In keeping with its aim of preparing students as change-makers through transformative education, Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) honored the winners of the annual Student Life Awards for outstanding contributions beyond academia during a ceremony on March 28. An initiative of HBKU’s Student Affairs, the awards aim to encourage students to be socially responsible through active involvement in community service and engagement, student leadership, and competitions. 

Reem Abdulla Al-Abduljabbar, Head of Student Engagement, presided over the awards event, which brought together HBKU’s leadership, including the college deans, faculty, and the student community. In keynote remarks, Dr. Michael J. Benedik, HBKU Provost, and Hanan Al-Thani, Associate Vice-President for Student Affairs, emphasized the importance of HBKU’s holistic education, shaping students as global citizens and offering unique opportunities to enrich their learning. 

Commenting on the initiative, Noor Al-Jassim, Development Director at HBKU, said: “The Student Life Awards align with HBKU’s efforts to nurture socially relevant values that benefit our students as individuals but also enrich the wider community. We are very proud and truly inspired by the achievements of our winners. We received outstanding nominations, demonstrating the caliber of students at HBKU, the tremendous resilience, and sense of social responsibility they continue to show, even amid recent challenges.”

The 2022 awards recognized significant and impactful achievements in all areas of student life, including exemplary leadership, on campus and in the community at large, and excellence in sport and scholarly events. The 11 winners each received a prize of QAR 5,000.

The Leadership Award was presented to two College of Islamic Studies (CIS) students, Sabika Shaban, for her efforts as founder of Qatar Disability Resource (QADR), and Laura Sani, for her role at events and lectures.

The Community Engagement Award was awarded to Randa AlYafie, College of Health and Life Sciences (CHLS), for volunteering efforts at Hamad Hospital’s COVID-19 laboratories, and Almaha Al-Albuainain, College of Public Policy (CPP), for active engagement in student leadership. 

CIS students, Sara Cherqaoui, Zainab Olowolagba, and Ayodele Akande, won the Competition Award for achieving second place in the National CFA Institute Research Competition. The Sports Award was won by Aizhan Zhexenova, CPP, and Hendriyadi Daeng, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, for leadership and efforts in competitive sports at HBKU.

Finally, the Community Service Award recognized Idris Mohammed, CHLS, for active involvement in community volunteering, and Bushra Faizi, CIS, for her voluntary work as a communication facilitator at Hamad Hospital.