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The Kuwait Center for Mental Health hosted students from the American University of Kuwait (AUK) who visited their facilities to go on a tour to learn about mental disorders in Kuwait on a fieldtrip organized by Dr. Juliet Dinkha, Associate Professor of Psychology at AUK. The purpose of the trip was to give the students an opportunity to learn about mental disorders in Kuwait, as well as their treatments.
The tour started with a lecture conducted by Dr. Abdullah Al-Hammadi, Psychiatris, inside the lecture hall of the facilities. He introduced the students to the services offered by the center and identified the types of disorders the center generally deals with. According to Dr. Al-Hammadi , the services of the center include in-patient and out-patient care, catering for a number of s subspecialties and divisions, such as for geriatrics, children and adolescence, addiction center, rehabilitation center, and segregated general psychiatry.
Following the lecture, the students visited the different hospital wards. Their first stop was at Al-Manara, the children and adolescence unit. They were shown the layouts of the rooms, which were basic and consisted of two beds and a table in between. The students had the opportunity to see the play therapy room, where children of a young age engaged in constructive activities.
The students' next stop was the adolescent male unit, Almanara, where the nurse explained that the most common cases in the unit were schizophrenia, ADHD, borderline personality disorder and autism. As the students were leaving the unit, two of the patients exhibited interest in interacting with the students and waved goodbye to them as they moved on to the following unit.
The students then made their way to the Acute Unit, which catered adult cases. In the female ward, the nurse explained that bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and adjustment disorder among the domestic workers, are the common cases they treat in the ward. The students were not permitted to visit the male ward, because male in-patients were prone to act inappropriately.
The fieldtrip experience showed the students the non-invasive and more commonly used treatment methods applied by the center. "The students were able to observe what a mental institution looks like nowadays; an open environment, surrounded by trees and caring people that follow principles that ensure the protection of mental health patients," explained Dr. Dinkha.
While on the tour, the group got to speak with few nurses, occupational therapists, and clients. They asked questions to help them better understand what services are available in at the center. The students also learned what steps to take if somebody around them begins to exhibit psychiatric symptoms or appears to require a psychiatric follow-up. Furthermore, the students had a chance to briefly sit in on a demonstration of new technology, conducted by visiting scholars from the U.S, of a virtual device that enables individuals to experience delusions and hallucinations, similar to those experienced by schizophrenic patients.
The tour offered the students the opportunity to meet with professionals and ask them questions. One of the topics they discussed related to how steroid use among bodybuilders can induce schizophrenia-like symptoms. They also mentioned the stigma attached to mental health in Kuwait, and how families with members who have been diagnosed with a mental illness are often ashamed, and use the hospital as a hideaway.
"Seeing the situation in real-life was an eye-opener for the students to see the situation unclouded by stereotype and prejudice. All of the students enjoyed this unique privilege to visit the Kuwait Center for Mental Health," concluded Dr. Dinkha.
Released by the Office of Public Affairs on the 11th February 2015
Photography by the Office of Public Affairs (C) 2015
The Board of Trustees of the American University of Kuwait (AUK) met on the campus of the university in Salmiya and held the first of its biannual meetings for the year 2015 on January 31st. In the 2-day meeting, members of the board reviewed the biannual reports and discussed the latest administrative and academic developments and affairs, and went over the President Report, Budget Report, and the Dartmouth-AUK Report.
The official Board of Trustees meeting commenced on Saturday morning with the Academic Affairs Committee Meeting, during which the board members reviewed AUK's international program accreditations, academic planning and program development, Admissions and enrolment updates.
On the second day, the meeting continued with the Executive Committee report review, followed by the Academic Affairs Committee Report and the President's State of the University report, which highlighted the importance of maintaining AUK's international programmatic accreditation, and shed lights on the development in areas of faculty recruitment, AUK's partnership with Dartmouth College, and campus facilities.
The second biannual meeting is expected to take place in May, 2015.
