At the event, the NU President Shigeo Katsu, NU Provost Adesida Ilesanmi, the vice-president Kadisha Dairova, and the head of the Association of International Students (AOIS) Mohammad Habib Abdullah greeted all international students with welcoming speeches.
Then, the NU President Shigeo Katsu handed the first Exceptional Graduating International Student’s Award to an international student from Ethiopia, Kebir Mohammed Jemal, who has recently graduated with an honorary Master of Engineering Management from the NU School of Engineering and Digital Sciences (NU SEDS).
“I feel extremely honored to be the first-time recipient of the “Exceptional Graduating International Student Award.” When I began my journey at NU, I never thought I would achieve this much within my two years of studies. Thanks to the supportive atmosphere and well-designed curricula, I could exceed all expectations I had initially set out for myself. NU has become, and will forever remain, where I fell in love with learning again. Without the faculty, staff, and students, I can certainly say I would not be where I am today,” said Kebir.
Kebir Mohammed Jemal represented the International Student community on multiple occasions during competitions and won several awards such as the IEEE Digital Explore Challenge, SG Poster Contest, and the Dean’s List Award, which he received three times in a row. Kebir has also worked as a Research Assistant (RA) under PI Ferhat Karaca on the construction sector’s emerging Circular Economy concepts.
NU has about 150 international students from 30 countries. To be acquainted with local traditions, they participate in different activities organized by the Association of International Students (AOIS). For example, they had a chance to learn about the cultures of 20 other countries within the ‘Inside Cultures’ series of events, took a Russian language course, enjoyed sports activities, and visited Zerenda and Burabay. In his speech, the head of AOIS, Mohammad Habib Abdullah, doing his Master of Public Administration (MPA) at the NU, pointed out the importance of these activities.
“We have been doing all of these mainly to help both local and international students of NU better interact with each other, get a better understanding of one another, and thus make a long-lasting friendship with each other,” said Mohammad.
The International student day was followed by fun activities such as the Kahoot game, dancing, singing, and musical performances.
