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The week started with the cooking competition that featured traditional cuisines from Kuwait, India, Egypt, Pakistan, Mexico, South Korea, and Lebanon. The Best Main Dish Award went to Pakistan and the Best Main Dessert Award went to India. Some of these dishes were also later displayed at the Global Village, where a line of booths promoting their nation’s culture, displaying traditional clothing, books, music and foods, were exhibited across the campus’ main hallway. The booths were rated by judges for the Best Country Representation Award, which was awarded to Pakistan, South Korea, and the Levantine countries, coming in first, second and third place, respectively. Urooj Mudassar, President of the Desi Club said, “Representing Pakistan at AUK’s International Week was a great experience, we not only displayed our culture but also gave the AUK community a walk through our history.”
The following day, the AUK community participated in a parade of nations, where a parade of flags representing AUK’s diverse community marched across the main hallway. Their trail lead to the auditorium where the cultural showcase was held, featuring a range of cultural performances. Towards the end of the show, the Best Cultural Showcase title was awarded to Armenia, Kuwait, and Pakistan, coming in first, second, and third place, respectively.
Laila Dallol, a freshman electrical engineering student at AUK and event participant, recognized the importance of this opportunity in learning about the various nationalities of the AUK community. On her participation, she commented, “I was honored to represent my country and share my traditions and history with the AUK community.”
This year’s celebration also marked the inauguration of the AUK World Cup where student teams could compete as representatives of their chosen country. The winning team was representing Mexico.
The Office of Student Life noted that organizing this series of activities annually aligns with AUK’s liberal arts mission. Such events helps in supporting and encouraging cultural diversity and understanding on campus, as well as inspiring students to work in groups and be creative.
Students representing Kuwait in the cooking competition
Students representing Bilad AlSham in the global village
Students representing Pakistan in the global village
Students representing Jordan in the global village
Pakistani cultural performance during the cultural showcase
Kuwaiti performance during the cultural showcase
The celebration saw the campus decorated with traditional elements, including a display of a traditional Bedouin tent, where traditional treats and henna were offered. This was set up next to the “Dukkan Bu SBSA”, which sold local snacks. Across the main hallway, AUK’s student entrepreneurs were empowered to display their businesses that ranged from food to technology.
Festivities continued across campus through live performances such as, ‘The Kind Ones Left’, where students portrayed old Kuwaiti theatrical shows and issues. The play was organized by the Alpha Psi Omega and AUKause clubs. In attending the play, Abdullah Al-Enezi, a senior Engineering student at AUK, said, “Personally, it made me feel nostalgic for a simpler time.” The weeks also included live performance from Sheyaab and the Bu Awadh Traditional Band; as well as the movie screening of ‘Sirb Al Hamam’, a film based on a Kuwaiti resistance group during the invasion of 1990. The film’s director, Ramadhan Khasrouh, was in attendance to reflect on his personal experience during the Iraqi invasion.
In an effort to raise awareness related to cultural phenomenon, events such as the “Cultural Tolerance Dialogue” by Fikir Club were held, in which International Relations Associate Professors George Irani and Rounwah Bseiso reflected upon modern Kuwait’s sociocultural fabric by discussing themes of multiculturalism, coexistence and celebrating other cultures. Later, the National Day Debate was held by the Debate Club to dispute the governmental enforcement of national day celebrations across Kuwait’s public and private institutions.
To conclude the week, AUKMUN held “Kuwait & the UNESCO Lecture”, in which the preservation and promotion of Kuwait’s cultural heritage was examined in an effort to strengthen the national identity. On the sideline, the IRC also explored Kuwait’s growth since its independence by reflecting on the Kuwait National Football Team’s debut in the 1982 World Cup edition. Similarly, they reviewed the role of Kuwait’s army in the 1980s during the turbulent political and economic dynamic of the region, as discussed by retired Major General Saber Al Suwaidan.
In commenting on the reception of the celebration, Shirley Sullivan, Director of Student Life, commented, “The clubs and organization worked harmoniously to put together a week-long festive occasion at AUK. It was great to see the community cherish old memories and celebrate the culture of diversity in Kuwait through music, games, and dialogues.”
