By Ghadeer Ghloum
KUWAIT: Kuwait University is hosting the Future Makers Forum under the patronage of Acting President Prof Fahad Al-Rashidi from June 13 to 15, 2023 at the conference center at Kuwait University in Shadadiya. The forum, sponsored by Zain, NBK and Gulf Bank, is a first-of-its-kind, in line with Kuwait’s 2035 vision and strategy of Kuwait University. Fresh graduates are the forum’s main target, especially those who graduated from Kuwait University, to prepare them for their professional lives by holding discussions on how to serve the community and the state amid the remarkable and speedy development happening in the current era.
Unique workshops for training students on skills that they did not learn in their curriculums at schools and universities are also included, besides providing an opportunity for recent graduates to hold discussions with members of the public and private sectors and representatives of the United Nations. Rashidi told media representatives that just looking at the events held by Kuwait University for fresh graduates indicates the extent of excellence and creativity accomplished by the team that created the Future Makers Forum, announcing joyful news that will be revealed on Friday, June 24, 2023, without further elaboration.
Acting Dean of Admissions and Registration Dr Rawaa Al-Jarallah said this is a pioneering step initiated at Kuwait University, and the goal is to take the graduates by the hand from the first step after receiving their degrees. A corner has been provided for graduates to receive their degree at the exhibition, in which job opportunities are available, where they may find a suitable job for their capabilities. Instead of following the traditional method of employment, graduates today have the opportunity to search for talent and creativity through workshops, so that they are not limited to the field of their study, but rather the horizons are wide for them, she said.
Kuwait Times also interviewed Anwar Al-Ibrahim, Assistant Professor at the College of Engineering and Petroleum at Kuwait University.
Ibrahim said she was part of the team that built Kuwait University in Shadadiya. "It makes me very proud of the team that had an imprint on this project, and to see youth doing this whole program for their fellows assures me that the energy that we invested in this place was worthwhile,” she said. She added she studied for five years at Kuwait University before moving abroad for her master’s and PhD. She then joined the team that built Kuwait University in its new location in 2013 and finalized the project in 2019.
Dr Asaad Hafiz, Representative of the World Health Organization in Kuwait, told Kuwait Times: "This event is about the future of Kuwait, which plays a very important role. The United Nations is very keen to work with Kuwait University to empower the youth to address any challenges that Kuwait may encounter in the future. We see a great role for Kuwaiti youth, not only at the national level, but also at a global level.”
Dr Reem Al-Baghli, faculty member of Kuwait University, started the event by directing her speech to the graduates. She told them the motive behind holding this event is love for Kuwait, its people, and oneself, as there is no real love for something without working on improving it. Therefore, she encouraged the graduates to look into the needs of the country and focus on fulfilling those needs to develop and further improve Kuwait in all ways possible.
Dr. Nourah Al-Shuaibi, a faculty member at Kuwait University, spoke about the necessity of uplifting the society, mentioning that one of the most important ways to achieve this is through awareness of opportunities. She also said this generation is different from other generations, as they are living in the midst of crises that previous generations only read about, whether they are civil wars, wars between countries, pandemics or other crises such as energy, food, climate and others. However, Shuaibi pointed out that graduates can benefit from these crises to create employment opportunities, as a graduate must understand the needs of society and the world through these crises and work towards sustainable development of the community.
Therefore, young people need to realize how to secure their future, she added. Jassim Al-Mutawa, founder and manager of Advanced Kuwaiti Group, an entrepreneurial initiative for technological solutions (Meta platform, Shlonik application and Sahel application), spoke about achieving dreams. He said one of the goals he worked on was to bring change to the public sector by providing services to citizens through technology, instead of having them come to certain places to get their documents processed and work done. Mutawa mentioned an example of the applications he created — "Sahel”, which means "easy” in English.
"The applications’ name is inspired from its task, which is facilitating people’s lives,” he said. He also encouraged young people by telling them that they have opportunities and that they can reach their full potential, adding he is looking forward to further develop Sahel because of the capabilities of young people to serve humanity. Lawyer Fajer Al-Refai also directed her speech to youngsters and spoke about failure. She explained that failure is not an end to one’s passion, but rather it is just an attempt that was not successful, which pushes us to hunt another opportunity or try again.
Dr Ali Al-Subaie, Assistant Professor at Kuwait University, said having a university degree is only a step, while education is a long journey. Subaie further explained that a student’s GPA is one of the indicators of an individual’s capabilities, but it is not the only indicator. He spoke about growth and decline and encouraged the use of skills and not to focus on only one’s success, even if the average of one’s GPA is high. He also highlighted that it is difficult to know the future, but we can prepare for it. However, we must be prepared to learn and gain experience to be well prepared.
Badriya Al-Salem, a fresh graduate from Kuwait University, spoke about the trip that inspired her educational journey on stars, the skies and astronomy. She said her journey in astronomy was not limited to learning astronomy, as it forced her to learn English, driving a manual car, desert survival, poetry and other matters related to astronomy and the desert. This led to her leaving a mark in her architectural projects during her years of studying architectural engineering, which opened up new opportunities for her outside Kuwait. Although she was a little late to start, it gave her a strong push, as her work became recognized even outside Kuwait. Salem concluded by urging graduates not to confine themselves to one field, but explore and research multiple fields and continue learning in various domains.