Student Team Members Also Collect Three Individual Debate Awards

Three members of the Khalifa University Debate Club won the Best Delegation Award for their excellent overall performance at the first American University of Sharjah Model Congress (AUSMC) 2018, which was held on 15-17 November in Sharjah. A total of 20 teams and 273 delegates participated in the congress.

Nawar Allabban, Debate Club President and BSc in Mechanical Engineering student received the Best Delegation Award on behalf of the University. Additionally, Allabban won the Distinguished Delegate Award in the Senate Committee on Intelligence, while BSc in Mechanical Engineering student Hassan Elsheikh won the Outstanding Delegate Award in the Senate Committee on Finance. Industrial Engineering student Tala Assaf won the Outstanding
Delegate Award in the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Dr. Robert Pech, Debate Club Advisor, and Assistant Professor of Humanities and Social Sciences, was the faculty guide for the students. Their participation was organized by the Student Services Department.

Allabban said: “The competition gave me the opportunity to meet people from different backgrounds. It was an honor to represent Khalifa University at such a competitive challenge, and I am looking forward to being a part of the upcoming events.”

The first of its kind in the world, AUSMC seeks to bring the vibrant and dynamic workings of the US Congress to university and high school students. The student participants were able to test their debating and negotiation skills in a wide variety of situations and scenarios modelled
around the US Congress.

Elsheikh said “My experience at AUSMC gave me insight into how complicated matters such as passing legislation and enacting laws are done in one of the world’s most complex political systems. It was a great honor to be awarded the Outstanding Delegate Award in my committee
and the experience as a whole was incredible!”

For Assaf, it was a thrilling and informative conference. She said: “From the US Constitutional law to the bills written to find a cohesive solution, the AUS Model Congress was an inclusive platform. I enjoyed every moment and learnt a lot. I also realized that what we say and how we
say it, could have the most profound impact on others. That adage will resonate with me forever.”

The Khalifa University Debate Club members are now looking forward to participating in the AUS Model United Nations Conference next year.

Clarence Michael
News Writer
25 November 2018 

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Students Demonstrate Public Speaking Skills, Culinary Talent and Expertise in Jewelry Designing

Khalifa University Chemical Engineering student Hamda Ali Alblooshi, junior Electrical Engineering student Buthaina AlKhayat, another Electrical Engineering student Khadeeja Khaled Hashem Mohamed Aljaberi and Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISYE) student Ahoud Abdulrahman Mohamed A. Alhashmi, as well as Aamna Hasan Almansoori have successfully proved their talents and won honors for the university at the 11^th edition of Emirates Skills National Competition 2019.

Alblooshi won ‘Silver’ and AlKhayat received ‘Gold’ in Public Speaking, while Aljaberi bagged a ‘Bronze’ in ‘Electronics’ at the crowded Emirates Skills 2019 competition that gave each talented individual an opportunity to outshine their peers. ‘Bronze’ winner Alhashmi proved her skills by becoming one of only six competitors shortlisted from nearly 40 applicants after individual culinary skills were tested in a cook-off challenge prior to the national competition. Aamna Hasan Almansoori won ‘Silver’ in Creative Arts and Fashion – ‘Jewelry’ category in WorldSkills-Abu Dhabi.

Faculty played a major role in developing student skills. It was Assistant Professor Dr. Nader Ayish, Department of English, who introduced the competition to Alblooshi and encouraged her to participate.

Alblooshi viewed the opportunity as both a learning experience and a challenge as she was still working on her public speaking skills. She said: “I arrived at the competition not knowing what to expect but still excited to perform and tried my best.”

As the days of the competition went by, Alblooshi learned a lot from her peers and mentors. She added: “Winning ‘Silver’ helped me to become more confident about my skill but also showed me that I have room to grow and learn. However, it was a great experience and I recommend this to everyone.”

AlKhayat promised herself that she would be 100% committed and would give it all, even though she realized she would miss a couple of labs and exams. But she went ahead all the same.

She said: “I did not set any expectations as to how good the other contestants would be because, to me, I was challenging myself and experiencing something new.”

She added that the contestants were definitely skilled and that was when she understood she had to bring in some uniqueness to her speeches. “That got me my ‘Gold’ medal which is the first step to achieve higher levels of confidence to develop my public speaking skills even more,” remarked a cheerful AlKhayat.

AlKhayat was guided by Dr Ayish, Assistant Professor Dr. Asli Hassan, and Senior Lecturer Dr. John Langille, all from Department of English.

Participating in WorldsSkills at Emirates Skills 2019 was an eye-opener for Aljaberi, who won ‘Bronze’ as she learned to work under extreme stress, pushed herself hard, and never giving up. “In the ‘Electronics-WorldsSkills EmiratesSkills’ category, students were tested in their electrical design, hardware and software skills,” she said.

On the third day, she and her partner were programming a vending machine that has its own database of users and credit information. She added: “It was definitely a real challenge, but I am grateful for the experience and happy about the medal. I am looking forward to get trained more to qualify for the WorldSkills AsiaSkills-Electronics category.”

Winning over others in culinary skills calls for professionalism and tackling several factors. In Alhashmi’s case, she never had any professional culinary experience or training, while other contestants were extremely skilled and passionate about cooking. However, she found the challenge hard for a different reason – because her category was sponsored by Emaar Hospitality which has very high standards for judging performances and even accepting contestants.

Once she was shortlisted, it was different, Alhashmi said and added: “I found it pleasant mostly because the relationship with other contestants was based on fair competition, mutual respect and similar interests.”

“The National competition in itself was a fertile soil for networking and meeting other people with a large spectrum of skills and possible project partners,” she added.

Almansoori began planning about competing in WorldSkills EmiratesSkills ‘Jewelry’ category even during her vacation. She said: “Jewelry design requires precision and I would like to be precise and perfect in everything I do. I know I have won, but in all honesty, it would not have really mattered if I didn’t, because finishing the competition with the most satisfying results mattered more to me than winning.”

Explaining how the whole experience also taught her patience, Almansoori added: “Waiting for my work to finish and waiting for the results, was quite nerve-wracking at first but I eventually learned to wait patiently. Even though my teammates and I were competing together, it didn’t impact our relationship, and we have become friends.”

Overall, Khalifa University students Alkhayat and Alblooshi won in the ‘National’ category from Abu Dhabi, while Alhashmi, Aljaberi and Almansoori were acknowledged in the WorldsSkills EmiratesSkills category.

A total of 114 Emirati youths were honored with gold, silver and bronze medals after the event in which 402 Emiratis had the opportunity to highlight their capabilities in 49 engineering, technological, technical and industrial areas, such as Artificial Intelligence, drone design, AutoCAD drawing, web design, aircraft and car engine maintenance, computer-assisted manufacturing, welding, fashion technology, robots and garden design.

Clarence Michael
News Writer
29 April 2019

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