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Mass Comm Chair
Leads Department into New Territory
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Dr. Hussein Amin,
Senior Associate at the Adham Center is presiding over major developments
in the Journalism and Mass Communications department in his capacity
as chairman of the department.
"We have adjusted the curriculum in the undergraduate broadcast
sequence to include new courses that until now were only offered at
the Adham Center to graduates," said Amin.
"The courses will significantly improve the professional prospects
for the students when they graduate by enhancing their broadcasting
skills. Students will become familiar with new broadcasting technologies
that should make them more competent in the field of TV production and
TV journalism, as well as critical skills involved in writing for TV
News and producing field reports," Dr. Amin said.
These adjustments
should take the undergraduate broadcasting specialization at AUC to
a new level, allowing it to compete with peer universities in the United
States, according to Amin. Also, new windows of opportunities will become
available to AUC Mass Communication graduates.
In the area of
student activities, Amin has sponsored a series of lectures by distinguished
lecturers organized by the Mass Communication Association. Among the
visitors were Tarek El-Kashef, filmmaker and Orbit TV's top executive
producer; Tarek Noor, advertising magnate and owner of Tarek Nour Communications
Company, and Dr. Donald Shaw, professor of reporting, media history,
and communication theory at the University of North Carolina. This series
is to continue in coming semesters in order to better introduce the
students to the difficulties and experiences of the mass communication
field.
Along with its
new role providing major support for the undergraduate program, the
Adham Center will also develop new programs along the lines of those
of the Poynter Institute in the United States. Amin predicted that the
Center will offer a variety of professional courses and professional
diplomas in the areas of TV journalism and TV production. "These
courses should attract people who are looking for opportunities to sharpen
their skills in those fields," said Amin. Within the coming two
years, Amin expects the Adham to prosper and attract yet larger numbers
of students.
Among Amin's current
concerns is obtaining accreditation for the undergraduate journalism
and mass communication major in order to bring it into line with peer
programs in the United States.
Accreditation
would exempt Mass Communication from the requirement of Egyptian Ministry
of Education authentication for their certificates. "Once accredited,
our graduates will be able to go and get a job anywhere in TV journalism,"
says Amin.
Mass Communication
graduates are luckier than others in terms of recruitment, according
to Amin. Many graduates have been recruited in different areas in the
Middle East because of the opening of new television channels. But it
is Dubai, and particularly Dubai Media City, that is increasingly the
major platform attracting graduates.
Job opportunities
for Mass Communication graduates are blooming with developments in radio
production. "Radio is becoming more popular with the start of Nile
FM and El-Nogoum FM," says Amin, "and once radio is privatized,
the FM spectrum will create a new line of opportunities."
Radio is likely
to attract Mass Communication students because it requires bilingual
and bicultural individuals, a profile that matches that of the AUC graduate.
During this semester,
Amin has organized a number of workshops for students as well as attending
media conferences. The latest conference Amin attended was in Las Vegas,
where he presented a paper on broadcast media ownership in Africa. Among
the panels convened by the conference were one on Media Ownership and
another on Media and War in the Middle East. For the first panel, five
panelists discussed media ownership in five continents; Amin spoke about
ownership in Africa. The second saw a line-up of professors from AUC,
including Naila Hamdy and Shems Friedlander, who spoke on war coverage.
Currently, Amin
is the chair of the 9th International Conference of the Arab Association
for Communication and Educators (AUSACE). AUSACE was established nine
years ago and its membership includes several hundred media educators
and professionals both in the Middle East and the United States. This
year's conference will take place in Cairo in November 2004 and will
be devoted to the theme of Citizenship and Democracy.
By
Yara Fahmy
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