A documentary on pearl diving, an article on underreporting of rape, a film on Palestinian identity, and a research paper on effects of cancer on family dynamics were some of the various student works that received awards at the 2017 Media and Research Awards organized by Northwestern University in Qatar.

The fifth installment of the annual event that celebrates NU-Q students’ work took place Thursday night at a grand ceremony at the HBKU Student Center. Journalism and communication majors’ nominees excelled in showcasing their work and presenting it in front of the judges, faculty, staff, fellow students and guests.

“Some people may not think that the Media and Research Awards are a big deal but I think that they are because they empower and encourage us to continue to be proud of ourselves and our work, as well as always giving us a bigger goal to work towards,” said Amna Al Baker, a communication junior whose article on conforming to society’s expectation won the Creative Writing category. “I’m just really happy and excited that something I put a lot of time, effort and a lot of emotion into was recognized and respected this much.”

With a total of 36 nominees, this year witnessed the highest number of submissions across 10 different categories, which included film, multimedia, journalism, research, and more. Prior to the ceremony, all the nominees presented their work at a special showcase organized at the Student Center cinema. NU-Q classes were cancelled on Thursday afternoon so the community could attend the showcase.

The submissions were judged by professionals from various related organizations, including Al Jazeera, Thomson Reuters, Doha Film Institute, Resolution Films, Qatar National Research Fund and Qatar National Library. The judges were in attendance at the ceremony.

This year’s celebration also included guests from Northwestern’s main campus in Evanston, including students, staff and faculty who are visiting Doha for the Spring Break in Qatar program and are also reporting for a journalism course titled “Millennials at the Crossroads of the Middle East.”

“I was glad to finally see all students, faculty and staff at one occasion. What made it even better was the fact that we had guests from Evanston from two different programs,” said Jemina Legaspi, president of the Northwestern University in Qatar Student Union and winner of the Independent Image category. “This year’s Media and Research Awards was organized by Student Affairs, which made me feel like it was an initiative from the university to recognize the hard work of our students.”

In previous years, the award ceremony was largely organized by the Student Union with support from Student Affairs.

The Media and Research Awards ceremony has expanded every year since it started in 2013, but some students had hoped for a larger turn out this year.     

“It was a really nice event, well hosted and organized, but I really wished that more people showed up because the place was half empty and I also felt that the food was wasted,” said Ghadir Abdulrahman, a freshman student at NU-Q. “I was very upset and disappointed that even the showcase was half empty.”

Nevertheless, students seemed excited for the opportunity to have their work recognized.

“It’s always great to be in an environment that loves, supports and appreciates other people’s work. NU-Q is a great example of that and I felt inspired by a lot of the work that was showcased today,” said Hissa Al Mannai, winner of the Fiction category.

The complete list of nominees and winners is below:

Creative Writing
Amna Al Baker for Chromosomes (winner)
Basmah Kamran Azmi for Brick-Walled Prison
Urooj Kamran Azmi for Fault Lines
Sheikha Bahzad for Found
Jawaher AlMoawdah for Mother Knows Best

Documentary
Maryam Al Thani, Sheikha Bahzad for Al-Ghwasa – Pearl Diving (winner)
Rumana Shaikh, Wajeeha Malik, Nayab Malik for Children of Yemen
Noof Al-Sulaiti, Urooj Azmi for Outdated
Shuhan Zhang, Lindsay Jiajun Liu for The Two
Usama Alony Hamed for Mathaf Bu Lahdan (Mathaf Al Thakira)

Fiction
Suleima AlHaj Abed, Hissa Al Mannai, Noura Ibrahim for Mkhammar (winner)
Sana Al-Ansari, Noof Al-Sulaiti, Abdulla Kamal for Cut Off
Bushra Salhi, Yassine Ouahrani, Amina Niksic for OCDania

Independent Image
Muhammad Faizan Shakir, Jemina Legaspi for Somewhere, Sometime (winner)
Zaki Hussain, Amal Ali, Habibah Abass for 9956
Shakeeb Asrar, Urooj Kamran Azmi for Convict of 302

Independent Writing
Sara Zainel for Peregrine (winner)
Jueun Choi for Despite Student Concerns, EC Tap Water is Safe to Drink
Habibah Abass for Living with Depression and Anxiety
Shakeeb Asrar and Urooj Kamran Azmi for On Death Row in Pakistan

Journalistic Writing
Habibah Abass and Ifath Arwah Sayed for Underreported Crime: Rape (winner)
Neha Rashid for “Shh…we’re dating”
Anzish Mirza for Queens of Layering
Jueun Choi for When Interfaith “Dialogue” Doesn’t Go So Well

Multimedia
Urooj Kamran Azmi for Graphics Corner (winner)
Shakeeb Asrar for Summiting Kilimanjaro (Interactive Journalism)

News Package
Lolwa Al Thani for Breastfeeding in Qatar (winner)
Sara Al Ansari for Dhow Tradition
Shakeeb Asrar for Divvy Bikes Come to Evanston
Aamer Hassan for Magnificent Century

Research: Humanities
Shakeeb Asrar for Evolution in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia (winner)
Aamer Hassan for Islam and the Shaping of African History
Maram Al-Qershi, Muhammad Faizan Shakir for The Emergence of Alternative Media in Yemen

Research: Social Sciences
Muhammad Faizan Shakir for Effects of Childhood Cancer on Siblings and their Coping Mechanisms (winner)
Amanda Melhem for The Anomaly That is the United States of America
Hamza Alony Hamed for The U.S. Senate Race 2016: Arizona – John McCain