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The American University of Kuwait (AUK) held its 12th Annual Academic Showcase on April 26, 2017. This event highlights the achievements of AUK students across varying disciplines through presentations, performances and displays. The ultimate goal of the showcase is to provide an opportunity for students to further their education and careers, and to expose the public and the entire student body to the various disciplines at AUK.
The showcase covered a variety of presentations, ranging from educational presentations, visual artwork, and academic field trips, in addition to different music and drama performances, including a faculty duet performance. The all-day Art and Graphic Design Student Exhibition was displayed under the supervision of Professors William Andersen, Claire Giddings, Maryam Hosseinnia, Joo Won Lee, Clark Stoeckley, and Jasmine Singh. Under the Academic Project Displays, students Batoul Al-Salman and Laila Al-Haddad displayed their Computer Engineering project, Solving Ordinary Differential Equations Using Digital Hardware under the supervision of Professor Issam Damaj. Students Rawan Al-Fouzan and Loulwah Al-Qattan displayed their Computer Engineering project, Bellman-Ford Algorithm in Hardware under the supervision of Professor Issam Damaj. Students Ali Kelkawi and Rouaa Diab displayed their Computer Engineering project, A Color-Based Sorting Machine under the supervision of Professor Mohammed El-Abd. Students Bader Al-Kandari, Mohammed Hayat, Nasser Al-Hammadi, Waleed Madi, Ghazi Al-Sharaf and Hend Al-Sulaili displayed their Intensive English Program project, Reading Strategies under the supervision of Professor Sherrie Smith.
The Academic Showcase Program included presentations from English students Laila Al-Aradi, Dina Al-Hajased, Abdulateef Al-Amir, Jassim Al-Gharaballi for their work, Volunteering with LOYAC under the supervision of Professor Inas Mahfouz. English students Danah Al-Alawi, Mariam Kotb, Yassmin Al-Torgoman and Lulwa Al-Sharrah presented their project, Borrowed Culinary Words in Arabic under the supervision of Professor Inas Mahfouz. Social and Behavioral Sciences student Sarah Sadeq presented her project, The Link Between Obesity and Cancer under the supervision of Professor Pellegrino Luciano. The Music Department also contributed to the showcase with performances from students including, Ahmed Fahs singing "Sixteen Going on Seventeen" with staff member, Monica Matta playing the cello. Students Shaima Ali and Mishari Al-Khalifa played the violin and piano respectively, while students Areeg Ahmed, Mofeeda Al-Aradi and Salwa Al-Abdulsalam sang while Professor Masternak played the piano. Student Abdulrahman Al-Ben Ali sang the piece "Amarilli" while Professor Masternak played the piano. Students Mai Hamouda and Rawan Bnayyan performed "Stars" on the piano and cello respectively. Student Yasser Zaroa sang while Professor Masternak played the piano. "Castle on the Cloud" was performed by student Tasneem Krar on the piano, and Hadeel Al-Hubail, Fajer Al-Fadalah, and Noura Bounassef on guitars. Students Sherifa Al-Khulaifi, Rayane Bouhali, Salwa Al-Abdulsalam sang while Professor Masternak played the piano. "Memory" was sung by student Catherine El-Neaman while Professor Masternak played the piano. Student Nada Shehada sang "I Don't Know How to Love Him" while Professor Masternak played the piano. Student Noura Al-Mutawah performed a piece on the drums, and Professor Agnieska Fajga's xylophone class concluded the music showcase with a group performance.
A project entitled, The Mask Project was displayed by Professor Jasmine Singh for an art class. Communication students Jassim Gharaballi, Nada Al-Kharafi, Zaid Al-Orafian, Pearla Haidar, Shaikha Tamimi and Alaa Al-Dosari presented their project, Still Ads and Video under the supervision of Professor Mohammed Akbar. Translation students Nada Abdou, Dina Zabin, Shoug Haidar, Noora BinShmilan and Georges Massoud presented their project, Media Translation- Dubbing under the supervision of Professor Mohammed Akbar. Communications students Nadeen Al-Ebrahim, Bibi Al-Ghanim, Farah Al-Khaldi and Sumayia Al-Rumaidhi presented their project, Documentary Production under the supervision of Professor Mohammed Akbar. Finance student Masswo Issi presented his project, U.S Housing Bubbles under the supervision of Professor Wafaa Sbeiti. Graphic Design students Zara Aslam and Sara Tayeh presented their project, Islamic Influence in Contemporary Typographic Patterns under the supervision of Professor Claire Giddings. Art students Maryam Al-Kandary, Nour Al-Ramy, Hala Al-Ghadban and Nastaran Mohammadi presented their project, Academic Field Trip to Italy under the supervision of Professors Antonia Stamos and William Andersen.
