Community Engagement

The College of Arts and Sciences each year hosts many events that are aimed at encouraging the participation of youth in many of our subdisciplines. Whether we are connecting school students from the region with the facilities and expertise at AUS or connecting our own students with experienced professionals in the community we are always interested in expanding our community partnerships with a view to developing opportunities for the next generation.

Physics Open Day (Funtastic FZX)

The Department of Physics at AUS organizes the annual Physics Open Day, FUNtastic FZX. The goal of the Physics Open Day is to connect with high school students to show that physics can be fascinating and that it provides the fundamental understanding of how things around us work. Fun games, live displays, hands-on activities, and demonstrations of physics principles and their wide applications are conducted. Additionally, a competition of high-school physics projects will be conducted, giving all participants certificates of participation and awards to winners. The FUNtastic FZX day usually ends with various liquid nitrogen demonstrations including Ice-Cream preparation and serving. For more information visit, the Department of Physics website. 

MathFest

MathFest is an annual celebration of mathematics organized by the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, jointly with the AUS office of Enrollment Management and held on campus. The event stresses the importance AUS places on encouraging students to become critical thinkers and problem solvers. The day-long celebration comprises individual and team competitions for students as well as a team competition for high school math teachers. MathFest includes a 75-minute test that consists of multiple choice and written questions that each participating student solves individually. The test covers standard math topics from the schools’ curricula of up to grade 11, including logic, analytic and plane geometry, and basic algebra. Click here for more information about the MathFest. 

Environmental Day

The ENV DAY event is hosted yearly by the Department of Biology, Chemistry and Environmental Sciences. The aim is to promote environmental and sustainability awareness in general and to introduce university students as well as students from regional high schools to high impact careers in environmental sciences such as those found in government, industry and academic sectors. During the event attendees have the opportunity to participate in several scientific activities and to listen to experts in the environmental field.

Model United Nations

The Department of International Studies each year proudly sponsors the AUS Model United Nations.  The event, which is student-run, attracts delegates from local and regional high schools as well as teams and individual participants from India, Pakistan and even Great Britain. United Nations delegates discuss issues ranging from nuclear proliferation to global food policies. Founded in 2007 the annual gathering has grown from 180 delegates in 2014 to 730 in the spring of 2016. 

MATESOL Sharakah School’s Professional Day

MATESOL faculty and students have advanced community relationships in many ways over the past five years. Most importantly, Department of English faculty and students organize and deliver regular Professional Development Workshops for local Sharakah school teachers. These events include plenary addresses and individual, hands-on workshops on topics related to second language education. They are meant to provide working teachers with new ideas and practices for use in the real-world classroom. Topics have included, “iPad Apps for the Primary classroom,” “Improving oral participation in English classrooms,” “Words and sounds: Developing reading and writing with Phonics,” and “Motivation: The ‘M’ word and its role in successful language learning and teaching,” for example. Through sharing the expertise of MATESOL faculty and students, Professional Day workshops are productive and rewarding means of connecting with the educational community in Sharjah. Since 2013, the MATESOL program and DoE at AUS have sponsored the following Sharakah Schools Professional Days:

Spring 2013: Jack Richards Seminars
Fall 2013: Teachers Needs Analysis
Spring 2014: Using Social Media and Apps in the Second Language Classroom
Spring 2016: Innovative Strategies for Teaching English
Spring 2017: More Innovative Strategies for Teaching English 

Sharjah Police MCM Campaigns

The Department of Mass Communication has partnered with Sharjah Police to provide an opportunity for final year Mass Communication majors to work on public awareness campaigns on topics such as road safety awareness and drugs awareness. The winning awareness campaign is adopted by the Sharjah Police as a model for their official campaign on the subject. So far this relationship has resulted in two successful campaigns and the relationship is ongoing.