In line with the programs organized by the Office of Student Life which aim at developing students' leadership skills, creating an attractive environment for leadership and creativity and providing appropriate opportunities for students to meet and exchange experiences. A delegation of five students from Ajman University participated in the American University of Sharjah Model United Nations 2020 (AUSMUN) conference which lasted for three days: February, 13–15, 2020 and attracted over 1400 delegates. It is a simulation of the UN system, where students act as ambassadors of their respective countries and participate in debates on issues of concern to those countries on the UN agenda.
AU students used their great communication and public speaking skills to debate professionally in this three-day conference in two UN committees: Security Council (SC) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Two of the 5 participating AU students received an award in recognition of their outstanding performance and debating skills. These are Syed Abdulrahman, College of Business, who won ‘The Best Judge Award’ for debating in the ICJ the issues of ‘the situation in Kashmir; the possible formation of a demilitarized zone’ and ‘the situation in Colombia; genocide of indigenous people’ and Warda Farooq, College of Dentistry, won ‘The Outstanding Delegate Award’ for debating in the SC the issues of ‘Russian annexation of Crimea (Russia Vs. Ukraine) and ‘the dispute regarding Jammu and Kashmir (Pakistan Vs. India).
The participation of AU students in this prestigious event has developed their communication, public speaking and debating skills, raised their self-confidence, improved their leadership and critical thinking skills, raised their awareness of global issues and the UN as an international organization and enhanced the visibility of Ajman University.
Dr. Karim Seghir, the Chancellor of Ajman University, congratulated the students on their outstanding performance and winning awards and stressed the importance of developing AU students’ ‘soft skills’ by participating in such prestigious debating conferences. He also thanked Dr. Nahla AL Qassimi, Dean of Student Services, Dr. Mohamed Helal, Director of Student Life and Dr. Mohamed Fathy Khalifa, College of Humanities and Sciences, for the exerted effort and their ongoing support and encouragement for students.