DIFF Day 3 - "The Future of Journalism"

The three day ‘Young Journalists Awards Open Workshop’ at Madinat Jumeirah concluded today, i.e. Friday, 11th December 2009. A part of the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF), these proved to be a wealth of knowledge for budding journalists.

The final session was a discussion on the emerging trends of journalism and how young journalists will have to adapt themselves to cater to the changing needs of their audiences. The session commenced with a brief explanation of the term blog and how the new media has developed to become one of the most important news sources these days. This trend has marked a shift in the reading habits of the audiences, especially because internet has become the most easily accessible medium. With the accessibility of internet on cell phones, the task of reading or adding of news can be done while on rounds. Therefore, these days while showcasing news stories is vital, the opinions and comments of various bloggers have become quite a common sight.

The speakers, Scott Macaulay and Colin Brown, briefed the audiences on the usage of blogs and gave valuable tips on good writing for the web. In addition to this, they also provided an insight into the industry and what are the needs of the audiences these days. As blogging has become common, there are various news sources available. Therefore, in such a situation it is imperative to promote our writing. Tips to promote our writing were also given by the speakers.

Mr. Scott Macaulay & Mr. Collin Brown

Mr. Scott mentioned that journalists today are challenged to come up with new and innovative ways to hold their audience because more and more people are interested in online videos than print. It has become extremely easy for people to upload videos, a good example being YouTube.

At the end, a question-answer session with the speakers gave the audience an opportunity to ask or clear queries pertaining to the present journalistic scenario. This gave the speakers a chance to talk more about the real world situations and what could be done about it.

Speakers addressing the audience

The workshops, which discussed different topics each day, proved to be advantageous particularly for the student body who had attended them. We got an idea as to how the industry works and not only in U.A.E. but also in the USA and UK. It gave us a much closer look at the industry we aspire to work with.

By Nafisa Zaki & Rabiya Sonde

DIFF Day 2 - "Film Criticism"

A reviewer writes for those who haven't seen the film, as a kind of consumer guide, and is usually concerned with value. The critic writes for those who have seen the film, as part of a critical dialogue, and is concerned with articulating the film's thematic concerns. Yes very true, the second day Open session based on “Film Criticism and writing reviews for movies was held on Thursday 10th December at 09h30-11h00 at DIFF Young Journalism Award.

The second day open session was again moderated by Mr. Collin Brown (CNBC Business/ Film Analyst) and Mr. Scott Macaulay (Filmmaker Magazine) along with the other 3 Panelists Mr. Peter Knegt (Indie WIRE), James Mottram (Evening Standard) and Miss Saba Siddiqi (Murdoch University Dubai).

Speakers at DIFF

Mr. Collin Brown along with the other speakers set the scene by explaining the difference between critics writing trade reviews for specific titles, and ‘pseudo reviewers’ expressing their views through personal columns, and explored issues relating to subjectivity and objectivity, with critics often working erratic hours and to tight deadlines. He advised aspiring writers to get inside the head of filmmakers, and evaluate films in their specific contexts, and building up good working relationships with publicists was vital.

Later on the discussion took turn towards the social media networking issues and the changing nature of the global market advertising which is vital for the branding of your content or website. Where as Mr. Peter quoted that he himself does not like twitting as it has no money involved in it but it’s the best way to promote the stories as well keep your jobs up.

About writing a review or criticizing a film Mr. James was of the view that a critique should go open minded to watch a film. He himself follows the pattern of writing notes while watching and advised all young journalists to do so. Along with this he tipped the audience about that how today is technology is working it’s very essential to be knowledge based as it can help you to get a job in any leading publications.

Panelists solving queries

Many queries regarding the threat of newspaper readership going down and how blogging online can be risky was solved at the end of the session. Being students from Print Specialization this was the one of the best session as we came to know the ups and downs of any job and how to tackle with these problems.

This discussion does not only broaden our horizons but also gave us the idea how technology is leading lives of many and how essential is to be knowledge based in today’s world.

