Alumnus gives AJ Speaker Series speech at NU-Q

Jassim al-Rumaihi, a senior producer at Al Jazeera Arabic and an alumnus of Northwestern University in Qatar ( NU-Q), recently spoke to a room full of aspiring communication professionals, faculty, and staff at his alma mater.
NU-Q established a partnership with Al Jazeera in 2013 and has held the AJ Speaker Series each year, hosting several renowned media professionals from the network.
Al-Rumaihi spoke about his passion for journalism, which he said began at a young age when he was reporting from the sidelines on Al Gharafa football club’s activities.
Since joining Al Jazeera, al-Rumaihi has been sent as a correspondent to a number of countries, including Nepal to cover the 2014 earthquake, Tunisia to cover the parliamentary elections, and Saudi Arabia, where he reported on the war in Yemen.
“Several NU-Q students have pursued careers within the different entities under Al Jazeera, namely Jeem TV Channel and Al Jazeera English.
Speaking to some of the managers at the network on our students’ performance, we have been told that NU-Q students work harder and dig deeper for news stories, and that is really what sets them apart,” said Everette E Dennis, dean and CEO.
“Before joining NU-Q, I never dreamed I would speak in front of a live audience, let alone work at Al Jazeera as a producer and reporter.
However, thanks to the training and support I received at the university, I was skilled enough to apply for an opportunity to work with Al Jazeera. My filmmaking skills and understanding of new media helped me gain the trust of my managers at Al Jazeera,” al-Rumaihi told the group.
NU-Q Prof Khaled al-Hroub led an interactive session, which included a number of questions from faculty and students on a variety of topics surrounding al-Rumaihi’s experience and career as a journalist and documentary film producer.
When asked about the importance of developing presentation and leadership skills as a student and how he uses what he learned as a student in his current position, he recalled his first public speaking experience as a freshman at NU-Q, where he described himself as “shaky and not confident.”
However, over the years as a student, he said he gained the courage to provide a comprehensive presentation in front of his peers.
“It’s not easy, it takes practice and time, but the most important thing is to be confident. And, confidence is something I got a lot of help developing during my time at NU-Q,” he added.