NU-Q students Zaki Hussein
Doha: As the Class of 2018 at the Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q) prepares to celebrate their academic achievements today, some graduating students find it exciting as the role of a media professionals is important now more than ever.
The graduating class of 61 graduating students will receive bachelor of science degrees from NU-Q, and they represent 18 nationalities, including Australia, China, Germany, India, Sudan, Syria, the United States and Yemen. “It is an exciting time to be a media graduate. With a rapidly changing media landscape, the job of a media professional is important now more than ever. With the tangible and intangible skills that I honed in these four years, I look forward to shed some light on stories about minority voices that may be drowned by the influx of media content,” Zaki Hussein, a graduate this year with a Major in Communication told The Peninsula.
Zaki also says that the knowledge that he gained through undergraduate studies will contribute back to his home, Singapore, by teaching and also producing meaningful content for the region.
Referring to reaching the end of the journey at NU-Q he says, “NU-Q encourages me to pay it forward. Therefore, I am set to go home and contribute back to my country’s growing media landscape. That being said, I will definitely miss NU-Q as it played an integral role in my personal and professional growth. It’s pretty bitter sweet.”
Neha Rashid, another student, from Pakistan and graduating this year with a major in Journalism and Strategic Communication Program says that the landscape of the media sector when she first came to NU-Q and now is vastly different. “There is now more transparency, more growth, more creativity and an even more desire to tell stories through different platforms than ever before … and all of this is just in four years. The media landscape is still very young which means that, entering it now, there is much room for us to continue being a part of this growth by bringing in our different expertise and trying new things. Personally, my interest is in writing and I want to be able to use that skill to tell stories and create content that is necessary to be heard; whether I do this as a journalist or in strategic communications,” she added.
While Noof Al Sulaiti, a Qatari student graduating with a major in Communication, says she aims at making films to inform the world more about Qatar and its people. “I believe NU-Q gave me the tools and skills to make films that will become global and inform other countries about our film industry and capabilities in the media sector and potentially leading to growth in the media sector, in terms of more students wanting to learn about media and increase in development of films and content,” said Noof.
“I also want to be able to teach others about the importance of media and film, I want to spread the knowledge and skills of telling stories through a lens,” she added.
In addition to their majors in either journalism or communication, several students also had minors in Middle East studies and theatre, and several others earned certificates in Middle East studies and strategic communication will be graduating from the NU-Q today.
