mental health topics, especially on topics less talked about to reduce the stigma and misconceptions attached to them. We aim to provide students with a better understanding of their overall mental and physical health by providing them with the tools and support they need.”
 
External collaborations have also become a staple for the Counseling Center’s efforts in providing students with multiple viewpoints from a range of experts within the field of mental well-being. One such collaboration was a talk by clinical psychologist, Dr. Sarah Sease and psychologist, Dr. Nicholas Scull that was presented by the US embassy to enhance students’ abilities to deal with anxiety and build positive mental health habits.

Another external collaboration was the Say No to Drugs campaign with the Ministry of Interior on the drug laws in Kuwait and the risks associated with drug abuse. The event was a success with a very high turnout of students. Presented by Dr. Ayed Al-Humaidan, global expert in the field of narcotics and psychoactive substances; and General Administration for Drug Control officer, Lieutenant Ali Abdulnasser Marzouk, the lecture proved to be both beneficial and thought-provoking.

Internal collaborations with AUK clubs have also offered the campus community the tools and skills needed to address their mental health needs. The Counseling Center collaborated with the Charitable Club to raise awareness on ADHD; and Fikir Club with the US Air Force, to discuss psychological flexibility and acceptance, and commitment therapy. These events reflect the extent to which the Counseling Center is up-to-date with the current mental health needs that students require.

Further solidifying their strong ethos of aiding AUK students with navigating their university experience, the Counseling Center also recently collaborated with the College of Business and Economics on an event in which the Center presented the PRIME initiative on the SDG-3 Good Health and Wellbeing. They discussed stress and anxiety and how to cope with it.

Upon reflection of the effectiveness of these workshops and collaborations, Dr. Georges is well-attuned to what AUK students need within the framework of an academic institution like AUK, especially after Covid-19. “It’s important to care for students’ mental health post-COVID-19 because mental health is related to all aspects of an individual’s life and can affect our everyday interactions and experiences. During COVID-19 students were worried about the health of their loved ones as well as their own and were faced with the additional challenge of having to adapt quickly to an online educational system deprived of social interactions,” he stated.

The Counseling Center continues to have more collaborations with various departments and student clubs in AUK, and various organizations and experts in Kuwait who are prominent in the mental health field.

The Center ensures the University is equipped with adequate resources that the students’ physical and mental health requires by providing counseling, disability accommodations, coaching, therapy sessions and opportunities, and adequate clinical support for minor illnesses and injuries. 
 

  

Dr. Georges Chedid, director of the AUK Counseling Center
 
 

General photo of workshop
 
 

General photo of workshop

AUK welcomed to its campus 13 Gabelli Presidential Scholars. Accompanying them from Boston College (BC) were two faculty members: professor and director of the Gabelli Presidential Scholars Program, and director of the Islamic Civilization and Societies Program, Dr. Kathleen Bailey; and economics professor, Dr. Tracy L. Regan. 
 
The Gabelli Presidential Scholars Program is Boston College’s premier undergraduate academic merit program that annually awards full tuition and fully-funded, GPSP-sponsored summer programs to 18 incoming freshman students.
 
Organized by the Office of the Dean of Student Affairs, the BC Gabelli Presidential Scholar’s meet and greet visit was part of a cultural trip that involved meeting AUK students and receiving a campus tour. A cultural tour was also provided thereafter with AUK students to various locations in Kuwait. 
 
Commenting on the BC meet and greet, the dean of student affairs, Ms. Hala Al Abdulrazzaq, stated, “We are honored to welcome such a lovely group of students and faculty members from Boston College. We hope they all enjoyed their visit as much as we did, and we look forward to future visits and opportunities with Boston College.”
 
Intercultural competency is a quality AUK students continue to develop, allowing them to succeed in hybrid cross-cultural communication contexts.
 

AUK president, Dr. Rawda Awwad, conversing with BC members
  

AUK president, Dr. Rawda Awwad, interacting with attendees
  

General photo from the event

Mr. Bilal Al Mourad and Mr. Tejender Gandhi during the lecture

AUK English majors met students from the Global Leaders program at Douglass College, Rutgers University. The program, managed by Dr. Hasnaa Mokhtar, director of Global at Douglass, focuses on the global status of women and advocacy projects oriented toward gender equity. Hosted by Dr. Hanan Muzaffar, associate professor of English literature at AUK, the visit provided students with a platform to discuss various literary concepts. 

The group discussed topics derived from their class experiences on issues of gender and how illness and medicine is perceived, especially from a gendered perspective in Kuwait and the USA. 

A tour of AUK was offered to the guests, after which another visit took place with Dr. Muzaffar’s ENGL415 Literary Theory class. Further conversation took place with a new group of English majors covering similar themes related to literary and feminist theory. 

Haifaa Al-Besharah, an AUK student who benefitted from this cultural exchange, stated, "Being able to learn about different backgrounds and point of view of the students was interesting. We spoke about gender roles and Arab stereotypes while one of the guests spoke about white privilege and her issues with it. It was an interesting exchange of ideas especially as there was no judgment or prejudice in these conversations."  
 
AUK continuously welcomes networking with peers from other universities. Sharing ideas on common themes broadens AUK students’ perspectives, enabling them to see themselves as part of a bigger network of students on an international level. 
 
