Doha, Qatar – July 16, 2018 –   Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q) students made presentations at Northwestern University’s annual Undergraduate Research and Arts Expo, with several winning awards. The expo is held annually on the University’s home campus.  

The Undergraduate Research and Arts Expo serves as a platform for Northwestern undergraduates to present their original research and creative work to the university’s community, with prizes for the best research poster, oral presentation, and creative arts entry. 

Neha Rashid and Ammar Younas received first place honors for their documentary, “Kiln,” and Zaki Hussein and Nouf Al-Sulaiti won third place for their short film “Terima Kasih.”

“The annual research expo held on our home campus is an opportunity for our students in Doha to participate in a university-wide event and to compete with students from across the university. One of many programs that students on the Doha campus have access to as Northwestern students, this reinforces the close collaboration between the two campuses,” said Everette E. Dennis, dean and CEO.

“Kiln” was part of an advanced documentary class at NU-Q and has been screened at film festivals in Pakistan and Italy. The documentary follows a Pakistani villager who takes a loan from a brick kiln owner, without realizing it would sentence him to a lifetime of bonded labor. “The film sheds light on the issues of bonded labor in Pakistan, and we were delighted to see how well it was received in Evanston,” said Rashid.

“Terima Kasih” depicts the struggles of a single mother and a schizophrenic daughter in their household in Singapore for one day, exposing the realities of living with someone who suffers from a mental illness and the challenges involved. The film received funding from the NU-Q student club Studio 20Q, which provides production grants to NU-Q students. 

In addition to the film screenings, NU-Q students Ifath Arwah and Jeun Choi presented their research on refugees in Malaysia, and Anzish Mirza presented her research on the power of political activism through street art by exploring the work of the world-famous street artist, Banksy.

This is the second year that NU-Q students have participated in Northwestern’s annual conference. Last year, Shakeeb Asrar and Jemina Legapsi were recognized for their research on the dramatization of news in Pakistan and on how the exploration science is perceived and understood by the public in Qatar.