By Unzeela Usman

DIFF to Mentor Young Journalists

The red carpet has been laid out, the big screen is ready and some of the leading stars will shine down. Dubai is all set to reel out the sixth edition of the Dubai International Film Festival today, December 9th 2009. The definitive film festival of the region, DIFF is officially open with celebrities in attendance at the Opening Gala of Nine, director Rob Marshall’s newest all-star musical.

DIFF recognizes the key role that the media plays within the film industry and in order to encourage journalism and media students to explore this as a possible career, in 2008 the festival launched the DIFF Young Journalist Award. The Department of Media and Communication proudly shared the achievement of Ms. Melissa Khan (Final Year – Visual Communication Specialization) who won the coveted Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) “Young Journalist Award 2008”. Following the success,  this year also Manipal University sent 3 students of print specialization team for DIFF Daily and few others for the workshop. DIFF Young Journalist Award consists of a series of open workshops as well as a mentoring programme for 10 selected UAE-based students.

Mr. Scott Macaulay(right) & Mr. Colin Brown(left) addressing the audience

Share knowledge, build skills and give room to apply acquired skills — that is the essence of the Dubai International Film Festival Young Journalist Award programme held this year in partnership with MBC Group. Building on the success of the event last year, the DIFF Young Journalist Award significantly enhances budding journalists' career development by providing students the opportunity to be mentored by subject experts and apply their skills in a realistic workplace setting.

This year's mentorship programme is led by Scott Macaulay, from Filmmaker Magazine and Producer, Forensic Films, and Colin Brown, formerly at Screen International and now at CNBC Business, who will provide specific and in-depth training to students nominated by UAE-based universities.

Audience lisening to seminar

The first session held on Wednesday 9th December at Madinat Jumeirah Conference Centre from 11h30-13h00 regarding “Covering a film Festival” in which Colin Brown and Scott Macauley provided journalists with an overview of the historical development of the film festival and the things that can be considered “news” when discussed in a festival context. In this seminar they intended to help writers attain the knowledge base needed to jump into film festival journalism. Following this the utilization of new techniques in the field of journalism were also discussed like blogging and film event coverage.

From start to end our personal experiences as print students was spectacular, we could see by the red carpet and excellently prepared interiors that DIFF showed much promise.

By Unzeela Usman

Book Review - The Twilight Saga - New Moon

New Moon is the sequel to Stephenie Meyer’s first novel -Twilight.  This novel works well enough as a stand alone but I think that you will get a better understanding of the story from reading it if you have read Twilight first.

New Moon is always going to be compared to Twilight and people who are expecting this novel to be essentially the same as Twilight may be disappointed.  Twilight had an almost dreamy, fairytale quality to the writing, which this story lacks.  The Cullen family of vampires are also absent from a large proportion of New Moon, and vampire fans may keenly feel their absence.

New Moon is narrated in first person by Bella and has an obvious parallel with Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and I mean obvious because even Bella recognises that she is in danger of playing out history’s greatest romantic tragedy.  I think keeping Romeo and Juliet in the forefront of the readers mind, actually helps the author build the tension for the climax of the story because we can all see the tragedy that is waiting to happen.

The pain that Bella feels when Edward abandons her is extremely well written and is really what this story is about.  Most of the things that happen to Bella in New Moon are as a result of the overwhelming loss that she is trying to bear.

For fantasy fans New Moon isn’t all about Bella and her emotional pain.  The rogue vampires Laurent and Victoria return to Forks. The Quileute werewolves are an exciting addition to the story and it will be interesting to see how this plot line is developed in the next novel in this series.

The book focuses on Bella as she tries to come to terms with the loss of her relationship with Edward, and how she finds strength in a new friendship with Jacob Black. Meyer manages to tie themes of relationship issues in with vampires and werewolves as seamlessly here as in the first book.Jacob was my favourite character – and when it became easy to see a love triangle developing I was definitely rooting for him!

The book moves along at a swift pace and sweeps you along with it to the extent that it becomes completely believable that these fantastical characters exist.