Former Major General Saber Al-Suwaidan during his talk
Film director, Ramadhan Khasrouh discussing his film after the screening
SBSA Club’s Dukkan
A team of students from the American University of Kuwait (AUK) triumphed as the first-place winners at Kuwait’s Global Management Challenge (GMC)—the world’s largest strategy and management simulation competition. They will be representing Kuwait in the international GMC competition in Yekaterinburg, Russia in July, 2019.
AUK has been participating in the competition since its inception in 2013. This year, AUK was represented by three teams of student who were selected from the College of Business & Economics (CBE). Members of the teams were selected to participate based on their performances in business-related courses. The teams were mentored by four faculty members from CBE: Dr. Ali Aljamal, Dr. Ahmed Kholeif, Dr. Mark Speece, and Dr. Aly Mansour. All three AUK teams qualified for the final round based on their performances in the earlier national qualifying rounds.
At the finals, the three groups of AUK students competed with three other teams representing universities and companies in an intense 8-hour market simulation. The winners were determined based on the performance of their assigned virtual companies with respect to the values of their market shares and investments. The two other AUK teams ranked fourth and fifth.
The Dean of the College of Business and Economics, Dr. Ralph Palliam, praised the AUK teams on their efforts in this year’s challenge for reaching the finals and winning first place, “The participation in the finals had great meaning to all students only because the competition was dominated by highly experienced teams from business organizations.”
AUK’s winning team included the following students:
Ismail O Al-Tahan (Team Leader)
Omar Matar
Fatema Abdulsaheb
Eman Eldin
Amer Khosla
Team’s leader, Ismail Al-Tahan, noted, "Understanding how various business departments interact, and how it all links back to investment performance was key to our success at the Global Management Challenge."
ADNAR Group, a leading vocational training service provider kicked-off the activities of the Global Management Challenge in Kuwait in 2013 with the participation of leading organizations in the private, educational and public sectors, among them ZAIN Telecom, Gulf Bank, Kuwait Maastricht Business School (KMBS), the American University of Kuwait (AUK), the Kuwait Stock Exchange, GulfCryo and Dot Space.
AUK’s Winning Team
The guest speakers explained the current government revenue structure as one that heavily depends on oil and foreign investments. However, this cannot be sustained as the oil can be depleted or replaced by another energy source. As such, oil markets have become volatile, causing a drop in oil prices and caused a budget deficit. A similar volatility exists in the world financial markets as well.
The speakers introduced taxation as an alternative and sustainable source of government revenue to enable the State to finance its public expenditures and social services, all whilst improving the level of services. Among its other functions, taxes can help in redistributing income and wealth on the basis of justice and the principles of equality; as well as encourage the national product through applying taxes on imported products. The speakers affirmed that any such taxation law would have to be aligned with the related taxation articles in the constitution which ensure social justice in its application.
Due to the drop in oil prices, GCC countries had agreed to apply VAT of 5% in 2018 in order to cover their budget deficit. Despite Kuwait’s commitment to this agreement, this has not yet been implemented as Kuwait’s Finance Minister Nayef Al-Hajraf has stated that implementation is not possible without the parliament’s ratification.
Ministry of Finance information booth
Ministry of Finance employee during the lecture
Senior Graphic Design students Marah Al-Kazak and Salma Mohammad were chosen as one of the winners of a typography competition hosted by the IDC School of Design (IDC), Indian Institute of Technology (IIT Bombay) Mumbai, India.
The competition entitled, "Dance of Typography" called for international students and professionals alike to design a poster using one letter, one word, many words, or even a paragraph composed of words.
Out of 1000 entries, their poster was chosen by a blind jury, and is one of 40 winners printed and displayed in an exhibition during the Typography Workshop and Conference at the IDC School of Design (IDC) in Mumbai, India.
This marks the sixth year that students in the GDES 421-Typography III class have participated in this poster competition and have made it onto the winners list.
