Graduating student puts media education to work in Qatar’s growing digital industry

Working as social media specialist and conducting research on media usage in Qatar, Md Rezwan Al Islam is already translating his education into a full-time career as he prepares to graduate from Northwestern University in Qatar on May 9. 

Al Islam completed his coursework in NU-Q’s Media Industries and Technologies Program in June 2011, when he began working as a social media specialist at Fuego Digital Media, one of Canada’s leading internet application development companies, at their offices in Qatar Science & Technology Park. 

“The entire NU-Q educational experience, from screenwriting to digital production, has prepared me for this position,” said Al Islam. “NU-Q produces storytellers that are not only able to generate new content and ideas, but to also bring them to fruition; these are skills that can be applied to any job in any industry.” 

On the job, Al Islam crafts online communication strategies, helps develop mobile applications with advanced features such as “augmented reality” for elite organizations in Qatar, and shows clients how to take their website “to the next level” by integrating social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Al Islam described how he uses his NU-Q training to develop client pitches and communication strategies that tell a story and keep the audience and end user in mind. 

“Rezwan is a student that has made the most of what Northwestern has to offer in media education and hands-on experience, and we are extremely proud that he is now using his NU-Q degree to make his own contribution to the industry as a young professional.  I look forward to seeing what he and his fellow graduates accomplish as they go on to shape the future media landscape for Qatar and the region,” commented Dr. Everette E. Dennis, dean and CEO of Northwestern University in Qatar. 

In addition to his professional responsibilities, Al Islam is also currently engaged in research with a former professor at NU-Q on media consumption in Qatar.  Al Islam began the research endeavor with Susan Dun, a senior lecturer in the Communication Program at NU-Q, while he was interning at QF Radio and became curious about who was listening to the programs he produced.

When he discovered that there was very little data available on media consumption in Qatar, Al Islam delved into market research with Dun in the spring of 2011 to analyze Qatar’s media landscape. Their research was published at Middlesex University’s First International Conference on Business and the Social Sciences in Dubai in November 2011.  

“We discovered that although Doha has an active media scene both digital and print, there is still room for considerable growth, with various gaps and niches in the industry that are ripe for further development,” the senior Communication student said of their initial findings. 

Al Islam plans to address some of those gaps as he builds his experience in the field, and hopes to launch his own media ventures in the future. 

“I love the feel of the media and entertainment industries- there’s so much opportunity for innovation and creativity,” said Al Islam, “that’s why I transferred to Northwestern University as soon as they opened their campus in Qatar in 2008,” who had originally enrolled in a Computer Science program elsewhere at Education City. 

While studying at NU-Q, Al Islam also gained recognition as a promising young filmmaker in Qatar, after being selected for an exclusive seven-month training program through the Doha Film Institute in 2010 and winning the “Made in Qatar” award at the 2011 Doha Tribeca Film Festival with classmate Jassim Al-Rumaihi for their film “A Falcon, A Revolution.”