By Deepa Narwani

38th UAE National Day

The Constitution of the United Arab Emirates was written on December 2, 1971. The day saw  the rulers of the seven emirates stringing a thread through all the emirates to make it the united nation it is today. The United Arab Emirates (UAE), is a federation of - Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Qaiwain, Ras al-Khaimah and Fujairah. Thirty-eight years later, the nation takes a moment to reflect upon the hard work and perseverance that went into transforming the then arid land into the pride of the Middle East.

The UAE flags that flutter high across the nation on this joyous day represent the peace, strength, courage and hope of the Emirati people.

The Manipal Dubai Blog team pays its deepest respects to the United Arab Emirates, its leaders and its people on this glorious day. Here's wishing you all a Happy 38th UAE National Day!

Sand Under Our Feet

The 5th edition of the FIFA Beach World Cup came to an end on the 22nd of November 2009. The sands of Jumeriah had played host to an extravaganza of bare footed football on sand. This World Cup was unique as it was the first edition to be governed by FIFA. The Others were held under the title Beach Soccer World Championships. A fan zone with 5 a side football was held as well as other attractions such as "guess the number of balls and win the car". Samba domination in this years tournament continued as Brazil retained their crown.Brazil, won its fourth consecutive world title, was a class apart despite a brave and daring performance from the Swiss.

Buru, Betinho and Andre scored a brace each while Sidney, Benjamin, Bueno and Daniel Souza were also on the score sheet. Dejan Stankovic, Mo Jaeggy, Michael Rodrigues, Stephan Meier and Angelo Schirinzi grabbed replied for the Swiss, who finished runners-up at the 2009 European Championships.

Brazil opened the scoring through Andre who beat Nico Jung in the Swiss goal with a superb overhead kick (these kicks are a trademark of the tournament). Betinho doubled the lead with a long-range bullet and Buru added a third a while later. 

 The Swiss managed to pull one back through skipper Jaeggy, but Brazil restored its three-goal cushion before the first break when Souza poked the ball past the Swiss keeper with seconds remaining. To rub salt in their wounds. Switzerland had a goal ruled out as the referee decreed the goal was not in time. Buru scored his second with a powerful shot from a distance and Brazil captain Benjamin made it 6-1 from a free-kick before Andre and Betinho scored a piece after the break.

The third and final session witnessed end-to-end football with both sides employing Napolean's ideology of "Attack Being the best form of defence". The Swiss managed to rattle the net with Meier beating substitute goalkeeper Alessandro with a volley.

Brazil hit back when Sidney converted a penalty, but the Swiss did muster a third goal with a shot by Rodrigues from 10 metres. Brazil keeper Alessandro was forced to pick the ball out of his won net for the third time in the session when Schirinzi headed home following a neat build up with Leu.

Stankovic's header at the end following a corner was the final goal for the Men from The Alps, Brazil's Bueno's thunderbolt of a free-hit gave substitute Swiss goalie Valentin Jaeggy no chance as Brazil pounded in another goal. Portugal skipper Madjer led from the front. 

In the third-place play-off, Portugal demolished Uruguay 14-7. It was deja vu for the Portuguese, as they finished third last year as well in Marseille, France

 By Keegan Pereira

 

DIAC celebrates UAE National Day

Dubai International Academic City celebrated the 38th UAE National Day on the 24th and 25th of November, 2009. The DIAC campus was decked in the robes of a colorful fair in a bid to enliven and highlight the importance of this day. National day themed stalls were set across the campus drawing a large number of students towards it.

A musical touch was added to the event with nationals singing and dancing away to the best Arabic tunes, another aspect to the country’s rich heritage. It surely was a sight to see students as well as teachers matching steps on this ethnic day.

Henna stalls offering conventional Arabic designs were an additional attraction. A delight for all foodies as they could indulge themselves in traditional Arabic food and sweets freshly made and served. Stalls offering attractive souvenirs ranging from bracelets to chains, batches and a lot more at reasonable costs was something one could purchase and add to their collection.With another year of efforts to join people and culture with the National Day as the benchmark, DIAC hopes to send across the message of peace and prosperity among one and all. 

Here are a few snaps of DIAC in all its patriotic festivity. 

