Some eight students from Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q) have made their faculty’s inaugural visit to the university’s Evanston campus in the United States.
The trip was an opportunity for the first-year students in Communication and Journalism programmes, selected from NU-Q’s inaugural Class of 2012, to sample the academic and student life of their peers and to learn more about the university and its traditions, while being ambassadors for NU-Q.
Journalism student Zainab Sultan said: “The trip was a good initiative to let us experience the life at the main campus and allow the Evanston students to learn and understand what the Qatar campus is all about. It was like visiting your roots and gaining some understanding of what you really are a part of. To learn the history of your university and look at its traditions closely was an enriching experience.”
Zainab added that attending classes in Evanston helped her understand that even though the campuses are miles apart the questions and learning graph of the students were quite similar.
Another student in the communication programme, Lolwa al-Jefairi said: “The trip made me think more about my academic life… to be more productive and to think critically. It also motivated me to be involved in other activities outside the classroom and to be an effective member in the society. It was also an important opportunity to share knowledge and bridge two different cultures.”
An NU-Q member of staff commented on the importance of the visit for both campuses. “We wanted our students to gain a real sense of the institution they belong to, and to be able to engage and invest themselves in that identity more fully. We are confident that NU-Q will benefit greatly from their experiences and insights. At the same time, our students helped their peers in Evanston to learn more about the Qatar campus, which will benefit Northwestern University as a whole”, she said.
Based on the success of the trip, NU-Q is considering making it an annual programme. |
