Digital Communication

DIGITAL COMMUNICATION

The world is changing fast, and through a mixture of theory and hands-on apprenticeship students of media prepare for jobs that often do not yet exist. In fostering an environment of engaging, thinking and doing, the Digital Communications Program sets out to promote innovation and creativity in the area of socially "meaningful" digital media. Students will be expected to think critically about the profound impact media has on the world around us. This is especially needed in a place in which the production of public opinion is inextricably tied to political conflict. Just as importantly, students will become producers of cutting-edge content from podcasting and documentary to screenplay writing and blogging. We believe interactive media is an especially powerful instrument to put people, long the passive consumers of media, back into the roles as active creators.

Regardless of a student's choice of specialization, the program's interdisciplinary and hands-on approach to teaching and learning engages students in the entire creative process. A documentarian might take courses in history and literature - before she then writes an original script, shoots it, and then edits the film into its final form. Palestine has long been a center of attention for traditional forms of media, be it journalism, scholarship, documentary film making, or works of fiction and non-fiction.

People throughout the world follow local events often with the passion they would a local sporting team. This attention has turned media into a growth area in the Palestinian labor market. But to land a job after they graduate, students will need to be able to write proposals, create a budget, organize their time, and work in a team - and these are skills not typically products of the classroom but of real work experience. An important aspect to our program is the opportunity for students to meet local and international media and policy makers. Our weekly media lab gives students the thrill of production, while various internships offer them apprenticing with news organizations, documentary and feature film teams, Al-Quds University's own IMM, NGOs, and other private and public institutions working with media.