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Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q) unveiled Sunday a new exhibition that challenges visitors to reconsider how the Gulf’s future is envisioned, not as a predetermined outcome, but as an evolving landscape shaped by uncertainty, memory, and lived experience.**media[409240]**Titled What’s Between, Between? and on view to the public at NU-Q’s main exhibition space from January 26 to May 14, the show brings together works by more than 20 artists from across the region, combining new commissions, loaned pieces and digital works.Rather than offering a single definition of progress, the exhibition foregrounds voices often sidelined in dominant narratives, asking who defines the future and whose realities are left behind. Curated by Jack Thomas Taylor and Amal Zeyad Ali, the exhibition is structured around the Earth’s atmospheric layers, each representing social, cultural and economic pressures shaping life in the Gulf, from consumer culture and global trade to technological ambition and space exploration.**media[409241]**Salt runs through the exhibition as a unifying metaphor. Essential yet corrosive, ancient yet contemporary, it mirrors the Gulf’s contradictions and constant transformation, linking past survival practices to present environmental and technological challenges. Among the featured artists is Talal Najjar, whose work Index of Failed Gestures combines sculpture and animated film to imagine alien anthropologists encountering a post-human Earth.**media[409242]**In the fictional narrative, Najjar told 'Gulf Times' that everyday objects are misunderstood and mythologised – smartphones interpreted as “sacred mirrors” and shopping trolleys mistaken for vehicles. Najjar explained that the work explores mistranslation within anthropology itself, noting that even well-intentioned interpretations can distort meaning. “What we leave behind would most likely be misunderstood,” he said, adding a layer of humour to a deeply reflective concept.**media[409243]**Environmental loss and cultural erosion are central to Bahraini artist Sara Aradi’s The Water Is Gone Yet The Salt Remains. Her work addresses rising salinity, climate change and e-waste in the Gulf, juxtaposing traditional objects such as rosaries with obsolete technologies like BlackBerry phones.**media[409247]**Aradi said her aim was to raise awareness and prompt personal reflection, asking audiences what they can do differently, from consuming less technology to reconnecting with cultural identity. “What disappears from our hands doesn’t disappear from the planet,” she noted.**media[409244]**Saudi contemporary artist Faisal S al-Zahrani’s Salt Codes uses salt and 3D-printed forms to create a symbolic language that deliberately resists translation. In his work, he pointed out that salt becomes a metaphor for memory, transformation and survival, reclaiming regional narratives through intuition rather than imposed meaning.**media[409245]**Free to attend, 'What’s Between, Between?' encourages visitors to sit with complexity, between desert and metropolis, heritage and disruption, offering a thoughtful, human-centred perspective on the Gulf’s evolving future. 

Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q)’s student-led literary journal, Wisteria, has released its first limited-edition zine, a student-produced publication showcasing the creativity, collaboration, and cultural curiosity. The new issue, themed around summer and the return to school, introduces a unique, experimental format for Wisteria that blends literary expression with visual design and humour. Conceptualised and produced by journalism and communication students, Lina Jaafar and Alexander Khalyatyan, who served as both editors and designers, the zine embraces the spontaneous, do-it-yourself aesthetic characteristic of zine culture while upholding NU-Q’s tradition of intellectual and artistic rigour. “These student-led initiatives reflect the kind of creativity and curiosity we love to see at Northwestern Qatar,” said Marwan M Kraidy, dean and CEO of NU-Q. “Wisteria and other student-driven projects show how our students blend intellectual exploration with creative expression, developing the confidence and communication skills that allow them to share their ideas and engage meaningfully with the world.” The issue features contributions from 10 students and recent graduates, including poetry, travel writing, reflections, humour, and philosophical musings. A recurring theme throughout the collection is hope and resilience in the face of adversity, capturing how students use creative expression to make sense of complex emotions and experiences. Works featured include Verdigris Echoes by Nomin Erdenetsogt ’27, which explores the endurance of memory and transformation; A Reflection on Hope and/or Despair? by Sylvie Uwonkunda Dushime ’25, which contemplates the tension between optimism and struggle; and Dardacha by Lina Jaafar ’28, which celebrates the warmth of dialogue and storytelling within Arab culture. Faculty adviser, Sam Meekings, associate professor in residence, said the project is a reflection of the vibrant creativity that defines the student experience at NU-Q. “Zines celebrate the quirky, the vibrant, the unique, and the irreverent, as well as the joys of homemade creativity—and that also describes our NU-Q students,” said Meekings. “Their work in creating, editing, and producing this zine issue demonstrates the many forms creativity can take and highlights the range and intensity of our community’s artistic passions.”

Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q) has appointed Refqa Abu-Remaileh, Sarah Kaskas, Lila Hassan, and Shakeeb Asrar to its expanding faculty, further strengthening the university’s profile in journalism, film, literature, and investigative reporting.With diverse experiences spanning academic research and professional practice, the new faculty bring fresh perspectives that will enrich teaching, research, creative scholarship, and student learning across programmes, a statement said.“I am proud to welcome another stellar faculty cohort to Northwestern Qatar,” said Marwan M Kraidy, dean and CEO. “Their appointments bolster our great faculty, strengthening our academic programmes and enriching the intellectual life of our community, while also advancing knowledge production about the world in ways that reflect our core values of excellence, community, collaboration, and sustainability.”Abu-Remaileh, who joins as associate professor in residence in the Liberal Arts Programme, is a leading scholar of modern Arabic literature and Palestinian cultural production. Author of the award-winning Country of Words: A Transnational Atlas for Palestinian Literature and former principal investigator of the European Research Council–funded PalREAD project, her courses and research will focus on Arab literature and culture in regional and transnational contexts, opening new entry points into the digital humanities and cross-cultural approaches to literature and film.Kaskas, assistant professor in residence in the Communication Programme, is an award-winning filmmaker, Emmy-nominated producer, and educator. Her films, which have screened at international festivals including Tribeca and the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, explore resilience and the lived experiences of marginalised communities in Lebanon. With a focus on socially engaged cinema, she brings distinctive expertise in film as both a creative medium and a critical tool for examining inequities and advancing cultural dialogue.Hassan joins the Journalism and Strategic Communication Programme as assistant professor in residence. Hassan is an investigative journalist whose reporting has appeared in The Washington Post, The Guardian, FRONTLINE, and ProPublica. Recognised with top industry honours, including a Pulitzer Prize, a George Polk Award, and a Peabody, she adds world-class investigative reporting expertise to the growing journalism faculty.Asrar, a NU-Q alum, also joins the Journalism and Strategic Communication Programme as an assistant professor in residence. With professional experience at Al Jazeera English, Jigsaw Productions in New York, and award-winning documentary projects, he is the latest addition to the community of faculty who combine academic training with frontline media experience.“These appointments reflect the richness of Northwestern Qatar’s academic community and our commitment to advancing excellence across disciplines,” said Zachary Wright, professor and associate dean for faculty affairs. “The expertise Professors Abu-Remaileh, Hassan, Kaskas, and Asrar bring will enhance classroom learning and open new avenues for scholarship and collaboration that extend beyond our campus.”With these additions, NU-Q further consolidates its position as home to one of the highest concentrations of scholars dedicated to the study of Arab media and culture. As the university expands its faculty body, it continues to enrich its intellectual life while contributing to global conversations on media, storytelling, and cultural expression, the statement added.

Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q) has been recognised with two Telly Awards for a video produced by its Production and Digital Media Services department in support of the university’s Executive Education Programme.The video was recognised in two categories: a “Non-Broadcast Video for an Educational Institution” and a “Craft Award for Editing”, with the latter acknowledging the work of production support specialist Haidar Helmi.The Telly Awards honour excellence in video and television across all screens and receive more than 13,000 entries annually from around the world.Winners are selected by a judging council of more than 250 industry experts from production companies, advertising agencies, and major networks, including Adobe, Netflix, and Meta Creative Shop.Past winners include organisations such as the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa), National Geographic, and the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.NU-Q dean and chief executive Marwan M Kraidy said that the recognition reflects the commitment and talent of the university’s staff.“The creative and technical skills of our production team may not always be visible, but they are essential to our academic mission and to the experience we offer students, faculty, and partners,” he said.For Production and Digital Media Services director Rami al-Badry, the recognition highlights the collaborative spirit that drives the department’s work.“Every project we take on is built on close collaboration with colleagues across the university,” he said.“This video is one example of how our team works hand in hand with academic and administrative units to translate ideas into high-quality productions,” al-Badry added. “Having that work recognised is a proud moment, because it shows what we can accomplish together in support of the academic mission.”The Executive Education programme at the NU-Q offers advanced training in communication, media, and leadership to professionals in the region.With these awards, the NU-Q is recognised among a wide range of global institutions and organisations for its high-quality digital and media production, a statement added.