Celebrating 38 years of  the UAE

National Day themed stalls 

 

Boards with information about the nation were put up all over DIAC

Keeping the rich Arab culture alive

Students choosing from an array of souveniers

Stalls and  other attractions dot the DIAC grounds

By Mrudvi Bakshi
Photos by Megna Kalvani

Eid Al Adha Greetings

Eid Al-Adha is the Festival of Sacrifice. It falls on the takes place on the tenth day of the Islamic month Dhul-Hijjah and lasts for three days. It takes place one day after Hajj is conducted and can last upto three days depending on the nation. Basically, after Muslims descend Mount Arafat, once Hajj finishes at Mecca in Saudi, Eid is celebrated. It can be said that it is celebrated 70 days after Ramadan.

On the first morning of Eid-Al-Adha, The celebrations are grand as in everyone dresses in their finest while offering their prayers. Prayers are followed by visits with family and friends, and the exchange of greetings and gifts. Also, charity is given a lot of relevance and Takhbir is said out aloud on the first day of Eid (before the prayer) as well as on the remaining four days after prayers.

During the celebration of Eid al-Adha, Muslims commemorate and remember Abraham's trials, by themselves slaughtering an animal such as a sheep, camel, or goat. This action is very often misunderstood by those outside the faith. The sacrifice can be seen as a prayer where the animal being sacrificed is given to the poor as charity. Normally a part of that meat is also kept by the family. It isn’t an ordinary sacrifice either as certain verses are also recited during the sacrifice. It is a very happy time which is marked by special prayers, visits to family and friends, gifts to children and, of course by food.

On this joyous occasion, we the Manipal University blog team would like to wish you a very prosperous and sacred Eid-Al-Adha.

By Shravani Chatterjee

 

No time for afterburners

The Dubai Airshow returned to the UAE last week. Taking place between the 15th and 19th of November, the event brought traffic, both on the road and in the air, to a standstill for the greater part of the afternoons.

The airshow was held at the Dubai Airport Expo, in vicinity of the Emirates headquarters. There was a fair amount of excitement amongst aircraft as the F22 Raptor, currently the world’s best fighter plane, made its debut in the Middle East.

Frecce Tricolori- Italy's finest

There’s no sight quite like that of a Raptor buzzing by the Burj Al Arab. Also among the debutantes was the Frecce Tricolori (Italian, literally Tricolour Arrows), officially known as the 313 Gruppo Addestramento Acrobatico. It is the aerobatic demonstration team of the Italian Air Force. They wowed viewers with acrobatic maneuvers and colored smoke depicting the Italian flag. The Patrouille de France, the Frecce Tricolori’s French counterpart made a return this year. They were given the honour of starting the aerial display everyday for the duration of the event.

 The A380 - The Graceful Giant

 

Sadly, Dubai Airshow regulars Red Arrows were not present this time. The A380 was present, and its flight display was noted by some to be as graceful as a whale in the sea. The world’s largest plane seemed at home at the airshow. Sporting the Airbus colors, it managed to hold it’s own against Lockheed-Martin’s sleek fighters.

Wowing viewers with acrobats

Although they may have been slightly overshadowed by the more flashy displays, the Eurofighter (Created jointly by France, Germany and Sweden, the air superiority fighter is Europe’s most popular military aircraft), Eurocopter and the US Air force’s E3 Sentry AWACS also enjoyed a fair bit of publicity. The F16 Desert Falcon (a modified version of the vanilla F16 to suit local conditions), long touted as the pride of the UAE military, was also on display.

By Zaheen Hussain

 

November 26 is UAE Anti-Obesity Day

VLCC, Middle East’s premier scientific slimming, beauty and preventive healthcare brand, is taking efforts  to put up a united fight against the surge of obesity in UAE. With the help of health authorities, VLCC has designated November 26 as the Anti Obesity Day.

 The world health organisation considers obesity as a major public health problem. An obese person is not merely fat but is a person juggling with serious health problems. 

The U.A.E has one of the highest rates of obesity in the world. According to statistics released by the World Health Organisation, the UAE has been ranked 18th in the list of countries that have the most number of overweight and obese people. The statistics also show that 33.7 percent of adults in the UAE are obese and 19.5 percent of them suffer from diabetes. 

