Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q) alumnus of 2013, Ismaeel Naar, will return to his alma mater to address the Class of 2028 at the 2024 convocation ceremony on August 22. He is currently The New York Times' Gulf bureau reporter in Dubai.

Every year, at the start of the new academic calendar, the community gathers at the convocation ceremony to welcome the new students following a week-long orientation. The keynote speaker joins NU-Q dean and CEO Marwan M Kraidy and the president of student government in addressing the new class as they are formally inducted.

"Ismaeel's achievements inspire our community, and his words will undoubtedly resonate with the Class of 2028 as they embark on their own transformative journey," Kraidy said. Naar, a 2013 NU-Q graduate in Journalism and Strategic Communication, made his career debut with Al Jazeera as an online journalist covering stories from across the Middle East, before moving on to Al Arabiya News Channel as an online journalist and The National News as a breaking news reporter and Arab affairs editor.

"I'm very excited to return to my alma mater to speak at its convocation celebrating another crop of young journalists and storytellers, exactly 15 years after I was in their exact position when I entered Northwestern Qatar as a freshman as part of the second-ever incoming class,” said Naar. The Class of 2028 is the school’s 17th incoming class, representing 29 countries.