Dr Wajdi Zaghouani, an associate professor at Northwestern University in Qatar, a Qatar Foundation partner university — defines AI ‘hallucination ‘ as the production of information that appears to be true but is, in fact, false or fabricated. “Imagine it as someone confidently telling you a story that seems believable, but the events of that story are completely wrong. I’ve seen some fascinating cases in my research,” he explained. One common example is when AI systems generate fake academic citations; they create paper titles that sound legitimate, with realistic author and journal names, but the papers don’t exist. “During my work in Arabic Natural Language Processing, I came across systems that generate fake Arabic proverbs which sound authentic, but have no basis in the culture. They capture the linguistic style perfectly, yet produce entirely fictional cultural content,” he noted. It’s a perspective that raises critical questions about AI systems. What if the machine is making mistakes? Why should we avoid involving it in big decisions? Who holds responsibility for these mistakes? Does it feel pressure as humans do? Does it avoid saying “I don’t know?”, or is it simply drowning in an endless flood of data? Reflecting on what lies behind AI errors, and how they can be addressed, Dr Zaghouani says: “Unfortunately, large language models like ChatGPT or Claude are essentially very sophisticated pattern-matching machines. They learn from massive amounts of text and become good at predicting which word should come next in a sentence. “But they don’t actually ‘know’ facts the way we do. When an AI system generates a fake name or an incorrect fact, it’s because the patterns in its training data suggest that’s what should come next. “AI is excellent for general knowledge questions, creative tasks, writing assistance, planning trips, and explaining concepts – basically, anything where you can easily verify the answer or where being slightly wrong isn’t catastrophic.” So how can we benefit from AI without being deceived by its results? “Users should be wary of facts provided without cited sources, especially dates, numbers, or quotes,” explains Dr Zaghouani. “They should also watch out for information that seems too convenient or perfectly fits what they want to hear. If they are researching something controversial and AI provides exactly the evidence they were hoping for, they should double-check it.” Essentially, users of AI systems should be wary of taking the answers they receive from them for granted or considering them beyond question; and take care when gathering information through AI, as the issue extends beyond ethics to the realm of more serious consequences. But is there a way to stop these AI hallucinations? Or are they now a fact of life? “This is the million-dollar question in our field right now,” is Dr Zaghouani’s response. “Complete elimination of them is extremely challenging, because hallucination stems from the fundamental way these models work. They are probabilistic systems that generate the most likely next word, not knowledge databases that look up facts. “However, we’re making significant progress. Techniques like retrieval-augmented generation, in which AI searches a database of verified information before answering, can help dramatically. We’re also developing better training methods and ways to teach models to say “I don’t know” more often, rather than guessing confidently.”

This fall, as Northwestern University in Qatar begins its 18th year, I find myself reflecting on the remarkable journey that has brought us here. Eighteen years may not sound like much in the life of a university, but for us, it marks nearly two decades of building a community, shaping stories, and making a home for Northwestern in the heart of Doha and the Global South. To be leading NU-Q at this stage, as we look ahead to even greater achievements, is a privilege I carry with gratitude and excitement.The start of a new academic year is always special. It is a time of renewal, when classrooms, offices, and hallways are infused with fresh energy, and when the promise of what lies ahead seems limitless. Renewal is not about starting from scratch; it is about strengthening what already exists and extending its impact. For us, it means recommitting to our core values of excellence, community, collaboration, and sustainability while embracing the opportunities of a fast-changing world.This year, that sense of renewal is embodied in the arrival of the Class of 2029. They are one of the largest, most international, and most dynamic groups of new and transfer students we have welcomed. Their voices and ambitions make our campus more vibrant, more global, and more hopeful. Watching them find their place at NU-Q reminds me why we are here: because education transforms lives, and because the future takes shape in the minds of our students.As we near 20 years in Qatar, NU-Q continues to grow, adapt, and make its mark. Our story is about continually renewing ourselves to meet the future with confidence. That is our legacy—and our promise.