VLCC has also given importance to another issue related to obesity. The ‘Discrimination against the obese’ campaign seeks to change people’s discriminatory attitudes towards the obese.  On 24th November 2009 VLCC had held a special panel discussion where speakers from various disciplines and experts in the field of obesity and weight management shared their perspectives, experiences and comments on discrimination against the obese.

This Anti-Obesity Day seeks to increase the awareness about obesity and what it can lead to, amongst the people of U.A.E. Campaigns like these can help change the lifestyle of people, making the UAE a healthier environment to live in.

By Khadija Ashraf

 

My Experience with IBDA’A

It was exactly three days before the IBDA’A week that I received a phone call, where I was told that I had to move into the hotel apartments. I was shocked and ecstatic at the same time and before I knew it, on the 15th of November, 2009, I was moving into the Grand Midwest Hotel Apartments in Jebel Ali.

By the next morning, 33 out of the 36 shortlisted students were enjoying a delicious buffet breakfast in a spacious dining area in the hotel. Four other students (including myself) were from the U.A.E whilst the rest came from around the world- Singapore, Philippines, Lebanon, India, Pakistan, Egypt etc.At 9:30 there was a gigantic tour bus waiting outside, as all of us excitedly crowded around Noel, the pleasant and patient man who would be our tour guide for the day. We were going to see all of Dubai.We travelled all around the city, making our first stop at the Museum in Bur Dubai and then headed towards one of the oldest Mosques in Jumeirah where everyone stopped to take loads of pictures. Dubai Mall and Dubai Marina were next on the list, topping it off with the beautiful Atlantis that took everyone’s breath away. We were told that we would be one of the last lucky people to see Sammy the shark, as she is finally being released into the wilderness again, where she rightfully belongs, thanks to a Facebook group that petitioned for it. At around 7 we were extremely exhausted and hogging dinner at our hotel again. The food was exceptionally good and consisted of everything from Indian to Oriental. The day ended with a movie at Ibn Batuta Mall with some popcorn to go with.

DAY TWO of IBDA’A started at 9 30 again, as we all made our way to Media City. For most of the students who had never been to Dubai before, Media City was delightful, just seeing the huge names surrounding them on the buildings was an experience by itself. We visited CNBC, where we got to take a tour and see the studio and its workings. Soon after, we got to meet and greet the judges who had evaluated our work and shortlisted us. It was thrilling and nerve wracking all the same, but we topped it off with a nice lunch and received our certificates for being finalists. Part two of the day was a Desert Safari, which was what most of the other students looked forward to as they had never been on one before. There was dune bashing, belly and folk dancing and lots of good food.We made our way home by 10 and prepared for the next day, which was going to be more hectic than ever.

DAY THREE of IBDA’A was a new instalment in the IBDA’A programme as it had never been done before. It was a cruise in the Dubai Marina and boy, were we looking forward to it! There were water activities, music and a BBQ all on the boat. The best part perhaps for me, was lounging on the deck and getting to know all the other contestants. After the cruise, we visited Dubai Media City once again where all the shortlisted students got to see each other’s work at a special exhibition. One of my most proud moments was seeing my work displayed along with the other extremely professional projects. Soon after we had to head to the Amphitheatre for a rehearsal of the Gala Dinner which was the next day. Here we practiced our walk to the stage if we won, and what to do and what not to do. Once everything was finalized, everyone headed back to their hotel rooms to get ready for the big day!

The FINAL DAY of IBDA’A was perhaps the most amazing one! The gala dinner was set to start at 8:00pm, and our limousines- a gift from the IBDA’A Steering Committee Heads, arrived at 6 to take us to the event, help us get press coverage and run through some final details. Soon we were walking in a group to the reception area, where more than 500 guests had already gathered. We took pictures on the red carpet with professional photographers, and captured some of the fondest memories we could ever have.

The Award Ceremony started with the National Anthem and a brief on the IBDA’A awards and what the event would entail. Without any further delay, the chief guests were called on stage to hand out the awards, and one by one the winners were announced. It happened too quickly, and none of us who had won, really expected to win. I guess the experience was more than enough. Pictures were taken of all the winners, once everything was over and all the awards were handed out. The press surrounded all of the winners, as we had coverage from Zee TV, Business 24x7 and other popular news outlets. The night ended with dinner and a blackberry competition where 6 lucky people from the audience won blackberry phones.