Chaired by Shaikha Dana Nasser Al-Sabah, the Board of Trustees is AUK's governing body. The Board's terms of reference are outlined in the AUK By-Laws. The self-perpetuating and self-governing Board regularly meets twice a year on the Salmiya campus in Kuwait, and is currently composed of the following members:
Shaikha Dana Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah
Founder and Chair, Board of Trustees, American University of Kuwait
Chair, United Education Company
Executive Manager, Al-Futooh Holding Company
Board Member, KAMCO Investment Company
Mr. Meshal Ali
Co-Founder and Vice Chair, Board of Trustees, American University of Kuwait
CEO, National Offset Company
Mr. Wael Abdul-Ghafoor
Co-Founder, American University of Kuwait
Chair, American School of Kuwait
Mr. Faisal Al-Ayyar
Vice Chairman, KIPCO (Holding)
Mr. Samer Khanachet
Group Chief Operating Officer, KIPCO (Holding)
Thomas Bartlett, Ph.D.
Former President, Colgate University and American University in Cairo
Former Chancellor, Alabama, Oregon and New York State, University Systems
Trustee, American University in Cairo
Tim Sullivan, Ph.D.
Professor and Provost Emeritus, American University in Cairo
Interim President, 2010, American University of Kuwait
Walid E. Moubarak, Ph.D.
Member, Lebanese President's Steering Committee on National Dialogue
Director, Institute of Diplomacy and Conflict Transformation, Lebanese American University
Nizar Hamzeh, Ph.D.
President
American University of Kuwait
Dale F. Eickelman, Ph.D., (ex officio member)
Ralph and Richard Lazarus Professor of Anthropology and Human Relations, Dartmouth College
Relationship Coordinator (Director), the Dartmouth College-American University of Kuwait Program
Released by the Office of Public Affairs on the 9th February 2015
Photography by the Office of Public Affairs (C) 2015
The American University of Kuwait (AUK) participated in the Environmental Public Speaking Competition in Dubai, UAE for the second consecutive year. The competition was organized by the Emirates Environmental Group (EEG), and five students from AUK, accompanied by their coach, Lisa Waite, instructor in AUK's Intensive English Program, attended and delivered two presentations at the competition; one of which won the first runner-up prize in its category.
"Mission Possible" was one of the two presentations from AUK to deliver at the competition. AUK students Shaza Wattar, an International Relations major, and Rateb Shehadeh, a Marketing and Communications & Media double major, earned the first runner-up prize in the "Green Economy" category; a category that had 18 participating colleges. The team identified countries that are successful in implementing green economic measures, and offered solutions to help solve the looming environmental problems in the GCC. Shaza explained that the long hours her team spent in preparing for the competition was exciting. "Besides the absolute joy that this competition brought my team and I, it was an honor to represent AUK and show other universities that with our team work and hard effort, AUK is a great institution to be reckoned with," she said.
The other AUK team delivered a speech under the category "Who is Responsible for Food Wastage?" Bhavneet Sahni, a senior who is pursuing double majors in Finance and Accounting, and Maryam Mofied, a junior pursuing double major in Economics and Finance, showed the audience what damages wasting food can cause to the environment. They did so by using a magician's theme as a tool to bring their points across in an educational, yet entertaining manner. "Sahni showed overwhelming creativity throughout the entire process of research, outlining, writing, and performing the speech. We really had to work hard at reigning in all her ideas as she wanted to continually make the speech more and more creative," said Waite.
Omar Al-Faresi, who is seeking a degree in Communications & Media, provided support for the teams. He produced a video for the "Who is Responsible for Food Wastage?" presentation, and also provided technical support for both AUK presentations.
EEG is known for their diligence in protecting the environment through the means of education, action programs and community involvement. EEG is viewed as one of the most prestigious environmental groups within the Middle East and prides itself on its environmental achievements. AUK was the only institute from Kuwait to attend the competition, which saw competitors from several institutes across the GCC, as well as Egypt and Yemen.
Released by the Office of Public Affairs on the 2nd February 2015
Photography by the Office of Public Affairs (C) 2015
The American University of Kuwait (AUK) held the 2nd Annual Electrical & Computer Engineering Exhibition 2014 (ECEE'14), in which alumni and students presented and demonstrated projects to compete for the Best Project Award, as well as the Students Choice Award. The event was organized by AUK's Electrical & Computer Engineering Department and student teams from the AUK-IEEE Student Branch (IEEESB), and was open to members of the AUK community.
