Media Department students present graduation project on Expo 2023

Doha, Qatar: A group of students from the Department of Mass Communication of Qatar University have presented their graduation project on Expo 2023 Doha. The project included field reports on the Expo prepared by the graduating students.

The students developed their print and online journalism graduation projects in the form of printed and electronic newspapers.

The graduation project titled “Expona 2023” was supervised by Assistant Professor of Media at Qatar University and Editor-in-Chief of The Peninsula newspaper Dr. Khalid Al-Shafi.

The project was discussed by Dr. Khalid Al-Shafi, Professor Dr. Kamal Hamidou, Associate Professor Dr. Mohamed Elamin Musa, and Lecturer Dr. Mohammed Siddiq from the Department of Mass Communication, QU.

FROM LEFT: Students Faisal Al Qahtani, Abdul Rahman Al Obaidli, Suhail Al Hadidi, Issa Balanki, and Ahmed Al Kubaisi presenting their graduation project, the newspaper and its website (seen in the background). Pics: Salim Matramkot/The Peninsula

The editorial team of the project included students Suhail Al Hadidi, Ahmed Al Kubaisi, Abdul Rahman Al Obaidli, Faisal Al Qahtani and Issa Balanki. They presented the project to the faculty on November 28.

Presenting their graduation project, the students discussed their selection of "Expona" as the title of their project and the experiences they obtained during their visits to Expo 2023 Doha and The Peninsula newspaper.

Student Faisal Al Qahtani said: “The graduation project for me and my classmates is a newspaper on Expo 2023 Doha. There are two copies — a hard copy and a soft electronic copy.”

He said the topic of the project was selected in line with a giant international horticultural event, the Expo 2023 Doha, which is going on in Qatar, the second largest event after the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.

Cover page of the newspaper

Given the importance of the event, we discussed with project supervisor to select Expo 2023 for our graduation project and got approval.

Since the project supervisor is also Editor-in-Chief of The Peninsula, we got opportunities to access the headquarters of the newspaper where we received the necessary support to carry out our project, he said.

Student Abdul Rahman Al Obaidli said: “Horticultural Expo 2023 Doha, Qatar which is being held in Doha under the theme “Green Desert, Better Environment”, aims to inspire and inform guests and the international community about innovative solutions to mitigate desertification.

He said the theme has been found to inspire the international community to explore and adopt innovative solutions to mitigate desertification.

“The event focuses on modern agriculture, technology and innovation, environmental awareness, and sustainability,” said Al Obaidli.

The discussing on the graduation project began with opening remarks by Dr. Khalid Al-Shafi in which he stressed the importance of the project.

He also appreciated the students' efforts for preparing a unique graduation project.

Students with project supervisor, Assistant Professor of Media Dr. Khalid Al-Shafi.

The professors lauded the project's coordination between QU Department of Mass Communication and The Peninsula newspaper, a leading media outlet.

They also lauded the various aspects of the project in term of selecting a very important and relevant topic to educate the community about the importance of preserving environment and sustainability for climate change.

The professors suggested some minor changes to improve design of the newspaper for better outlook, while appreciating efforts by the supervisor and students for presenting a distinguished project.

Dr. Mohammed Siddiq said the graduation project is an integrated project that meets all the aspects covered by the exhibition, and the coverage meets all journalistic requirements.

He said the students were able to conduct press reports in the required manner and provided reports that met the media reporting requirements that must be met in all press reports, whether in print or digital newspapers.

“Implementing the project and completing it in the manner in which it was presented for discussion indicates that the students had understood the requirements for writing journalistic projects and were able to implement it as required, also benefiting from the distinguished supervision of Dr. Khalid Al-Shafi,” said Dr. Siddiq.

He said the project’s production was generally good, with some simple technical observations that can be avoided in the future, adding that the distribution of photos, topics, and choice of font was appropriate.

Dr. Mohammed Siddiq said: “The project is interesting and excellent in general. To improve further, I would like to suggest to make some changes like a bigger font for page numbers and bold headlines to make it more visible and prominent.”

