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FURTHER EDUCATION PROGRAMME

Alumni Achievement Award

In 2009, the Foundation awarded the first Saïd Foundation Alumni Achievement Award to Dr. Wassim Maziak who was judged to have made an outstanding contribution to his field and to development in the Middle East.

Wassim is from Aleppo, Syria and was supported by the Foundation in 1996 for a year of research at the National Heart and Lung Institute in London. On completion of his research, he returned to Aleppo and embarked upon two years of study into tobacco smoking in Syria. He was then awarded an Alexander von Humbolt fellowship to conduct research at the Institute of Epidemiology and Social Medicine in Germany.

In 2002, with funds from the US National Institute of Health, Wassim established the Syrian Centre for Tobacco Studies, which he now directs. The Centre is a pioneering research and capacity building institution and has become a centre of excellence in public health in the region. Centre representatives have held discussions with the Syrian Ministry of Health about anti-smoking campaigns in the country.

Wassim is a rising star on the international public health scene. He was invited to write an essay on the current status of Arab science for the prestigious journal "Science" on its 125th anniversary; in 2005 he received the American Cancer Society Special Award; in 2006, he won the World Health Organisation Director General Award; in 2009 he was honoured with the Elsevier/Scopus distinguished researcher award and the Syrian Centre for Tobacco Studies was recently awarded the Hamdan Prize for the Best Research/Medical Facility in the Arab World.

In previous years the Foundation awarded Student of the Year prizes to scholars who completed their studies in the preceding calendar year.

2007 Prize Winners (awarded in 2008)

First prize winner - Waseem Kotoub

Syrian, Diploma in Piano Performance, Royal Academy of Music

Waseem is a qualified medical doctor and an accomplished musician. According to his tutor, Diana Ketler, "Waseem achieved in one year what many students find hard to achieve in two". Whilst doing his postgraduate diploma in piano performance, Waseem also studied for a Royal Academy teaching certificate and a certificate in special needs music therapy at the Nordoff Robins Centre. Since his return to Syria, Waseem has been working with autistic children as a music therapist through local NGOs; he has performed fundraising concerts for special needs children; written articles about music therapy for the Syrian press; performed in a production of "Carmen" and established Syria's first music therapy centre.

 

Second prize winner – Ahmad Habash

Palestinian, MA 3D Computer Animation, University of Bournemouth.

Ahmad created his first animated film in 2003 and since then has produced a number of pieces which have been critically acclaimed. He achieved a distinction overall for his SF-sponsored course and a mark of 90% for his final project, a short film entitled "Red Feather". Since his return to Palestine, Ahmed has been employed by the World Health Organisation to direct and animate a short film about the health system in Palestine under occupation. He has also beem working as a creative consultant for the municipality of Ramallah on their centennial celebrations and is teaching animation workshops in a number of educational institutes in the West Bank.

 

Third prize winner - Nadine Haddad

Jordanian, MSc International Management, Oxford Brookes University.

Nadine told us that she returned home a completely different person. Whilst in Oxford, she immersed herself in British culture and found time to organise social and cultural activities to challenge negative stereotypes of Arabs and the Middle East. She was elected student representative for her course which involved acting as a conflict mediator between students and teachers. Nadine was proud to have the opportunity to present a positive image of Arab women to her Western peers. She has now returned to Jordan where she is working for the Jordan River Foundation on their "Safe Schools Programme" a national initiative which aims to turn 500 Jordanian government schools into safer environments.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Wassim Maziak  

Wassim Maziak