ECEE'14 featured live demonstrations, poster presentations, and student talks, all of which were considered by a panel of judges for the Best Project Award. The judging panel was comprised of Dr. Ashraf Zaher, Associate Professor of Computer Engineering; Dr. Detlef Hummes, Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering; and Dr. Seyed Esmaeili, Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering. AUK students were also invited to cast their votes via email to nominate the winner of the Student Choice Award. AUK President, Professor Dr. Nizar Hamzeh, Dean of Arts and Sciences, Dr. Rawda Awwad, and the Electrical & Computer Engineering Department Chair Dr. Issam Damaj presented the awards to the participants and winners in each of the project categories
Eight projects participated in the exhibition. Listed below are the categories, projects, and teams:
Live Demonstrations:
- Project Name: MTS: A Multipurpose Secure Smartcard System;
Team: S. Al-Murad, T. Al-Hajiri, and M. Al-Ammar
Supervisor: Dr. I. Damaj
- Project Name: Automated Hardware Development under JAVA;
Team: Nawab, A. Al-Meslim, Y. Jawhar, and M. Al-Kazumi
Supervisor: Dr. I. Damaj
- Project Name: A Wearable and Ubiquitous NFC Wallet;
Team: Al-Chalabi, H. Shahzad, and S. Essa
Supervisor: Dr. I. Damaj
- Project Name: Vehicle Collision Detection System;
Team: Al-Mutawa, J. al Jaber, and S. Al-Mutawa
Supervisor: Dr. Mr. Khanafer
Poster Presentations:
- Project Name: Smart Meter Tracker
Team: H. Al Hassan, R. Al Shatti, and R. Al Sanae
Supervisor: Dr. J. Yousafzai
- Project Name: Gardening Robot (iPlant)
Team: B. Al-Mesbah, B. Al-Beeshi, and S. Al-Dousari
Supervisor: Dr. M. El Abd
- Project Name: Mine Detection Robot
Team: H. Al-Nothary, T. Al-Kandari, and H. Al-Jenfawi
Supervisor: Dr. M. El Abd
- Project Name: Cooperative Garbage Collecting Robots
Team: M. Al-Sharrah, M. Al-Bader, and D. Ismail
Supervisor: Dr. M. El Abd
In conjunction with the exhibition, the event also featured a seminar from the Electrical and Computer Engineering Seminar Series 2014 (ECESS'14). The seminar, Control Systems: History, Current Practice, and Future Trends, was given by Dr. Ashraf Zaher, Associate Professor of Computer Engineering.
Following the presentations and consideration from the judges, the project entitled Wearable and Ubiquitous NFC Wallet was announced the winner Best Project Award, while Automated Hardware Development under JAVA was declared the winner of the Student Choice Award.
"I would like to congratulate the winning project teams and all their fellow participators for a job well-done," said Dr. Damaj "ECEE'14 provided a unique and exciting opportunity to encourage undergraduate research, cross-collaboration, and social networking among students, alumni, and professionals in the field."
About the winning projects:
The Wearable and Ubiquitous NFC Wallet project
The objective of the Wearable and Ubiquitous NFC Wallet team was to create a wearable technology that is able to integrate multiple accounts into one safe, convenient, and wearable pass. This concept provides users with the ability to customize their passes by embedding information pertaining to their accounts on it. The team explained that since all of a userâs accounts are stored on a single tag, carrying around copious amounts of smartcards becomes obsolete. The NFC Wallet is ubiquitous; the software is web-enabled and users could manage it by using smart phones, tablets, laptops and other computing devices.
Automated Hardware Development Under JAVA
Embedded systems are used in daily life regularly. One particular device peeks the interest due to its many areas of application it is used in, namely FPGAs. FPGAs are targeted by different hardware descriptive languages, such as, VHDL. This language is more relatable to hardware designers than software designers. On the other hand, object oriented software languages and concepts are taught in all areas of studies that are related to computers and are more user friendly than hardware descriptive languages. H-Gen strives to link these areas of studies to real implementations and applications of hardware. The purpose of this project is to create a systematic refinement procedure and/or a hardware compiler. H-Gen is a high-level hardware development environment in which computer scientists and engineers develop hardware/software co-implementations. H-Gen stands for HDL Generator."
Dr. Mohammed El Abd, Head of the (ECEE'14) Organizing Committee, said: "We are proud of our students that who continue for the second year running to present high-quality capstone projects. We are impressed by the level of commitment displayed by our alumni who returned after graduation to showcase their projects and help make this event a success. In addition, we continue on our activity of organizing the ECE Seminar Series, which is tailored to support our 'ABET Student Outcomes' outside the classroom, and continue to be of interest to faculty members and other professionals."