The Intensive English Program concluded the event with a dramatic rendition of "Scenes from Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll", which is part of the "Act the Novel" project that encourages IEP students to read a novel and personally reenact the story using their own costume designs, props and stage layout. Students Abdelaziz Redha, Pouriya Paidar, Mohammed Dakik, Mohammed Atash, Alia Elshanaey, Fatma Al-Aqash, Fatma Al-Mariri, Jomanah Saif, AlHanouf Al-Mutairi, Fawaz Al-Mouli, Amal Redwan, Ghezlan Alazmi were among the performers.
"Our student's educational journey is one of collaboration: the academic showcase celebrates the individual and collective efforts of our students and faculty, fostering critical thinking, creating, and in turn making the world a better place. It has been our tradition over the past 12 years and will continue to be one that that provides an opportunity for students to share their accomplishments, and allows the campus community to experience learning, teaching, and scholarly activity at its best," said AUK Provost, Dr. Rawda Awwad.
The Academic Showcase is held annually as a celebration of AUK's mission to "foster an environment encouraging critical thinking, effective communication, personal growth, service, and leadership."
The American International Consortium of Academic Libraries (AMICAL) sponsored a workshop entitled, "Co-design: Integrating Information Literacy into your Disciplinary Course" for teams of faculty and librarians from March 31 to April 1 at the American University of Paris. AUK participated with a faculty-librarian pair Zainab Al-Attabi, Reference and Instruction Librarian and Professor Stavros Hadjisolomou, First Year Experience Unit. The AUK team was selected along with 15 other (library-faculty) pairs from American-modeled colleges and universities located across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Central and Southern Asia.
The two-day workshop was led by Samantha Godbay, Education Librarian and Xan Goodman, Health Sciences Librarian, both from the University of Nevada in Las Vegas. The speakers discussed the idea of integrating the information literacy framework by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) into an existing curriculum.
Ms. Asma Al Kanan, the AUK Library Director said, "The AUK team acquired an understanding of the Framework and co-developed drafts for course outcomes based on ACRL's Framework, in addition to an implementation plan to integrate library instruction into AUK's First Year Experience course: "Essentials of Learning" in the form of multiple instruction sessions. The goal is to co-teach the course in upcoming semesters".
She further stated that once implemented, the Librarian-Faculty team will be the first team to co-design a course at AUK. The team look forward to setting a positive example and encourage other departments to collaborate with the library on interdisciplinary curriculum co-design.
The AUK Library is a member of the AMICAL Consortium. AMICAL's mission is to advance learning, teaching and research through the collaborative development of library and information services and curricular resources at member institutions. Throughout the years, AMICAL has been providing/sponsoring several professional development opportunities for librarians and faculty from member institutions.
Images from the event
Al-Multaqa Prize Competition announced that it has received 239 short story collections for its second cycle. The Prize was launched in December 2015 by AUK, in partnership with the Cultural Circle's Founder and Manager, Mr. Taleb Al-Rifae. Its first cycle was successfully concluded in December 2016, with the support and sponsorship of the Minister of Al-Diwan Al-Amiri Affairs, Sheikh Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.
