HBKU-CHSS enables graduates become leaders and change-makers

The College of Humanities and Social Science (CHSS) at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) equips graduates to become leaders and change-makers in a rapidly changing world, noted the founding dean. “The college ensures that education is extended beyond the physical boundaries of a classroom. Through our local and global partnerships, our students develop projects to apply their research to the real world,” said Dr Amal al-Malki.“Whether it’s by making cinema and entertainment more inclusive, or by tracking social media trends or pinpointing and investigating various forms of fake news and disinformation, our students reap the benefits of their education before graduating from our programmes and influencing their local communities by spreading the values of the College of Humanities of Social Sciences,” explained Dr al-Malki. The dean said that CHSS encourages the students to gain access to the professional world in many ways. “All our students are granted the opportunity to intern and interact with organisations in their fields, where they are given the chance to respond to everyday challenges, and resolve problems under the guidance of experts and specialists,” continued the dean. According to the academic, all students are afforded the chance to participate in conferences on a global as well as a local level, where they find opportunities to not only share their research and work with globally respected academic scholars in their fields, but also a chance to network with them and gain access to a vast array of academic and professional opportunities. Dr al-Malki pointed out that CHSS is home to one PhD and five Master of Arts programmes. “We offer interdisciplinary programmes in two main academic fields: Translation and Interpreting Studies and Middle Eastern Studies. These programmes equip our students with skill sets from a scholarly and applied perspective,” she said.The dean also highlighted that the multidisciplinary aspect of the college equips students with an array of skills that would benefit them not only on an academic level, but also on a professional one. “These skills include but are not limited to critical thinking, problem-solving skills, time management, the ability to excel through teamwork, excelling in research methodologies and identifying innovative solutions. These skills are so diverse and useful because students adopt and develop them after being exposed to several different schools of thought and academic perspectives,” she said.Besides quality education, diversity is a unique selling point that makes HBKU an inviting institute of education as it is home to students from over 60 nationalities making the educational, student, faculty and staff experience all the more enriching. Another unique aspect is the Education City’s unmatched ecosystem. By joining HBKU, our students also join Education City as a whole, and have access to multiple resources, venues, and projects.“The educators of our programmes are leading scholars and researchers in their fields who are motivated by the college's commitment to social justice. We therefore go beyond the scope of offering high quality education to the community,” Dr al-Malki said.