Over 50 DWC students participate in Dubai Film Festival this year

More than 50 Applied Communications students at Dubai Women’s College (DWC) participated in the Dubai Film Festival that concluded last week. Their participation in this internationally prestigious festival was a good opportunity for them to get trained and interact with local and foreign cinema community.

Their presence also gave them the chance to get engaged in activities that go beyond the mere welcome of guests to include assignments of registration, information and organization of seminars. Such tasks earned them necessary skills and encouraged them to work as part of a team.

Dr. Hanan Hairab, Supervisor of  DWC Applied Communications’ Department, Dr Hanan Hayrab, said that the college students are participating on a voluntary basis in the Dubai Film Festival for the eighth year in a row.

Prior to the participation, a team from the festival visited DWC and briefed students on the goals of the festival since its inception.

The visitors also highlighted expectations from the volunteers. The visit provided a chance for interaction between the festival’s team, students and the college staff.

 More than 50 students registered for undertaking different assignments during the festival. The majority of the volunteers were first-year students, in addition to second, third and four-year students. The volunteers were trained at pre-festival workshops where they got instruction about how to do the job well.

Basheer al-Musawi, an Applied Communications year-1 student, was happy about her participation in the event, which she said would enhance her career development. “We felt a major motivation when His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai opened the festival and praised our voluntary work,” she added.

The festival’s delegation and the DWC faculty were keen to emphasize the volunteers’ mission, describing them as ambassadors who reflect the image of the Emirati women through their behaviour in this internationally renowned event.

“The students’ participation in the Dubai Film Festival is part of obligatory academic requirements, which underline the importance of the media students’ engagement in field work,” said Dr Hanan. “This participation is overseen by specialized teaching staff,” she added.

 “Dubai Film Festival has set high-calibre levels for participation,” said Dr. Hanan. “This is an incentive for media students to endeavour to develop creativity. Dubai Women’s College, by being keen to provide highly qualified graduates, is interested in combining theoretical and practical studies to present a successful academic formula,” she added.