Submissions for the second cycle commenced on the 1st of January 2017 and closed in the end of March, 2017. The number of submissions received surpassed the amount of the previous cycle, which shows a growing enthusiasm in the Arabic literary field for this competition.
| Candidate Category | Number of Applicants |
|---|---|
| Authors | 204 |
| Publishing Houses | 35 |
| Total | 239 |
| Gender | Number of Applicants |
|---|---|
| Female | 70 |
| Male | 169 |
| Participating Nationalities (20 Countries) |
Number of Applicants |
|---|---|
| Egypt | 90 |
| Iraq | 20 |
| Jordan | 19 |
| Morocco | 19 |
| Syria | 13 |
| Algeria | 11 |
| Saudi Arabia | 11 |
| Palestine | 11 |
| Yemen | 9 |
| Sudan | 8 |
| Tunisia | 8 |
| Bahrain | 5 |
| Oman | 3 |
| Qatar | 3 |
| Lebanon | 3 |
| Kuwait | 2 |
| Libya | 1 |
| Republic of Chad | 1 |
| Iraqi-Belgium | 1 |
| Egyptian-British | 1 |
| Total | 239 |
The competition Board of Trustees and Advisory Board announced the following names as the jurors for the 2016-2017 cycle:
- Dr. Hassan Al-Naemi/Saudi Arabia- Head of Jury Committee
- Dr. Saeed Binkrad/Morocco- Jury Member
- Mr. Abdo Jabeer/Egypt- Jury Member
- Ms. Huda Al-Shoa/Kuwait- Jury Member
- Mr. Khalil Sweileh /Syria- Jury Member
The first short list will contain 10 short story collections will be announced in the beginning of October, 2017, while the second short list will contain of 5 short story collections and will be announced at the beginning of November, 2017. The competition winner will be announced in December, 2017, during a ceremony organized by AUK where the winner will receive the cash prize of $20,000, in addition to a certificate of appreciation, and the translation of the winning short stories to English.
The AUK Department of Art and Graphic Design hosted the interdisciplinary artist Hasan Elahi, last March to speak about what inspired him to shed light on today's issues of surveillance, citizenship, migration, transport, and the challenges of borders and frontiers, through his art. At the event, he explained that the issues his work addresses came to be as a result of an experience he had gone through a few years earlier.
In 2002, Elahi discovered that his name had been mistakenly added to the US government's terrorist watch list, which was followed by intensive investigations conducted by the FBI. Following months of interrogations, he was cleared of suspicions, but was advised to keep the FBI informed of his whereabouts at all times. This inspired him to document each aspect of his life publicly through social media outlets, which the evolved into an open-ended art project in which he shared up-to-the-minute updates of his daily activities, including mundane ones, such as checking into hotel rooms, airports, and bathrooms, for example. He also tracked himself on Google Maps, released communication records, banking transactions and transportation logs. The ongoing project questions the consequences of living under constant surveillance.
He has presented his work in exhibition at much-acclaimed venues such as SITE Santa Fe, Pompidou Center, Sundance Film Festival, at the Venice Biennale, and has appeared on Al Jazeera, Fox News, and the Colbert Report. Previously, Elahi has spoken about his work to a broad range of audiences such as at the Tate Modern, the Einstein Forum, the American Association of Artificial Intelligence, the International Association of Privacy Professionals, TED, and the World Economic Forum.
His recent awards include a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Prize, an Alpert/MacDowell Fellowship, and grants from the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art, Art Matters Foundation, and Creative Capital. He is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Art at the University of Maryland. His work can be viewed at http://elahi.umd.edu/.
Hasan Elahi's talk came as part of the GDES Speakers' Series that has started last Fall and will run until the end of May. The upcoming talk will host- via Skype- Matt Rappinport, an internationally exhibited new media and installation artist, curator, and educator.
Marlene Arias joins the American University of Kuwait working as an intern for the Center for Continuing Education, Center for Gulf Studies, and the Intensive English Program. She is a second year student at Dartmouth College and is a double major in Middle Eastern Studies and Government with a focus in comparative politics. At Dartmouth, Marlene is a board member of CoFired (Dartmouth Coalition for Immigration Reform, Equality and DREAMers) and an editorial writer for World Outlook, Dartmouth's International Relations Journal. Last summer, she worked as an Economic Development Intern for the City of Temecula, California, where she is from, and helped design and implement several city wide programs.
This is the twenty-first time since 2005 that AUK has hosted interns from Dartmouth College. Marlene will be at AUK until late-May 2017.
The American University of Kuwait's (AUK) Karate Twins, Salman and Mohamed Al Mosawi won bronze medals at the Karate1 Premier League-a championship organized by the World Karate Federation which was held in Dubai, in April, 2017. Representing Kuwait, the twins competed against dozens of countries to eventually earn third place overall.
