Elnawawy and Saffarini honored at University Awards for Excellence in Graduate Studies

American University of Sharjah (AUS) honored graduate students Mohammed Elnawawy and Reema Saffarini at the University Awards for Excellence in Graduate Studies for academic year 2019–2020 held online recently.

Eight nominees from across the AUS graduate programs vied for top honors in two categories: the Graduate Student Research, Scholarly and Creative Work Excellence Award, and the Graduate Student Academic and Leadership Excellence Award. Winners were selected by a committee of AUS faculty members.

The Graduate Student Research, Scholarly and Creative Work Excellence Award was presented to Mohammed Elnawawy of the Master of Science in Computer Engineering program at the College of Engineering. This award recognizes outstanding contribution to research, scholarly and creative work at the university and contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the candidate’s field.

A Fall 2019 graduate, Elnawawy was recognized for his excellent published work during his master’s studies. “When he is posed with a problem, he returns with solutions that are well-thought and often justified,” noted the nomination form.

Speaking about the win, Elnawawy said: “It is an honor to win the Graduate Student Research, Scholarly, and Creative Work Excellence Award that represents the utmost recognition of students' research work from the academic community at AUS. This award is a great motivation that helps push my limits further in an attempt to conduct more research that could benefit society as a whole."

Reema Saffarini, a Fall 2019 graduate of the Master of Arts in English/Arabic/English Translation and Interpreting in the College of Arts and Sciences, was presented with the Graduate Student Academic and Leadership Excellence Award. This award recognizes overall performance as indicated by academic accomplishment and leadership as demonstrated through contributions to the program, university, community and/or profession. 

Saffarini was noted to have an exceptional academic record, as well as many volunteer activities for various United Nations agencies and other international organizations and NGOs. “Her contributions to the program, college, university and the community at large (local, regional and global) are truly exemplar of a global citizen,” stated the nomination form.

She said: “I am so honored to have been selected from a pool of candidates who have done great work for the university, community and their profession. It is humbling to be the choice of a panel of faculty members representing the four colleges, especially that I competed candidates against who have done a fantastic job in serving their university, community, and profession.”

Speaking at the virtual award ceremony, Dr. Mohamed El-Tarhuni, Vice Provost of Graduate Studies, said:

“Congratulations to these exceptional students on their excellent achievements. We look forward to following them as they progress in their careers. I would also like to thank the faculty members and program coordinators for supporting the students and for promoting a culture of excellence in our graduate education. The quality of the nominations we received is a great testament to this culture.”

The awards were organized by the Office of Graduate Studies.