The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering strives to provide high-quality engineering education centered around the key principles of liberal arts, specifically, lifelong-learning, critical thinking, and effective communication. The department prepares students to become successful engineers, and be able to contribute effectively to their profession and community.
Released by the Office of Public Affairs on the 29th January 2015
Photography by the Office of Public Affairs (C) 2015
"The Shattered Soul" is a play that was written, directed, and performed entirely by students from the American University of Kuwait (AUK). The production was organized by the AUK Library, and was based on a story penned by Abdulrahman Al-Bastaki, an AUK alumnus who severed as an Intern there during the Spring 2014 semester. The production was open to members of the AUK community, as well as the family and friends of the cast and crew.
"The Shattered Soul" told the story of a young married couple, Charlotte and Michael Spaulding, who appeared to be in love and lived in marital bliss. In reality, however, Michael is a possessive husband who keeps his wife from interacting with the outside world. Early on in the play, Charlotte managed to persuade her husband to allow her to take violin lessons with a renowned violin professor named Victor Andreas, during which time she discovers she has a knack for the instrument. This led to her committing more of her time to practicing and less of her time with her husband. Throughout the course of the play, the audience witnessed Michael's jealously escalate to reach a point of violence, which causes Charlotte to disappear and leave him alone to face terrifying consequences.
Al-Bastaki, who also directed the play, is an avid reader. He explained that the play was inspired by stories he read like "A Tell, Tale Heart" by Edgar Alan Pole, "The Shinning" by Stephen King, and as well as other horror and mystery novels.
Playing the lead characters were Fahad Al-Failakawi and Dana Al-Zuraiqi, who were supported by Ahmed Abdel-Basset as Victor, Abdulmajid El-Kassem as Detective Danny Derbin, and Mariam Al-Eissa as Charlotte's only friend, Martha. The supporting cast also included Mariam Al-Hasan, who played Alice, the Spaulding's new housekeeper from New Jersey, and Muna Al-Muzayen, who played Charlotte's sister. The waitress sisters, Cindy and Tangi, were played by Kuwaitiya Al-Jutaili and Iqbal Al-Jutaili.
The play's scenery was designed by Fajer Al-Sharaf and Khaled Al-Abdulqader, who also managed the sound effects and music. Since the play had elements of horror, Khaled, together with Mohamed Al-Hamed, projected special visual effects. Ghadeer Ghafour and Mahsa Dashtaki applied make-up on the actors to transform them into their characters. The violin music heard during the production was a tune called "Dead Boy's Poem". It was originally written by the band "Nightwish", and was played by Fatemah Al-Attar. Zeinab Mohammed, Mahsa Dashtaki and Iqbal Al-Jutaili managed the publicity of the event. Ali Ali and Ghadeer Ghafour served as assistant directors.
The Library called for auditions for "The Shattered Soul" in June 2014. The production was implemented solely by students, without the show being part of a graded course or being paid for their contributions. The AUK Library Director, Ms. Asma Al-Kanan, recognized all of the participants by presenting them with Certificates of Appreciation in a small ceremony, during which she expressed the Library's commitment to such initiatives. "The Library thrives to support and nurture the intellects, creativity and talents of AUK students whenever possible," she added.
Released by the Office of Public Affairs on the 27th January 2015
Photography by the Office of Public Affairs (C) 2015
In the Fall 2014 semester, Alison Larkin Koushki, faculty member in the Intensive English Program at the American University of Kuwait (AUK), introduced her students to Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein," the canonic novel about the scientist who succeeds in bringing to life a monster he created out of body-parts of the deceased. The novel inspired the students to create a monster of their own - a monster of a performance, that is - which they had managed to prepare for the members of the AUK community in time for Halloween. This performance marked the fourth time that Koushki has inspired her students to engage in a novel and then "Bring Reading to Life" through the arts of drawing, video collage, choreography, and acting.
There were three stages to the performance. In the first stage, student actors performed the scene in which Frankenstein's monster comes to life, attacks his Creator Dr. Frankenstein, and a struggle ensues. This gave the students an opportunity to display their interpretation of the emotions and reactions of that iconic scene. "During the reading [of the novel], students empathized with the plight of the characters in the Frankenstein family, getting involved with their hopes and dreams, as well as their fears and frustrations," explained Koushki.
