Local students shine at Dubai media awards

Dubai: Four UAE students have won awards at the eighth Ibda'a Student Awards, hosted by Dubai Media City (DMC).

The students were picked from more than 170 UAE entries after a total of 2,400 submissions in 12 categories.

The award for the ‘Best UAE Project' from submissions from UAE-based university students was presented to Afra Bin Daher for her outstanding entry in the Digital Photography category.

Additionally, Brash FZ LLC awarded an internship to Fatima Obaid from the UAE for her creative submission.

Stacey Pinto won in the Journalism (non-news) category, while Thabit Al Mawaly was awarded in the TV advertising segment.

Abdul Latif Al Mulla, Group CEO of TECOM Investments, Abdulhamid Juma, Chairman, Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF), and Mohammad Abdullah, Coordinator General of Ibda'a Student Awards, presented the awards to winners at the event that was held at the DMC Amphitheatre on Thursday evening.

Senior government officials and representatives of leading media organisations and academic institutions were among those that attended the event.

‘Important platform'

Mohammad Abdullah, said: "One of the important initiatives of Dubai Media City is the Ibda'a Student Awards that has established itself as an important platform for interaction between students and industry professionals.

"We are proud to say the creative entries we received this year from around the world were truly outstanding.

"Such works also raise our confidence in the capabilities of the next generation of media professionals.

"We are optimistic they will lead the industry to scale new peaks in professionalism."

An elite panel of judges from the International Advertising Association — UAE Chapter (IAA-UAE) — selected the winners of the awards, which were presented by Ziad Galadari Group.

Shortlist

The Digital Design category received a number of entries despite being a new addition.

However, a shortlist of finalists did not emerge as none of the entries matched all the set criteria.

Over the years, the Ibda'a Student Awards have attracted a multitude of entries from the GCC countries and beyond.

Its success has been marked by an exponential rise in the number of entries and participating countries. For the 2009 edition, the submissions were received from over 20 countries including first time entries from China, Libya, Lithuania, Malaysia, Norway, Singapore and Thailand.

The winners received attractive prizes including internships from leading global media organisations.

Lst:  Following is the list of winners in the respective categories

1. Journalism (non-news) - Stacey Pinto, UAE

2. Radio feature - Serman August Serra, Philippines

3. Animation - Sanjay Jangir, India

4. Graphic design - Purva Bakalkar, India

5. Analogue photography - Mohamad Amin Davaei, Iran

6. Digital photography - Reza Milani, Iran

7. Print advertising - Neha Katkar, India

8. TV advertising - Thabit Al Mawaly, UAE

9. Film TV feature - Rangoli Agarwal, India

10. TV documentary - Amir Masoud Hosseini, Iran

11. Mobile film - Naeema Amjad Pakistan

Those who took the honours:

1. Journalism (non-news) - Stacey Pinto, UAE

2. Radio feature - Serman August Serra, Philippines

3. Animation - Sanjay Jangir, India

4. Graphic design - Purva Bakalkar, India

5. Analogue photography - Mohammad Ameen Davaei, Iran

6. Digital photography - Reza Milani, Iran

7. Print advertising - Neha Katkar, India

8. TV advertising - Thabit Al Mawaly, UAE

9. Film TV feature - Rangoli Agarwal, India

10. TV documentary - Amir Masoud Hossaini, Iran

11. Mobile film - Naeema Amjad Pakistan