Two senior students from Qatar Foundation (QF) partner university Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar (VCUarts Qatar) Graphic and Interior design departments received the Arab Engineering Bureau (AEB) Awards for Design Excellence, for 2024, at an event held at the University, recently. Two junior students were honored with AEB’s award for Creative Achievement and Potential.

At this year’s ceremony, the 18th in a row, AEB’s GCEO and Chief Architect, Ibrahim Mohamed Jaidah, presented the AEB Award for Design Excellence in Graphic Design to Selma Fejzullaj. Doaa Elamin Rahma Emam was the recipient of the AEB Award for Design Excellence in Interior Design. Both Emam and Fejzullaj were the recipients of the Creative Achievement and Potential Award during their junior year.

Jaidah addressed the gathering with the words: ‘I extend my warmest congratulations to the winners of the 2024 cycle of the AEB awards. It is always a pleasure to visit VCUarts Qatar and support the next generation of creatives. In this context, I’d like to add that I’ve even had the pleasure of working with some of the past winners when they joined AEB as designers.’

Welcoming the gathering, Dean Berbić said, ‘Ibrahim Jaidah has been a longtime friend and valued supporter of VCUarts Qatar since 2007, when the Arab Engineering Bureau first contributed two awards to our school. We appreciate this support immensely. By investing in young talent, industry leaders like AEB ensure a continuous cycle of expertise and excellence, ultimately benefiting the entire system. Jaidah and AEB’s generosity has been an important part of the lives of the talented students who are out there in the world making their mark in design industries.’

Design Excellence award recipient Emam, who hails from Sudan, said, ‘Receiving the AEB award twice in my time at VCUarts Qatar has made me believe that success is an echo of your efforts. As an interior designer, I truly learned to appreciate the smallest details of my daily life and the designed world around me, most importantly, how my designs can create experiences, evoke emotions, and share messages.’

For Fejzullaj, who calls Albania home, the experience of studying at VCUarts Qatar has been a journey of growth and discovery. She said, ‘Receiving the AEB award for the second time is an incredible honour, as it further motivates me to strive for excellence as a designer. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to Ibrahim Jaidah and the AEB team for their unwavering support of emerging designers and creatives as we embark on our professional journeys.’

The Design Excellence awards were instituted in 2007 by Jaidah to encourage and assist outstanding graduating students from VCUarts Qatar’s graphic design and interior design departments, as they start their lives as designers and contribute to the community’s art and design landscape.

The more recently instituted AEB Awards for Creative Achievement and Potential for junior students were presented to Minatuallah Al-Aswad (Graphic Design) and Fatima Karamshahi (Interior Design). These awards aim to help junior students recognise their true potential, create leadership and encourage them to continue developing their skills through their senior year.

Besides the awards, AEB and Jaidah continue to partner with VCUarts Qatar through their participation at VCUarts Qatar’s biennial international design conference Tasmeem Doha, as well as by providing internship opportunities for VCUarts Qatar students.

AEB is one of the first architecture and design firms to be established in Qatar. Since it started more than 55 years ago, it has grown into an organization with over 600 employees engaged in sectors ranging from engineering, construction, urban planning and development, architectural design and interior design.

For more information about Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar (VCUarts Qatar) please visit their website: qatar.vcu.edu

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