IBDA’A was one of the best things to ever happen to me. I am honoured to have won an internship with CNN and look forward to working with them. I want to thank everyone who supported me.

 By Stacey Victoria Pinto

Manipal wins at IBDA’A Student Awards 2009

The awards ceremony for the eighth Ibda'a Student Awards, hosted by Dubai Media City (DMC) was held on the 19th of November 2009 at the DMC amphitheatre.A glitzy gala dinner honoring creative flair declared the winners of 12 media categories from over 24,000 submissions on a global level, including 170 entries from the U.A.E. Senior government officials and representatives of leading media organizations and academic institutions were among those that attended the event, recognizing outstanding media talent.

The shortlisted candidates for the Ibda’a Awards from overseas were flown to Dubai, where they joined the UAE-based finalists at the grand Midwest Express Hotel Apartments in Discovery Gardens, Dubai. There were immersed in activities which included an exhibition showcasing their works.

The winners were selected by an elite panel of 20 judges from the International Advertising Association (IAA). The competition aims to recognize the best submissions in various categories including Journalism (non-news), Radio Feature, Animation, Graphic Design, Analogue Photography, Digital Photography, Print Advertising, TV Advertising, Film TV Feature, Film TV Documentary and Mobile Film.

The winners were granted internship opportunities with leading media organizations such as Arabian Radio Network (ARN), Xische, Team Y&R, Motivate Publishing, Nikon, Saatchi & Saatchi, Leo Burnett, CNBC Arabia, CNN and MBC.

 The finalists for the twelve categories

Following is the list of winners in the respective categories:

1. Journalism (non-news) - Stacey Pinto, Manipal University, UAE

2. Radio feature - Serman August Serra, Philippines

3. Animation - Sanjay Jangir, India

4. Graphic design - Purva Bakalkar, India

5. Analogue photography - Mohamad Amin Davaei, Iran

6. Digital photography - Reza Milani, Iran

7. Print advertising - Neha Katkar, India

8. TV advertising - Thabit Al Mawaly, UAE

9. Film TV feature - Rangoli Agarwal, India

10. TV documentary - Amir Masoud Hosseini, Iran

11. Mobile film - Naeema Amjad Pakistan

The award for the 'Best UAE Project' from submissions of the UAE-based university students was presented to Afra Bin Dhaher for her outstanding entry in Digital Photography category. Additionally, Brash FZ LLC awarded an internship to Fatima Obaid from the UAE for her creative submission. 

The Ibda'a Student Awards has established itself as an important platform showcasing young media capabilities to industry professionals thereby helping promote a remarkable interaction between the too.

By Sonya Mathias

Public Relations Summit gains Momentum

The PR Measurement Summit 2009 took place on the 23rd and 24th of November at the Habtoor Grand Resort and Spa, Dubai. The event was organized by News Group International, the holding company for Media Watch, Salience and Media Source among others.

The summit, now in its third year, attracts leading public relations and communications experts from around the world. The event focused on the methods of evaluating the success of public affairs and government PR in the region, with a view to introducing the latest concepts, methodologies and technologies needed to measure campaigns effectively. 

This grand event was attended by the 2nd year students of Manipal University, Dubai. The students were exposed to various panel discussions regarding the measurement in Public Relations with governments and also PR in social networking. The summit was also attended by the CEO’s of various PR companies around the Middle East.

"The PR summit was an eye opening experience, it showed us how PR works in the real world and the challenges facing the industry." said Kevin Sebastian, a second year media student from Manipal University.

The three-day event included a full day workshop for industry professionals who were involved in simulated analyses and actual case studies.  The summit recognized and honored those in the PR industry who have already taken the lead in establishing measurement as an integral part of their PR practice.