The Art and Graphic Design Department degree program offers a balance of theory and practice in the art and science of visual communication. The program cultivates cultural and aesthetic sensibilities while emphasizing critical thinking, analysis and problem-solving through the teaching of design history, methodology and technologies in order to produce designers capable of meaningful design in a diverse global community.
Dance of Typography by Marah Al-Kazak
Lines in Arabic by Salma Mohammad
AUK students, Mohammed Abdulsalem, Hassan Hajiyah, Elie Yazigi, Jumana AlNahham, and Nora Al-Sabah, were invited to attend the festival. The three acting students, Mohammed Abdulsalem, Hassan Hajiyah, and Elie Yazigi, attended workshops covering various aspects of acting, from performing Shakespeare to developing inner monologue. They were each cast in the student-written plays and performed in front of all the festival attendees. The playwriting student, Jomana Al-Nahham, worked intensively over 4 days with playwriting professors from Texas Tech to create a brand new 10-minute play that was read by actors as part of the festival. She received constructive feedback from professors and from professional theatre critic, Chris Jones from the Chicago Tribune. The design student, Nora Al-Sabah, worked intensively over 3 days with design professors from Clemson to produce an original set design. She presented the design in front of the festival attendees and received feedback from multiple professors. Additionally, all students attended workshops in other areas of theater, such as stage management and directing.
In addition to student participation, Dr. Yasmine Jahanmir, Assistant Professor of Drama at AUK, was invited to the festival as a guest artist. She taught two acting workshops, one on Commedia Dell’Arte and another on Meisner technique, as well as responding to the original play Phases, devised and performed by Michigan State students.
Group photo of AUK students in Sharjah
Mohammed Workshop: AUK student participating in an acting workshop
Jo: AUK student presenting a play at the festival
Students from the American University of Kuwait (AUK) participated in the Maker Faire 2019 Exhibition that was organized by Kuwait Investment Company at Kuwait International Fairgrounds. AUK’s students participated in the exhibition where they showcased their interests and works in engineering and technology.
The exhibition—a counterpart of one that is hosted in the United States—was held in Kuwait under the patronage of His Highness the Amir, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah where the projects ranged from a variety of fields from science to engineering to crafting and artistry; it also offered a space for workshops and exhibits from many inventors and artists.
Participants of the exhibition hailed from the GCC, Egypt, Sudan, Tunis, Jordan, Italy, and USA; each displayed their projects that centered in the fields of engineering, technology, calligraphy etc. in an interactive manner with the visitors.
150 projects were displayed, 7 of which were by AUK students majoring in computer engineering and electrical engineering and were supervised by Dr. Seyed Esmaeili, Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering at AUK.
Two projects created by AUK students won the Blue Ribbon Editor’s Choice Award—The PaintBot and Solar Car. This award is given to makers that demonstrate great creativity, ingenuity, and innovation. The PaintBot project, which won second place with a prize of $2000 in the tech category, is a wall-painting robot that delivers speed and consistency. PainBot follows its track keeping a constant distance from the wall throughout the paint job. The robot provides a cost-effective and time efficient automated system that performs accurate and smooth wall painting. Meanwhile, the Solar Car project was designed to work only using solar power. The energy generated from the photovoltaic panels is stored in a 96 V lithium-Ion battery. A screen placed at the front displays important information to the drivers which include the speed and the total charge of the battery.
