Sharjah, Wednesday, May 23, 2012--A total of eight students from American University of Sharjah (AUS) were the recipients of the prestigious Habib Awards at a special ceremony held at the Sharjah Higher Colleges of Technology campus recently. The trophy awards were presented by His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research and the Chancellor of the Higher Colleges of Technology.

"It was great to have participated in the award, and to see the work of other competitors," said Nadia Eldemerdash, who won first place in the Journalism Category. "It's great to have your work acknowledged. It's also an experience to do something competitive and to work towards more than just a grade. It's important to remember that the whole point of media is to influence the community around you."

The Habib Al Redha Awards for Media Innovation is an initiative of the family of the late Habib Al Redha, a pioneer in the field of media. Recognizing final year students majoring in media and mass communication at colleges and universities in the UAE, the award aims to encourage and sponsor creative students in communication and media in the various universities and colleges of the United Arab Emirates. The Habib Award also aims to encourage creative competitiveness among students to elevate the standard of media graduates in the UAE and teach them the best practices in the region and worldwide. In this year's competition, a total of 462 projects were assessed by 50 judges in two rounds

 "A Lebanese sound artist called Tarek Atoui made an event where he collected artists from around the world and gave them old recordings of Arabic music to interpret it themselves. We filmed the whole performance and made it into a documentary," said Deena Stevens, a multimedia design student whose documentary entitled Revisiting Tarab, came second in the Documentary Category. Stevens produced the documentary along with her team-mates Naima Abdelwahed and Samar Idris, both visual communication majors.

"My documentary, A Symphony of Letters, was showcased at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival 2011 and I was encouraged by my friends and professor to apply to the Habib Award and submit my documentary again. My film was about Arabic calligraphy and its value for us, how it has changed and how young Arabs use calligraphy to express their sense of identity and fashion, jewelry, design and architecture," said Alanoud Ali, a mass communication student who won third prize for her film.

Visual communication Student Tayma Bittard won second place in the Graphic Design Category, while multimedia design student Yasmeen Salehi won third place. In the Animation Category, multimedia design student Bissan Mustafa won second place alongside her group member Tayma Bittard. In the short film category, multimedia student Omnia ElAfifi won first place, with multimedia design student Sarah Zohair winning third place.

About AUS
American University of Sharjah (AUS) was founded in 1997 by His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qassimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah. The university was envisaged by His Highness as a leading educational institution in the Gulf region. Located in University City, Sharjah, AUS is a not-for-profit, independent, institution of higher education formed on the American model.

It offers 25 majors and 52 minors at the undergraduate level, and 14 master's degrees through the College of Architecture, Art and Design; the College of Arts and Sciences; the College of Engineering; and the School of Business and Management. These programs are designed to meet the challenges of a competitive and dynamic business and industrial environment.

As a provider of quality higher education in the Gulf, AUS is accredited in the USA by the Department of Education of the State of Delaware. It is accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. AUS is also accredited by the UAE Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, and all undergraduate and graduate programs are recognized by the ministry. All six of the bachelor's degree programs in the AUS College of Engineering are accredited by ABET, http://www.abet.org, of the United States. The Bachelor of Architecture program of the College of Architecture, Art and Design is accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) of the United States. The Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) as well as the Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) degrees offered by the School of Business and Management are accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).

For more information, please contact:
Miriam Kiwan
Director of Strategic Communications and Media
+971 6 515 1040
mkiwan@aus.edu

Nazzal Yousef
Director of Media Relations
+971 6 515 2157
nyousuf@aus.edu

© Press Release 2012