ShareKUWAIT: The American University of Kuwait (AUK) signed a memorandum of understanding with LOYAC Academy of Performing Arts (LAPA) which permits AUK communication and media students to enroll in LAPA's Al-Jawhar program and earn up to nine credit hours towards their degree.
Al-Jawhar program is divided into three levels-level one consists of five media workshops; level two consists of practical training such as vocal coaching and the development of Arabic skills in which the student will be supervised by a well-known media figure for evaluation; and level three is a special topics course for selected students who passed the preceding levels, consisting of a field training program in CNN Arabic headquarters in Dubai for 30 days, a two-month podcast workshop in LOYAC/LAPA, and reporter trainee work in LOYAC/LAPA for a minimum of three months. It is through completing the third level that students earn an official certificate from LAPA stating the completion of a total of nine credit hours.
The signing ceremony took place with AUK executive vice president, Amal Al-Binali; the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Dr Ali Charara; the managing director and chairperson of LOYAC and LAPA, Fareah Al-Saqqaf; and TV producer and presenter, Rania Barghout, who serves as one of the industry experts supervising the students.
Dr Ali Charara highlighted the importance of this collaboration for students' experience at AUK, "Communication and media students can now expand their knowledge beyond the parameters of their course material. Through this memorandum, students will have the invaluable opportunity of learning from industry professionals and exploring different branches within their field. Not only will this enhance their media literacy proficiency, but it will also contribute to increasing their level of expertise and experience-making them assets within Kuwait's job market."
Commenting on the agreement, Saqqaf stated, "Our relationship with the American University of Kuwait is old and solid, based on cooperation and mutual respect since its foundation. With this agreement, the Al-Jawhar program becomes a practical project for the communications and media department at AUK, providing young people with more than 400 hours of practical training, which can be completed within one year or 18 months, thus turning students into qualified media personnel capable of managing their own program." This agreement is a testament to AUK's distinguished integration of liberal arts principles that allow its students to engage with their chosen fields both in theory and practice.