The winning team projects consisted of the following AUK students:
Project: PaintBot (2nd Place Winner and Blue Ribbon Editor’s Choice Award):
Team Members:
Jamayel Al Ayoub
Fatma Marafie
Dana Al Hasan
Kaltham Al Ansari
Project: Solar Car (Blue Ribbon Editor’s Choice Award):
Team Members:
Musaed Al-Khaldi
Sarah Al-Shammari
Farah Darweesh
Taibah Al-Mannaei
AUK students’ project ‘PaintBot’ that won 2nd place in the fair
AUK students’ project ‘Solar Car’ that won the Blue Ribbon Editor’s Choice Award
The ECE Department received an invitation, from Toyota and Al-Sayer Group, to participate in the international Five-Continents Drive (5CD). This event was organized by the Toyota GAZOO racing team members and Toyota engineers to explore and discuss the most recent technologies employed in racing cars, and their state-of-the-art equipment; it was held in the Multi-Purpose Hall Ardiya (Toyota Delivery Center Building). Five engineering students participated in this event; they were:
- Hind Al-Amiri
- Nasser Dashti
- Fay Sharar
- Batool Hasan
- Salem AlSaif
They were carefully chosen to represent both the Computer Engineering (CPEG) and the Electrical Engineering (ELEG) programs, in addition to the IEEE student branch. During this event, AUK student Fay Sharar conducted a presentation to highlight the quality of the capstone design projects in the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Department, which are relevant to the automotive industry, with some illustrative projects that included:
- Solar car (Dr. Seyed Esmaeili)
- Car platooning (Dr. Mohammed El-Abd)
- (3) IoT-based car communications (Dr. Mounib Khanafer)
- (4) Adaptive cruise control (Dr. Ashraf Zaher)
In addition, the presentation explored other research topics, proposed by faculty members in AUK’s ECE Department that included:
- Enhancements to ZigBee MAC Protocol to Support Vehicle-to-Roadside Communications in VANETs
- Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technology to help balance the loads for power stations
- Solid State LIDAR for Self-Driving Vehicles
- Li-Fi Technology for Rapid Emergency Response in Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITSs)
- Car Parking Management Systems
The participation of AUK students was well-received by the audience and it is a reflection of the high-quality projects done by the combined efforts of the engineering students and faculty members. Al-Sayer group expressed its interest to further collaborate with the ECE Department via offering internships and field training.
Group photo of the event participants
The 4-day symposium will be held at Al-Yarmouk Cultural Center of Dar Al-Athar Al-Islamiyyah (DAI) from March 7th to the 10th, and will include talks, panel discussions, cultural activities, as well as technical and experimental workshops led by nationally and internationally renowned typographers, calligraphers, and scholars.
AUK President, Dr. Rawda Awwad expressed the significance of typography in our developing culture, “Typography and calligraphy underwrite our traditions. To this day, they have served as one of the primary means by which we lend expression to our beliefs that overlap with our notions of art and beauty. AUK welcomes the opportunity to engage our community in a conversation on and about an important aspect of our culture and its production—its past, present and future.
Additionally, Associate Professor of Graphic Design at AUK and Organizing Chair of the Symposium, Professor Maryam Hosseinia elaborates on the growing interest in design and calligraphy as a creative outlet in Kuwait, "Our vision behind the TypeCal Symposium is to create a platform for independent designers, students, creative agencies, and the community at large. Our platform aims to exchange and connect creative ideas around type and lettering for both Arabic and Latin script. Awareness of art and design and a growing interest in type and calligraphy is at its peak in Kuwait."
About TypeCal
Established in 2017, TypeCal is a cultural platform that aims to address a growing interest and appreciation for art and design, which Kuwait has been witnessing in the past few years. With specific emphasis on typography and usage of variations of letterforms, TypeCal aims to bring in scholars and designers who shape and talk about this field of specialization and innovation, which will add a tangible value to the future of TypeCal and the community at large.
TypeCal Symposium Poster
The AUK Career Fair is an opportunity to showcase employment opportunities to AUK students and graduates in a wide variety of fields that include accounting, finance, management, marketing, economics, communication and media, computer science, information systems, computer engineering, English, graphic design, international relations, and social and behavioral sciences.
This year’s event will be sponsored by Al Ahleia Switchgear Company and Kuwait Finance House as platinum sponsors; Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait and Alghanim Industries as gold sponsors; and True Line, Commercial Bank of Kuwait, and ACICO Group as silver sponsors.
Registration to the 15th Annual AUK Career Fair 2019 is now open. If you have questions about the fair, please contact Career Coordinator, Ms. Sheetal Swamy on Sswamy@auk.edu.kw or at 1802040 / (+965) 2224-8399 ext. 3232.
2019 Career Fair Poster
