Read more: www.gulf-times.com/article/7158...

This year’s festival brought together 200 young creators from across Europe and Qatar, alongside two masterclasses led by award-winning filmmakers Jamillah van der Hulst and Conrad Alleblas, hosted in collaboration with Northwestern University in Qatar and VCU Arts Qatar.

We are also proud of Mahnoor Naveed, whose film Polio & Prejudice received an Honorable Mention.

Adding to the momentum, student-run publication NUQviews was on the ground, with five student journalists reporting firsthand from one of the world's leading education summits.
Read more: www.qatar.northwestern.edu/news/article...

Northwestern Qatar also contributed to the WISE podcast, with Associate Professor Sam Meekings hosting Professor Spencer Striker for a conversation on how Al is reshaping creativity, assessment, and learning in the liberal arts.

Associate Professor Wajdi Zaghouani contributed insights from his cross-cultural research in the panel "Can Al be Bilingual in Both Code and Culture?"

In "Truth, Trust, and Technology: The Future of Knowledge," Associate Professor Marc Owen Jones examined Al's impact on public trust and academic integrity.

Associate Dean for Education Venus Jin joined the Real Talk stage to explore how universities can embrace Al without losing sight of the human experience.

Read more about Northwestern Qatar's expanded engagement at MESA 2025:

www.qatar.northwestern.edu/news/article...

Northwestern Qatar's presence at MESA also extended to the MESA FilmFest, where alum Sashreek Gang's film DHARAMSHALA: The Little Lhasa, produced as part of his #IAS_NUQ Global Undergraduate Fellowship, was showcased in the festival leading up to the conference.

#IAS_NUQ also hosted a booth at the MESA Book Exhibit throughout the three-day event, highlighting recent #IAS_NUQ_Press publications and sharing details about upcoming fellowships and research opportunities.

The gathering featured a research roundtable with Arab media scholars discussing humanistic approaches to media studies, followed by a planning session outlining the society's next steps.

In parallel with the conference, the Society for Humanistic Arab Media Studies (SHAMS) held its inaugural meeting, led by Dean and CEO Marwan M. Kraidy and Marina Krikorian of #IAS_NUQ.

Their contributions spanned topics including digital media and security, historiography, colonial legacies, and gender representation.

Faculty members Zachary Wright, Joe Khalil, Sami Hermez, Dahlia El Zein, and Yasemin Celikkol, along with Chafic Najem and Sulafa Zidani of the @iasnuq.bsky.social scholarship across panels, roundtables, and workshops.

In parallel with the conference, the Society for Humanistic Arab Media Studies (SHAMS) held its inaugural meeting, led by Dean and CEO Marwan M. Kraidy and Marina Krikorian of #IAS_NUQ.

Their contributions spanned topics including digital media and security, historiography, colonial legacies, and gender representation.

Faculty members Zachary Wright, Joe Khalil, Sami Hermez, Dahlia El Zein, and Yasemin Celikkol, along with Chafic Najem and Sulafa Zidani of the @iasnuq.bsky.social, shared their scholarship across panels, roundtables, and workshops.