  

Group photo of AUK and Douglass members
 

AUK student conversing with Douglass student

The Art & Graphic Design Department at AUK held the biannual Graphic Design Capstone Exhibition which took place at AUK’s multi-purpose room. The exhibition ran for one week and offered senior students an opportunity to display their creative work which covered a range of themes including social and cultural awareness, corporate identity, and entrepreneurship.  
 
The Graphic Design Capstone Exhibition brings together visitors from the field of graphic design, including experts from graphic design studios, publishing houses, film and video production companies, advertising, and multimedia firms.  
 
Participating students were evaluated by industry experts based on their creativity and presentation, their ability to conduct and use graphic design research strategy effectively, and their ability to plan and implement a compelling graphic design display.  
 
Associate professor of graphic design and professor of the capstone course, Dr. Maryam Hosseinnia, discussed the importance of this capstone that provides students with a platform to showcase their talents, “All of our students come from a place of social change or awareness. From every angle, there’s this sense of thinking of social impact which is quite admirable. We nourish that feeling of responsibility too in our programs by encouraging students to utilize critical thinking. That’s what really sets us apart and what makes this exhibition different.”  
 
AUK’s Graphic Design Capstone Exhibition presents an opportunity for senior students to fully incorporate their design strengths and learning into a focused and extended process of research and visual expression. One such example of this is Zainab Dashti, a student who was one of AUK’s participating exhibitors; she discussed the idea behind her project, Lulu’s Diverse Curls, and how it was supported by the AUK community, “My project aims to help children feel confident and not be ashamed of how they look. My colleagues helped me with brainstorming and we shared a lot of ideas together. The AUK community has been nothing short of supportive.” 
 
Sharing the same sentiment was Hajar Sanqor. Her project, Tegdar, incorporates social responsibility through aiming to prevent youth from smoking. “The professors have been very helpful throughout my project. Their opinions have been invaluable and really insightful. I really hope my project helps the community, as the idea behind my project is to prevent teenagers from smoking,” she said. 
 
Students and visitors interacted and shared information about their projects, illustrating AUK’s high academic standard and quality of work.  
 
 

 
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AUK participated in Watheefati; the biggest career fair held in Kuwait. Taking place in The Arena in 360 Mall, AUK was present alongside 80 participating entities.  
 
Admissions counselors and CCE representatives offered information about the different academic courses, career training programs and portals, services, workshops, degrees, and scholarships available. They were also available to establish contact with prospective employees and learners who sought a career opportunity and advancement within the University. 
 
Commenting on AUK’s participation in the career fair, executive vice president, Ms. Amal Al-Binali, stated, “AUK’s participation at Watheefati offered individuals an opportunity to kick-start their higher educational journey at AUK and to advance in their careers with the programs at the Center for Continuing Education. As an institution, AUK firmly believes in offering its support on academic and professional levels.” 
 
CCE director, Ms. Nehal AlShafei, detailed the importance of acquiring certificates such as the ones CCE offers for career development, “As part of the American University of Kuwait (AUK), Center for Continuing Education (CCE) has been recognized as a successful and leading professional development center in Kuwait. We believe that enhancing one’s career through acquiring international certifications or attending life skills programs, is the gateway to being selected and hired in the right job. From that came our participation in Watheefati exhibition, to encourage new graduates or career changers to follow that route.” 
 
Watheefati provided a venue for AUK to continue its support and investment in national human capital, ensuring the consistency of world-class education, training, and qualifications offered in Kuwait.  
 
 
 

General photo of the booth
  

CCE and Admissions representatives

AUK sports teams participated in the 2022-2023 University Athletics Association of Kuwait (UAAK) and secured rankings. Games took place over the span of three months with the participation of teams from different universities and colleges. 

The AUK women’s futsal team, in an impressive streak of wins, secured 1st place, earning gold and league medals. The athletes exuded camaraderie and mastered strength and agility in a series of games, showcasing the Wolf Pack spirit and illustrating AUK’s encouraging environment. 

Meanwhile, the AUK men’s basketball team placed 2nd, and the men’s soccer team placed 3rd. Rankings as such reflect AUK’s supportive coaches and the athletes’ dedication in balancing their studies and respective sport. 

The dean of student affairs, Hala Al-Abdulrazzaq, praised AUK’s athletic excellence, “We are happy with the number of student-athletes representing AUK this year. Our athletes’ effort, behavior, and skills were top-tier, making AUK very proud of them all. During this year’s UAAK tournament, all AUK sports teams were on the podium.  We look forward to much more success for AUK student-athletes in the future.”

Mohamad Al-Saleh, senior sports coordinator, expressed his pride at this year’s results, “AUK student athletes have raised the bar in all competitions this year, reaching finals in all sports and winning 1st place in the women futsal league with an unbeaten record for the second consecutive year. They showed great sportsmanship and embodied the true Wolf Pack spirit. I am so proud of our athletes’ effort.” 

The UAAK games are hosted in different universities, a number of which have been hosted in AUK’s campus. AUK’s huge athletic success is an outcome of the professional instruction received from qualified coaches and the campus community’s continuous support.