The Karate1-Premier League is the most important league event in the world of karate. It comprises of a number of the most prominent karate competitions and to bring together the best karate athletes in the world in open championships of unprecedented scale and quality.
Dean of Student Affairs, Dr. Hanan Muzaffar praised the twins for their success, "Salman and Mohamed are true examples of our wolfpacks in their perseverance and commitment to reach their goals. I'm very happy for them, and proud of this, their second victory this year. They had previously won bronze medals at a League in France in January of this year," she said.
Both Electrical Engineering students, Salman and Mohamed participate in several karate championships every year, which provides them with opportunities to hone their skills in the sport. They have been recognized for their combating skills throughout their careers. In 2011, at the World Championship in Malaysia, they were crowned as the World Champions, and were later selected by Al Ahli Club of Dubai to compete in the UAE karate league, where they won gold medals.
The Karate Twins, Salman and Mohamed Al Mosawi
The Karate Twins, Salman and Mohamed Al Mosawi
The Karate Twins, Salman and Mohamed Al Mosawi
AUK won 1st Place in the Kuwait finals for Microsoft Imagine Cup 2017, and qualified to represent Kuwait in the Middle East and Africa finals taking place in Beirut next May. Held under the Patronage of His Excellency Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah Al-Mubarak-Al Sabah, Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs, the competition took place at Al Shaheed Park, on the 17th of April.
Microsoft Imagine Cup is the world's premier technology competition for students to showcase their innovative applications using the latest Microsoft technologies to solve some of the greatest societal challenges. This is the 7th time AUK participates in Microsoft Imagine Cup. In the previous years, AUK won the competition 6 times, and competed 3 times in the world finals in USA, Australia, and Poland.
This year, AUK Computer Science student, Omar Khalil, competed against 5 teams from different universities in Kuwait and brought victory to AUK through his project 'Artopia' which is a location-based application where users can create 3D paintings using their smart phone as a paint brush, and their surroundings as a canvas. Omar's project was a winning idea due to its numerous applications in the fields of digital therapeutics, forensics, media, arts, and others.
Omar Khalil was coached by Dr. Amir Zeid, Associate Professor of Computer Science and Director of RISE Center, who explained that "the idea behind participation in competitions like Imagine Cup is to take students through the multifaceted process of generating a novel idea and fully developing it into an innovative, marketable product. Omar did not only fulfill the standards set for this high-end technology contest, but he also introduced a new style of presentation that defied convention. I am personally impressed by his performance."
Next May, Omar will fly to Beirut, Lebanon to compete with the region's top talents at the Imagine Cup MEA semi-finals. To support Omar in his preparation for the Beirut finals, Microsoft Kuwait team has offered to conduct training sessions for Omar and provide him with all needed advice on his project. "Microsoft is deeply committed to supporting youth to build innovative projects that contribute directly towards leveraging technology for acquiring critical skills that pave the way for driving innovation and growth in the country," said Charles Nahas, General Manager, Microsoft Kuwait. "We congratulate the winning team and look forward to seeing the participant from AUK making us proud at the Imagine Cup MEA semifinals in Lebanon."
After the regional competition, winners will proceed to Seattle, Washington where they will compete for the coveted Imagine Cup trophy and prize of $100,000.
Omar Khalil Presenting his Project at Microsoft Imagine Cup National Finals
Omar Khalil and his Coach Dr. Amir Zeid Receiving Their Award
The American University of Kuwait held its 3rd Biennial Literary Festival earlier this month. Co-organized by the University Library and the Academic Advising and Learning Support Services (AALSS), this year's festival focused on the theme of Migration, Identity, and Cultural Transformation.
The three-day event featured a group of outstanding writers, artists and poets whose works and whose lives are profoundly shaped by the theme of this year's festival, which included Randa Jarrar, author of the Arab-American Book Award-winning A Map of Home and most recently Him, Me, Muhammad Ali; Sinan Antoon, author of I'jaam: An Iraqi Rhapsody, The Corpse Washer, and The Baghdad Eucharist (the re-titled English translation of Ya Maryam, shortlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction in 2013; Thurayya Al-Baqsami, internationally-recognized artist and author of the award-winning short story collection Cellar Candles; Mai Al-Nakib, author of The Hidden Lights of Objects, winner of the Edinburgh International Book Festival's First Book Award; Bothayna Al-Essa, novelist and founder of Takween for creative writing; Nejoud AlYagout, poet and essayist, author of three anthologies of poetry: This is an Imprint, Awake in the Game of Pretending, and Ounces of Oneness; and Nada Faris, well-known Kuwaiti performance poet and author of Fountain of Youth.
