Dubai, May 8th, 2011. The Spring 2011 semester was concluded at The American University in Dubai (AUD) with a denotation of creativity unleashing promising professionals-to-be via AUD's Senior Showcases of its diverse academic departments and schools; i.e. Visual Communication (VC) and Interior Design (ID) Departments, and the School of Engineering, respectively.

The VC Senior Showcase, to begin with, comprised two exhibitions: 'Expository Banter,' curated by Ms. Dina Faour, and Mr. Raymond Prucher, both Assistant Professors of Advertising (Creative) at AUD, and 'No More Insecurity, ' catered to by Ms. Julia Townsend,  AUD's Associate Professor of Visual Communication, and Mr. Roberto Lopardo, AUD's Assistant Professor of Photography.

Expository Banter was a one-night event with 26 students exhibiting to jurors and to the public in the following categories: Advertising, Graphic Design and Studio Art. Jurors gave their feedback on the quality of work presented in the student exhibitors' portfolios, the design of the portfolios, visual quality of the presentations and the students' oral presentation skills. Students who partook in the exhibition, (as per the category they each represented), were: Dinoop Sivaraj, Faisal Al Qemzi, Maria Muzaffar, Maya ElChammas, Nausheen Bakhsh, Reem Hawa, Sabrina Belletti and Manolia d'Souza (for Advertising); Dania Hassan, Hala Saleh, Hebatallah Othman, Hind Al Nafisi, Huda Yaqub, Mashal Khan, Mohammad AlShunnar, Mohamed Kotait, Mohammad Zelli, Sara Al Haddad and Tariq Abdallah (for Graphic Design); Amina Al Tamimi, Ahmed Bouholaigah, Dalal Habib, Hengameh Najarbashi, Nasim Bahraini and Nasser AlSabah (for Studio Art); and Marina Lukiyanchuk (for Photography).

In regards to 'No More Insecurity' exhibition; it featured works by 14 senior students, including photography, painting, illustration, sculpture, installation, design, and video. Participating students explored a range of personal and universal themes, from family life to the experience of war. On display were a children's book, a graphic novel, mixed-media paintings, and more. Student exhibitors included: Sara Al Haddad, Amina Al-Tamimi, Farah Alizade, Aya Atoui, Nasim Bahraini, Ahmed Bouholaigah, Nargis Dhirani, Manal Elias, Danya Hassan, Hengameh Najarbashy, Michelle Peric, Hala Saleh, Sami Sasso, and Mohammad Zelli.

The Interior Design (ID) Annual Senior Students' Showcase followed and was analogous to a graduation ceremony as it sets the seal on the graduating students' four-year academic journey. The graduating students' final projects embroidered the University's academic buildings, whilst senior students simultaneously conducted a series of verbal and visual presentations about their projects followed by a cross-examination by designers from the professional and academic ranks. Projects and presentations of merit were further evaluated and a shortlist of prize winners was prepared for the concluding section of an intensive day.

The prize-giving ceremony ensued, and the opportunity was taken to acknowledge the contributions made by various personalities, associated with the ID Department. It preceded a presentation of certificates issued to senior students who achieved the standard of design work that had long-established the reputation of the Department as a centre of excellence in the region and further afield. Finally, the Senior Showcase Award winners were announced, in reverse order, and the last announced, the best in show award, was met with an explosive mix of congratulations, admiration and sheer pleasure. The proud winners were named as follows: Galina Bogdanova bagged the 1st place, whereas Farzaneh Ramchahi Eslami came in 2nd place, with a tie between Farah Faheem and Yasmeen Kilani for 3rd place.

Moreover, graduating students of AUD's School of Engineering had their share of presenting and discussing their projects by way of the Senior Design Presentation Day the School organized. The event consisted of two sessions: the first for the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and the second for the Department of Civil Engineering. Twenty undergraduate students, all set to earn their Bachelor's next month, presented their work in front of AUD faculty, students, family, friends and personnel of leading companies. This year the Senior Design Presentation Day was organized in collaboration with AUD's Career Services Office. Several governmental organizations and multinational companies, such as DEWA, Rubenius, and Horizon, to name a few, were invited to attend the presentation day in order to connect with AUD Engineering Senior students and AUD faculty.

The undergraduate students from the School of Engineering displayed work par excellence. The Senior Design presentations for Electrical and Computer Engineering included Programmable Water Curtain and Real-time Detection, Tracking and Reaction to Moving Objects at High Speeds. The former project was to design, implement and test a programmable water curtain that displays words and/or pictures within streams of falling water. The project encompassed several Engineering disciplines including Mechanical, Electrical and Computer Engineering.  The latter project was to design, implement and test a real-time detection and tracking system of fast moving objects based on a video stream, and a laser pointing system to react/defend against the threat.

The Civil Engineering students designed a hypothetical commercial facility and redesign an intersection on Sheikh Zayed Road to support increased traffic.  The project was distributed among 3 teams, and each team had to focus on the design of different structures, assuming that each structure will be independently located on the site and that future development will incorporate additional elements. The teams had to coordinate the locations for each of the facilities - a 12-floor hotel with double-height ground floor, a conference center and an indoor sports center.

-Ends-

About AUD
The American University in Dubai (AUD) is a private, non-sectarian institution of higher learning founded in 1995. It serves UAE nationals and international students who seek world-class career-oriented education. AUD, as an international institution of higher education, encourages global understanding by providing an atmosphere of cultural diversity and opportunities for an international education.

AUD is accredited by the Commission on Colleges (COC) of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) to award Bachelor's and Master's degrees.   

AUD is officially licensed by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research of the United Arab Emirates. The Ministry has accredited the university's programs in Architecture, Business Administration (both undergraduate and graduate), Communication and Information Studies, Engineering, Information Technology, Visual Communication and Interior Design, in addition to a Certificate in Middle Eastern Studies program.

AUD holds an Agent's License issued by the District of Columbia Education Licensure Commission (Washington, DC, USA), and is approved to operate by the State of Georgia Nonpublic Postsecondary Education Commission (NPEC).

AUD has received specialized accreditation for its Bachelor's of Business Administration (B.B.A.), and Master's of Business Administration (M.B.A.) degree programs in business through the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE). The university's undergraduate concentrations in Marketing Communications and Advertising (Creative) have been accredited by the International Advertising Association (IAA) in New York.

All programs (i.e., Civil, Computer, and Electrical Engineering) of AUD's School of Engineering are accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET. The Bachelor of Information Technology (B.I.T.) program is accredited by the Computing Accreditation Commission of ABET.

For more information, please visit www.aud.edu.

For your inquiries, please contact
Ms. Rim Ibrahim
Marketing Communications Coordinator
American University in Dubai
T. +971 4 3183 139
E. ribrahim@aud.edu

© Press Release 2011