The second stage of the performance took the story to the 1980s, where dancers dressed as ghouls interrupted the scuffle between Frankenstein and his monster, and the cast began a choreographed dance to Michael Jackson's 1980s hit "Beat It!". When the song reached the end, 5 actresses dressed as the Brides of Frankenstein emerged from the Sciences Building and each paired with a dancer as the music switched to the tune set for the third stage.
The third and final stage was interactive. As the music had switched to the theme song from the movie "Saw," audience members were caught off-guard when the performers suddenly pounced on them to generate genuine reactions.
It required several teams of students managing different areas in addition to acting and choreography, such as artwork and academic writing, among others, to work closely together to produce this student-led performance. AUK President Dr. Nizar Hamzeh attended the performance, along with Dr. Rawda Awwad, Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, and Ms. Sandra Stein, Director of IEP.
To celebrate the success of the event, Mrs. Alison arranged for a ceremony to recognize the students' contributions to the "Bringing Reading to Life" show by distributing AUK Certificates of Appreciation to all who participated. "Whether their task was acting, choreography, academic writing for display, arranging artwork, costumes, publicity, photography, project management, or security, everybody had a direct hand in the success of this initiative, and it was a pleasure to have IEP Director Ms. Sandy Stein present at the ceremony," expressed Mrs. Alison.
Released by the Office of Public Affairs on the 22nd January 2015
Photography by the Office of Public Affairs (C) 2015
Dr. Raymond Farrin, Chair of the Department of Arabic and Foreign Languages at the American University of Kuwait (AUK), and Associate Professor of Arabic Language and Literature, released his latest book Structure and Qur'anic Interpretation: A Study of Symmetry and Coherence in Islam's Holy Text in 2014, published by White Cloud Press.
In his book, Dr. Farrin illustrates how the Qur'an, whose structure has often been regarded as unsystematic, does in fact feature a comprehensive design, one that is characterized by a network of symmetries.
Dr. Farrin's book was welcomed with acclaim from a number of scholars. Dale F. Eickelman, Ralph and Richard Lazarus Professor of Anthropology and Human Relations at Dartmouth College wrote: "Structure and Qur'anic Interpretation draws on social anthropology, literary analysis, and a wide reading of predecessors and contemporaries to offer an engagingly readable account of how structure relates to content in Islam's key text. Simultaneously emphatic and critical, Farrin's new book invites readers to understand the Qur'an from a fresh perspective."
In November 2014, Dr. Farrin was interviewed by Abdur-Rahman Abou Almajd for Alukah.net, a website dedicated to intellectual and cultural exchange amongst scholars and experts. In the interview, Farrin explained that while he was conducting his research in classical Arabic literature and poetry, he was inspired to look into the fundamental text in Arabic, the Holy Qur'an. Given his interest and background, he decided to take a literary approach. He explained he was surprised to find that many Orientalists often criticize the Qur'an for lacking in structure, and provided examples of where in the Qur'an structure can be found.
"Following the work of researchers such as Michel Cuypers and Mustansir Mir, who have discovered symmetrical patterns in parts of the Qur'an, I proceeded to look for a similar structural logic in the Qur'an as a whole," Farrin explained.
Dr. Raymond Farrin studied Arabic in Cairo and received a Ph.D. in Near Eastern Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author of Abundance from the Desert: Classical Arabic Poetry (Syracuse UP, 2011). In 2014, he helped launch the Faculty Speaker Series at AUK, an initiative that offers the opportunity for members of the AUK faculty to share their scholarly activities, and discuss books that they have released.
To read the full interview by Abdur-Rahman Abou Almajd for Alukah.net, click here.
Book Description and Reviews courtesy of www.whitecloudpress.com
Released by the Office of Public Affairs on the 14th January 2015
Photography by the Office of Public Affairs (C) 2015
The American University of Kuwait (AUK) held its semi-annual President's Honor Roll and Dean's Honor List ceremony in recognition of top student academic achievers for the Spring 2014 Semester. The ceremony was held in the AUK Auditorium, where students, parents, AUK faculty members and staff, as well as members of the AUK Board Trustees attended the ceremony to support the students being recognized. AUK President Professor Dr. Nizar Hamzeh and the colleges' deans were present to honor the students and celebrate their achievements.