The festival included a series of lectures, readings, poetry & music performances, book signings, a writing workshop, and a roundtable discussion of this year's theme. Book signings for each of Randa Jarrar and Sinan Antoon were held in the University Library where students met with the authors and got copies of their recent books signed by them.
On the second day, Thurayya Al-Baqsami shared her experience as a pioneering Kuwaiti artist and author with the AUK community. Some of her artwork was placed on display throughout the days of the event. This was followed by a creative writing workshop at the Writing Center by award-winning author and one of the guest speakers, Randa Jarrar. The two-hour workshop was attended by students and staff members at the Writing Center and Tutoring Center. Jarrar introduced the audience to the concept of creative writing building on her experience as a novelist and a professor at the Department of English at California State University, Fresno. Attendees worked on several writing exercises where specific technical issues were addressed.
The closing day of the literary festival featured one hour of poetry reading, videos, and performances, followed by a roundtable discussion of the event's theme. Dean of Academic Support Services, Dr. Mary Queen, moderated the panel discussion, which included Sinan Antoon, Mai Al-Nakib, and Randa Jarrar.
The American University of Kuwait conducted a developmental revision-with the approval of the Private Universities Council (PUC) and the Commission on English Language Program Accreditation (CEA)-of its Intensive English Program, which aims to strengthen and advance students' English proficiency to succeed in the university.
The previously 3-level program has been restructured so students will be able to complete the course in 2 semesters. Students will be instructed for approximately 23 hours a week on reading and writing, in addition to oral communication, presentations and special topic courses.
“The notion that we can achieve excellence through the continued capitalization of the latest pedagogical approaches to learning and instructional delivery is what distinguishes us locally as well as regionally. We take pride in the successful integration of best practices as it advances the mission of our institution, and, ultimately and most importantly, promotes and enhances the education and knowledge experience of our students. Our constituents expect nothing less!” said Dr. Rawda H. Awwad, AUK Provost
The mission of the Intensive English Program (IEP) is to prepare students seeking admission to the academic degree programs of AUK by enabling them to gain sufficient mastery of the English language and successfully apply the critical thinking skills they need to excel both during and after their formal studies. The IEP achieves its mission by training non-native English speakers in specific uses of English for academic purposes, by providing quality English language instruction to all who have chosen English as their medium of communication for academic pursuits and by promoting international, intercultural, and self-understanding.
The Ministry of Education, in association with the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET) held the 28th Joint Art Exhibition in April 2017, where students from colleges and universities across Kuwait showcased their artistic talents to compete for prizes in various categories. Under the supervision of Ms. Jasmine Singh, Adjunct Instructor of Graphic Design, Students from the Graphic Design Department at the American University of Kuwait (AUK) were among the winners in some of the categories.
In the University Level category, Noha Khalil and Esra'a Alkandari won first and second place respectively. Noha designed planes using wood, foam board and newspaper, while Esra'a designed an ancient mask using aluminum wire, foil, tape and polymer clay.
Shouq AlSuraie came in third place in the Exhibition Level category. Her entry "Doll" critiques the dominant trend of cosmetic and plastic surgeries amongst Kuwaiti women. "Doll" is a female sculpture holding a mask in her hand and a glowing heart inside, thereby celebrating the beauty within. Shouq designed her sculpture using wire mesh and Red Bull cans.
Finally, with her design of paper planes using wood, metal and a glue gun, Munira AlMajdali won an appreciation award for her entry.
Below are the names of the remaining Graphic Design students who participated in the exhibition:
- Jumana Mohamad & Lubna Shamel Khader
- Noor Al-Jamea
- Merrit Thomas
- Lulwa AlAnsari
- Dalal Sadiq Alabdulrazzaq
- Hessah Abdulrahman Abdullah Al-Habbad
- Sundus K Abdulaziz
Participants and Winners