He also suggested use of more graphics, sub headlines and pictures to further improve the display of the publication.

“My suggestions are related to design of the newspaper which could not take more than a few minutes to improve. However, you did a great job. Thanks for your efforts and time,” said Dr. Siddiq.

Associate Professor Dr. Mohamed Elamin Musa said the topic of the graduation project is very important in a way that the Expo 2023 runs for six months, and this newspaper could be used during the event.

“Visitors to the Expo can benefit from this project which covers all the necessary details about the event.”

He suggested that on the last page it should be mentioned that the newspaper was prepared as a graduation project supervised by Dr. Khalid Al-Shafi and with the support of The Peninsula newspaper.

Assistant Professor Dr. Mohamed Elfateh Hamdi (right) and lecturer Chaker Ayadi reading the newspaper prepared by the students.

Dr. Musa also suggested some minor changes to the design for a better display.

Dr. Mohamed Elamin Musa said the "Expona 2023" graduation project is one of the most distinguished graduation projects, as it chose an exceptional global event hosted by Doha for six months.

“The students of Mass Communication Department at QU have made a significant effort, under the supervision of Dr. Khalid Al-Shafi, in completing this promising media project, which resulted in a newspaper and a news website that contained various arts of news writing and editing, as well as an elegant design which is in harmony with the nature of the Expo,” said Dr. Musa.

He said one of the most prominent communication messages presented by this project is the importance of integration between academic media training institutions, represented by the Department of Mass Communication at QU, and the leading media institutions in Qatar, represented by The Peninsula newspaper.

“We hope that this project will be an initiative of cooperation and integration between the Department and Qatari media outlet, and that it will be an incentive for media students to enter journalism.”

Professor Dr. Kamal Hamidou said the graduation project was very important in a way that it provides a valuable document on Expo 2023 during the event and after it for those interested to know about this international horticultural event.

He said the students made great efforts in covering almost all aspects of this huge event which reflect in the newspaper in term of the number of stories and attractive subjects.

Speaking to The Peninsula, Dr. Hamidou lauded Dr. Khalid Al-Shafi’s efforts in supervising a comprehensive graduation project covering all aspects of the subject and facilitating students in doing their assignments including training and projects.

“We are very happy to witness the project through which we managed to create partnership between the Department of Mass Communication and The Peninsula, a leading Qatari media outlet,” said Dr. Hamidou.

For this project, he said, the students worked in an actual media environment within the editorial board of the newspaper and completed the project in a professional environment.

“They went to the field not as students, but almost as journalists working with The Peninsula to prepare the project on a new and important topic related to the Expo 2023,” said Dr. Hamidou.

Assistant Professor Dr. Mohamed Elfateh Hamdi said the students presented a very important graduation project in a professional way.

He said the hard copy of the project was presented in a very attractive way including articles, graphics and photographs covering all aspects of the Expo 2023. “Both the hard and soft versions of the project are excellent and meet professional standard. The topic of the project is also very important and relevant,” said Hamdi.

Assistant Professor from the Department of Mass Communication at Qatar University, Dr. Eiman Eissa said: “The graduation project Expona 2023 is a praiseworthy achievement because it combines academic theories and practical journalism.”

She said the project also helps strengthening the country’s efforts for Expo 2023. “Dr. Khalid Al-Shafi provided academic and professional guidance, which was transformed into a professional work consisting of a news website and a printed newspaper to provide purposeful and integrated press coverage characterised by professionalism and creativity,” said Dr. Eissa.

Aqsa Nori, a lecturer at the department, said the project presented a unique idea which distinguishes it from other graduation projects which were discussed recently at the university.

“The project reflects great efforts made by Dr. Khalid Al-Shafi as supervisor of this fantastic project and his students. I am impressed with articles of the newspaper and the display,” said Nori.

Chaker Ayadi, another lecturer, said the students presented a high level project in term of content and display. “The newspaper contains many articles on Expo 2023, meeting journalistic quality,” said Ayadi.