The ceremony commenced with opening remarks from President Hamzeh, in which he expressed his pride in celebrating the academic achievements of AUK students.
Following a students' procession, each of the students in the different excellence categories was called to the stage, where they accepted their awards from President Hamzeh and the college deans.
21 students were awarded a place on the President's Honor Roll by the Interim President, a high distinction exclusively awarded to those who maintained a 4.0 GPA for the term, while 89 students were recognized for achieving the Dean's Honor List; a distinction awarded by the College Deans to students who maintained a minimum GPA of 3.7. Dr. Rawda Awwad, Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences (CAS), and Dr. John Russel, Interim Dean of the College of Business & Economics (CBE) presented the recipients with their awards.
Congratulations to the following achievers:
President's Honor Roll Awardees
| Laila Abdel Jaber | Farah Bossakhar |
| Mohammed Akbar | Fatemeh Ebrahimi |
| Bader Al- Mutawa | Darin Kablaoui |
| Bibi Al Behbehani | Sali Khaddage |
| Afnan Al-Daqqaq | Stephanie Khalil |
| Hala Al-Faisal | Sara Lubbad |
| Aisha Al-Hunaidi | Haleema Mahmood |
| Dana Al Mansouri | Manar Mashal |
| Razan Al-Obaid | Donya Ramadan |
| Mohammad Al Sabah | Maymoonah Toubeh |
| Rania Al-Sabbagh |
Dean's Honor List Awardees
College of Arts & Sciences
| Ahmed Abdel Ghaffar | Mahmoud Imdoukh |
| Sondus Abu Rayya | Abeer Imdoukh |
| Mohammad Al Hamad | Nay Issa |
| Bader Al-Mutawa | Darin Kablaoui |
| Jumanah Al Refaei | Yasmine Kamel |
| Hala Al-Faisal | Marwa Kandil |
| Munira Al-Farsi | Marina Karas |
| Sarah Al Humaidhi | Ali Kelkawi |
| Mohammed Al-Hussaini | Sali Khaddage |
| Jarrah Al-Khalifa | Mohammed Khalafallah |
| Haidy Al-Leythi | Stephanie Khalil |
| Dana Al Mansouri | Yasser Khalil |
| Rahaf Al-Mubarak | Dana Maan |
| Amani Al-Murjan | Manar Mashal |
| Rania Al-Sabbagh | Zeinab Mohammed |
| Abrar Al-Shammari | Ali Rady |
| Fatema AL-Shawaf | Dania Ragab |
| Abdulaziz Al-Shawaf | Sandra Saad |
| Aya Al-Touky | Ahmed Shaker |
| Shaza Al-Wattar | Hossein Shirazi |
| Farah Bossakhar | Basmah Tebe |
| Emannoel Cabildo | Maymoonah Toubeh |
| Abdulrahman Dashti | Jessie Trago |
| Rana El-Zoheiry | Rita Yamout |
| Zahraa Hamadi | Marjan Ziaei Nafchi |
| Ahmad Hasan |
College of Business & Economics
| Laila Abdel Jaber | Khaleefah Al-Sabah |
| Noha Abou Omar | Noora Al-Subaiei |
| Mohammed Akbar | Fatemeh Ebrahimi |
| Sawsan Al-Ajmi | Nouran El Sayed |
| Bibi Al Behbehani | Shahad Farhanian |
| Rawan Al-Dabt | Mohamad Adel Hatahet |
| Afnan Al-Daqqaq | Masswo Issi |
| Rahaf Al-Ghazi | Karima Juma |
| Aisha Al-Hunaidi | Heba Khalil |
| Yousef Al-Jenai | DongYeon Koo |
| Huda Al-Kotob | Sara Lubbad |
| Abdulwahab Al-Meshari | Haleema Mahmood |
| Maisaa Al Musalam | Sophia Massouh |
| Maryam Al-Nassar | Maryam Mofied |
| Razan Al-Obaid | Ahmed Mohamed Tawfik |
| Abdullah Al Qattan | Noof Mohana |
| Nasser Al Roshoud | Donya Ramadan |
| Mohammad Al Sabah | Farah Shimi |
| Jaber Al-Sabah | Rana Youssef |
Released by the Office of Public Affairs on the 13th January 2015
Photography by the Office of Public Affairs (C) 2015
The Department of Music and Drama at the American University of Kuwait (AUK) held a Faculty Piano Recital by Dr. Stephanie Cheng, a Steinway Artist from New York. The concert was held at the AUK Auditorium, where more than 250 guests attended, including HH the Ambassador of Poland and HH the Ambassador of South Korea.