By Aneesha Sudhir

ISG AL Habtoor Interior Design Student Challenge - INDEX 2009‏

The Annual INDEX Interior Design Student Challenge for the year 2009 was hosted by ISG Al Habtoor, a premier in the Construction and Design Industry at the Interior Design Expo (INDEX), held at Dubai International Convention Center (World Trade Center) from the 14th to the 17th of November 2009.

Display of work at the Convention Center

The Interior Design Department – Manipal Universit Dubai Campus, was invited to display their students’ work for the prestigious event. The main idea of ISG Al Habtoor was to focus a search on young flair and talent, in the students fraternity in UAE.

Display of the work done by the students of the Interior Design Department

The ISG AL Habtoor Interior Design Student Challenge 2009 was primarily aimed at bringing the students of various universities together to work on a series of projects during the course of the four day event. The universities that participated in the esteemed projects are as follows

· Manipal University  Dubai Campus

· Abu Dhabi University

· American University of Sharjah

· Preston University – Ajman

· Ajman University of Science and Technology

· Zayed University

The Bachelor of Arts – Interior Design students participated in the various competitions that were held by ISG Al Habtoor.

Farseena Farook won the 1st place in the Integrated Dining Table and Seating

· Deepa Venkatraman of the 3rd year B.A.I.D program won the 1st place in the Portable Temporary Office Desk category.

· Farseena Farook of the 3rd year B.A.I.D program won the 1st place in the Integrated Dining Table and Seating only from plywood category.

· Priyank Ladhawala of the 3rd year B.A.I.D program won the 1st place in the Relaxation Furniture for an Autistic Child category.

All in all it was a great experience from which the students gained immense knowledge and an exposure to the industry.

Courtesy Dept. of Interior Design

Manipal’s Ibda’a 2009 Nominee

Ibda’a Awards, the global media awards for students was launched in the year 2001 under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

An initiation of Dubai Media City in alliance with the International Advertising Association, its aim is to appreciate young media talent from all around the world.

This year participating students could send in entries in any 12 categories which are Journalism, Radio Feature, Animation, Graphic Design, Analogue Photography, Digital Photography, Print Advertising, TV Advertising, TV Documentary, Film/ TV Feature, Mobile Film and Digital Design.

The winner of each category will not only get to meet top notch media industry professionals but intern with them as well. In the last three years, Manipal University has seen a number of media students participating in this competition with two of them even making it to the final round. This year again, two of their students have been nominated in the category of Journalism (non-news).

In this issue we interview one of the nominees- a first year student, Nikita Arora from the Department of Media and Communication.

Q: How do you feel being selected amongst all the other participants?

A: I am extremely glad that I have managed to make my university and my professors proud. This feels surreal. I now hope I can make it to the final three.

Q: Can you tell us something about your article?

A: It is based on protecting the environment on an individualistic level.

Q: How strong do you think your chances are of getting the award home?

A: I right now am very nervous but I do know the competition is extremely tough so may the best one win.

The short listed participants will arrive at Media City on November 16, 2009 and the final results will be declared at a gala dinner arranged especially for Ibda’a participants on the 19 November, 2009. We wish this young nominee the very best and hope she continues to succeed in all her future endeavors.

By Disha Laungani

The World within a Store

Photo Credit: Google Images

Book World by Kinokuniya at The Dubai Mall

Stepping through the entrance, one cannot help but be in awe of this massive bookstore. And why not, with more than half a million titles and thousands of magazines under its roof, Book World by Kinokuniya at The Dubai Mall is the largest book store in Dubai. Covering an area of 68000sq.ft, rows and rows of neatly stacked books and magazines are all that the eye can see.

From New Arrivals and Best Sellers to Literature, Travel, Hobbies & Craft, Food & Drink and Performing Arts; you name it, they have it. There also is a stationary section and an art gallery showcasing little figurines of famous movie characters, which is quite interesting.

Stocking 29 different categories under English books/magazines and books in 6 languages (English, Arabic, German, Japanese, French and Chinese), it won’t be surprising if you do not know where to start from. The store is as good as a library and provides excellent resources for research purposes. There is a little gallery within the store where book connoisseurs can pick up a book and read to their hearts content.

A reader’s paradise? This is where it is!

