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Kuwait Times, the first English-language newspaper in the Arabian Gulf, established in 1961, concluded the third edition of its Summer Program for 2024, which was held in strategic partnership with Gulf Bank from August 4 to 31, 2024. During the four-week course, 20 students were exposed to different work processes in journalism, and they were diligent, hardworking and result-oriented.
The Kuwait Times team enhanced participants’ knowledge and skills in news production, reporting, photography, and social media. By focusing on practical applications and hands-on training, they equipped aspiring journalists with the tools needed to elevate their storytelling abilities. Through this comprehensive training, students learned how to effectively use their talents to craft compelling and impactful stories, ensuring that they are well-prepared to contribute meaningfully to the evolving media landscape.
The students of the KT Summer Program embarked on an enlightening field trip to Gulf Bank, a leading bank in Kuwait, established in 1960. During the visit, the students gained valuable insights into the operations of the bank’s Public Relations department. They were shown how the team creates events, videos, and posts for social media, highlighting the strategies and techniques used to engage with the public and maintain the bank’s strong presence in the digital world.
Also, students went to CODED where they were introduced to AI and how to use it in journalism. During a workshop by Nawaf Al-Mutairi, they were taught how to use AI tools and prompt engineering to improve their reporting and storytelling. The workshop focused on practical applications of AI, including generating content, editing, and avoiding AI-induced errors like hallucinations and fabrications.
During the Summer Program, several lectures were held by the Kuwait Times team. In the first week, Deputy Managing Editor Faten Omar and reporter Passant Hisham explained basics of journalism including how to collect, verify and deliver news to the public, in addition to how to prioritize stories that matter to the audience while adhering to ethical standards. Students were also offered a class on “How a Daily Newspaper is Produced”, providing a step-by-step explanation of the work process at Kuwait Times and the roles played by various staff members, by Managing Editor Shakir Reshamwala.
Meanwhile, Hussain Sana, journalist and content creator, taught students how to be critical as well as how to develop their analytical skills. He gave tips and hints on how to see the world and how to ask the right questions. Sana also provided them with the forms of writing, where they compared and contrasted between creative writing and writing reports and scripts.
Content creator and archivist Yousef Abu-Ghazaleh said choosing regionally significant topics, thematically aligned with their audience’s interests, is important. He focused on structuring and bringing ideas to life, where students learned how to create effective video outlines by drawing inspiration from others, storyboarding and bullet-point scripting.
In the final session, students wrote their scripts for their outlined topics and collaborated in pairs to film them, putting theory into practice. Content creator Dhoha Al-Issa gave a class on “FUNdamentals of social media” and let the students dive into the dynamic world of social media while unlocking its hidden secrets and exploring the fundamental pillars of social media success.
At the end of the program, Kuwait Times allowed the students to make the newspaper under the supervision of editor Nebal Snan, page makers Rajesh, Zakir Mansoori and Sreenu, and proofreader Sabastian Dsouza. After the successful completion of the course, Kuwait Times provided students with a certificate, in addition to an article published in the newspaper.