The concert featured a variety of works created by legendary composers, such as Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, among others. "Her playing was beautiful and touching, in particularly The Ballade, by my favorite Polish composer Chopin!," said HH the Polish Ambassador, Mr. Grzegorz Olszak. Dr. David Miller, Assistant Professor of Music at Gulf University for Science & Technology (GUST), also attended the event. He described Dr. Cheng's playing as "a beautiful flow of expression."
Being a Steinway Artist puts Dr. Cheng in the same club as some of today's popular musicians who are known to play pianos built by Steinway & Sons, like Harry Connick Jr. and Diana Krall. She became a member of the faculty of The Department of Music & Drama at AUK in 2012. Before coming to Kuwait, Dr. Cheng performed extensively in the U.S., France, Italy, Japan, and Taiwan and gained great critical acclaim for her performances. Her solo and collaborative engagements have given her opportunities to perform at some of the world's major music settings including Carnegie Hall in New York, National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., National Concert Hall of Taipei, and Opera City Hall of Tokyo.
The Department of Music and Drama offers a wide range of opportunities for both beginning and advanced students within the context of a liberal arts education. The Music and Drama faculty of talented professionals work closely with students to prepare them for campus concerts and plays, and to academically challenge them in courses on performing arts. The department fosters artistic proficiency, cultural appreciation, a sense of community, and a lifelong commitment to the arts.
Released by the Office of Public Affairs on the 23rd December 2014
Photography by the Office of Public Affairs (C) 2014
Dr. Cheng performing
The Center for Continuing Education at the American University of Kuwait is launching its first homegrown Leadership & Supervisory Skills Certificate Program, under the title: "Emerging Leaders" Certificate Program. The program will be offered to the public for the first time starting Spring Semester 2015.
The program has been developed in early 2014 and is offered exclusively for corporations on a customized basis. During the past few months, CCE worked with their program instructors and program development coordinators to create a "fit for purpose program" to accommodate the developmental needs for all middle management professionals in any industry.
In this transformational program participants will study 8 modules throughout the course. The program will start with an introductory model on leadership and will proceed to cover areas such as: Communication in the Workplace, Building and Leading High Performance Teams, Conflict Resolution, Exceptional Customer Care, Creative Problem Solving, Motivational Leadership, Achieving Successful Results, Human Intelligences and Wellbeing and Carving the Leader Within.
Instructions will be delivered at the American University of Kuwait by Dr. Amar A Behbehani, holder of a Ph.D. from Florida State University [FSU], who will focus on developing the leadership skills of the individual within and Dr. Stacey Al-Ghawas, holder of a PHD from University of California at Santa Barbara, will work on developing the technical and management skills required from a leader in the business environment.
Participants will receive a Professional Certificate upon completion of this program from the Center for Continuing Education at American University of Kuwait.
The participants can enroll in the program either from the 18th to the 22nd of January 2015 from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm or from the 25th of January to the 9th of February 2015 from 4:00 pm to 7:30 pm. With an option for early registration discount and group discounts when registering before 23rd Dec. 2014.
For more information on the program, please visit www.auk.edu.kw/cce/cce_main.jsp
About CCE:
The Center for Continuing Education strives to deliver quality learning and development programs and services through a diverse team of AUK professors and instructors with extensive experience in order to positively impact Kuwait professional society.
CCE offers a range of internationally certified professional development programs in Leadership, Business and Management, Technology and Personal Development, including the option to fully customize Business and Leadership programs to meet the needs of the corporate sector. CCE also offers an array of short workshops specifically tailored for working professionals, on subjects such as communication skills, problem-solving, conflict resolution, teamwork, critical thinking, and leadership, organization and time management. In addition to a series of Teacher's workshops and a certified TESOL program.
Aside from Business and General academic English courses, CCE offers languages such as Arabic, French and Spanish, and exam preparation courses for IELTS, TOEFL and GMAT. Proctoring services are also available throughout the year for international exams, and for universities and examining bodies worldwide.
Released by the Office of Public Affairs on the 18th December 2014
Photography by the Office of Public Affairs (C) 2014