By Rabiya Sonde

LSD through Rhythm

Pink Floyd was a progressive rock band formed in the 1960s rising to fame with their psychedelic rock music. They released their first studio album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, in 1967. They had decent measures of success with their following albums but, not until their sixth studio album did they catapult to fame.

The Dark Side of the Moon was released in 1973 and is amongst the most successful rock albums ever produced. It remained on the Billboard 200 for 741 weeks (14 years), the longest for any album in history. Each song in the album is a continuation of the previous track. The range of music on this one album really highlights the band’s amazing creativity. It contains a conventional rock track, in Money and then moves onto a soulful opera in The Great Gig in the Sky. Money has been the most commercially successful track of the album.

It is an album not to be over looked by any fan of the rock genre. It is one of the most unique albums ever made. It is not an album to be heard, it is one to be experienced. It is available in the U.A.E at all Virgin Megastore outlets for AED 110.

By Jeraz Pastakia

Manipal hosts the 2nd Annual India UAE Taekwondo Championship

The 2nd India UAE Taekwondo Championship was held in the Salahudin Club in Mamzar on November 6, 2009. Sponsored by Manipal University and co-sponsored by Round Table Pizza, this championship saw trained junior and sub-junior teams from both countries battle it out for the title.

The best of 23 fighters, between the ages of 6-15, were chosen from all over India and UAE, through national competitions. The UAE National Championship was held in February 2009.

Taekwondo can be translated to 'The art of Kicking and Punching' or 'the art of unarmed combat'. The sport has been founded in Korea and is one of the world’s most popular martial arts. Taekwondo philosophy represents the principles of the changes and movements in human beings. Taekwondo combines combat techniques, self-defense, sport, exercise, meditation and philosophy. Making its Olympic debut in 1988 Korea games and is now continued as an Olympic medal sport since 2000 in Australia games.

They were judged on the basis of three events - Individual tool, Group tool and the Sparring. Al three events were intensely competed for by both the teams. The UAE team walked away with 15 gold medals, thereby bagging the Championship title. The Indian team won themselves a proud 10 gold, settling at second place to the title.

Krishna Kumar, Manipal University's Facilities Manager said “Manipal is proud to be associated with sports events like these. Taekwondo is all about boosting confidence and helps one to practice self defense.”

The man who made the event possible, Saeed Alrahyi, a Taekwondo practitioner himself said, “Taekwondo helps in the all round development of the individual. This is our second tournament and we would love to participate in competitions in India as well as other countries.”

M. Abdurahiman, the instructor of the UAE team expressed his joy at having won the championship, "We’re proud to have reclaimed the title", said the beaming coach.

Coach Pradeep. J, who accompanied the Indian team, said "We are very happy to be here, representing India. The kids performed better than we expected". He thanked Manipal University and said he was enthusiastic about more events like these in the future.

Mrs Nidhi Sharma, a proud mother of two participating children said that it was "quite an opportunity for the children to be representing their country at such a young age."

The Indian team was flown in for the event on the 4th of November. The youngest member among the Indian team was nine year old Namya Shree who was accompanied by her elder sister, also a competition entrant.

By Blassy Boben and Zaheen Hussain

Convocation Captured

Brochure for the event

Procession of dignitaries and the faculty members

Dignitaries and the heads of the departments

Recitation of the Holy Quran

Audience and the staff members at the event

Enthused graduates of Manipal University

 

Mrs.Uma Prasad hosting the event

Dr.B.Ramjee addressing the gathering

Dr. Vinod Bhatt, Registrar (IP) & Executive Director (P) Manipal University, India congratulates the graduating batch of students

Dr. G.K.Prabhu, Registrar of Manipal University, India adresses the graduating students

Mr.Syed Salahuddin, MD ETA ASCON Group congratulates the students on their acheivement

Dr. Arif Rahman, Finance Director, ETA ASCON Group addresses the gathering

Dignitaries at the ceremony

Graduates listening intently to the address

The throng of graduates

Students stand as respective heads of the departments confer the degree

Special awards were distributed to students who excelled in academic and outstanding performances

Staff members at the event

Post graduate students with their certificates

Volunteers at the event