Six Degrees graduation showcase celebrates a year of student creativity and achievement
Six Degrees Graduate Showcase
In its 15th year, the exhibition brought together the work of graduating students across CAAD's diverse degree programs—architecture, interior design, design management, multimedia design, visual communication and urban planning. The opening ceremony was open to the public and served as an important platform for connecting emerging talent from CAAD with representatives from the design professions in the UAE.
'For each student, Six Degrees represents the culmination of four or five years of rigorous studio practice, creative exploration and growth. It offers our community a moment of celebration, reflection and pride,' said Dr. Varkki Pallathucheril, Dean of CAAD. 'The show has grown significantly over the years, and, as I mark my final year as dean, I am deeply grateful to those at CAAD who work tirelessly to bring it to life. I feel fortunate to have witnessed so many generations of CAAD graduates launch their professional journeys through this platform.'
'We are proud to host Six Degrees at SRTIP, a celebration of creativity, innovation, and the exceptional talent nurtured at the American University of Sharjah. This exhibition reflects our ongoing commitment to bridging academia and industry, and to empowering the next generation of designers and architects who will shape more sustainable, human-centered cities and products for the future,' said H.E. Hussain Al Mahmoudi, the Chief Executive Officer of the Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park.
The event also included the CAAD annual awards ceremony. This year, 28 outstanding students and faculty were recognized for their exceptional academic performance, creative accomplishments, leadership and service to the university community.
' Six Degrees has always been more than just a showcase—it's a celebration of transformation. Year after year, it captures the evolution of creative thought, the courage to challenge convention and the spirit of design that defines CAAD. Returning to the show is a reminder of the energy and imagination that first shaped me as a student and now fuels my work as a professional,' said CAAD alumna Tala Alnounou.
CAAD is widely recognized for its distinctive studio-based education model and interdisciplinary approach to design. As the top-ranked school (tied) for architecture and the built environment in the UAE and among the top 260 schools globally for art and design (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025), CAAD offers creatively-gifted students a dynamic environment in which to sharpen their creative skills and make their mark in the world of design.
AUS Artist-in-Residence showcase
This year's Six Degrees showcase was accompanied by Najat Makki, Artist in Residence, 2024–25, a special exhibition of selected works by pioneering Emirati visual artist Dr. Najat Makki, developed during her residency at AUS. Dr. Makki's exhibited works explore transitions in time and place through layered color, ornamentation and abstraction—offering a deeply personal yet universally resonant reflection on memory, heritage and modernity.
Dr. Makki's residency at AUS was part of a broader vision championed by Her Excellency Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, President of AUS, to position creative practice as a central pillar of academic life.
Exhibition Details: The Six Degrees showcase and Najat Makki Artist in Residence 2024–25 are part of the same exhibition space at SRTIP.
Dates and Open times: From June 1, the exhibition will be open to public from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. The exhibition will remain open until June 6.
Location: Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park
bit.ly/SRTIP_Pin
For more information, please contact, caadcomms@aus.edu.
Video: https://we.tl/t-9MelpQIm31
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Khaleej Times
an hour ago
- Khaleej Times
From clinical depression to life coach in Dubai: Robin Uthappa on his 'second innings'
On a classic Dubai evening, sunlight spills gently through the windows of Robin Uthappa's home, casting a golden-hour glow over spacious hallways and framed family moments. The space feels lived-in, unpretentious — the kind of home where laughter has echoed, stories have been shared, and more than a few games of catch have definitely been played. Perhaps prompted by Robin Jr., who unhesitatingly comes over to join us as we settle in for the conversation. 'He [Robin's 7-year-old son, Neale Nolan Uthappa], plays cricket, tennis, and football. He goes to Danube Academy for cricket and football, and also plays at Juventus Football Club here,' Uthappa tells Khaleej Times. A far cry from the thunder of packed stadiums, yet Robin carries the same stillness here that once steadied him at the crease. He's calm, collected, grounded, and yet, when he speaks of cricket, the passion flickers in his eyes like it always has. 'You can't ever become a former cricketer,' he says with a smile. 'You stop playing professionally, yes, but cricket never leaves you. I still feel like I'm playing.' For more than a decade, Uthappa was known for his flamboyant strokes and crucial innings — a World Cup winner, an IPL champion, a player who made his mark in every tournament India offered. But today, his 'second innings' is unfolding in a much more intimate way, away from the nation's piercing gaze that once followed his every move: helping people heal. 'I recognised very early on that my purpose in life is to add value and serve people,' says Uthappa, who today works as a life coach, helping people through corporate training, one-on-one coaching, and team-building sessions, with a focus on peak performance, relationship coaching, mental resilience, and a lot more. 'Initially, I thought coaching cricket would be it, but my calling felt bigger. I had a lot more to give.' His journey towards service, however, didn't begin on a cricket pitch. Uthappa remembers a cold Bangalore morning in 1993, when his mother handed him a two-rupee coin for canteen lunch — at the time, a huge deal. On the way to school, he saw an old woman begging. 'I gave her the coin, and her eyes lit up. She blessed me, and I felt joy I can't even describe. That day I thought: 'I want to feel this way every day of my life.'' From then on, he reveals, serving others became his inner compass. 'Even in cricket, I always put my team's interests ahead of mine. I enjoyed it, and I have no regrets.' That sense of selflessness brought him multiple cricket championships, which he still regards as a reward for having the right intentions. Battling suicidal thoughts & depression But while his career soared, his inner world was spiralling. In 2009, during the IPL in South Africa, he found himself on the ledge of a 23rd-floor hotel room. 'I had almost committed suicide,' he recalls. 'I had a huge fear of heights, and yet I was sitting there. Something pulled me back and I immediately called my parents and said, 'Something is wrong, I don't know what it is, but come to South Africa.'' And this wasn't his only bout. 'By 2012, I was depressed again. I attempted suicide a few more times. Each time, I got to that point, something inside me stopped me. I heard a voice saying, 'Not yet'. Not 'don't do it', not 'stop'... just 'not now'. And that got me curious. Why not now? Why did it say that? That voice gave me the strength to hang on.' What followed was years-long battle with depression, whilst being in the limelight as a professional cricketer. 'I went through counselling, therapy, medication. I've spoken about it because I believe the stigma around mental health must be broken, especially for men. Back then, nobody spoke of depression. It was taboo, even career-ending. It was seen as madness.' The work it takes Recalling the painstaking work it took to bring himself out of the inner turmoil, he adds, 'For a whole year, I couldn't look at myself in the mirror because I was ashamed of who I had become. I couldn't make eye contact with myself. And then I reached a point where I thought, no, I need to take control of my life. I started going back to my counsellor, and I began the journey of earning my own self-respect.' His road to recovery, then, became rooted in rebuilding the relationship with himself. 'I asked myself: what kind of man do I want to be? What kind of friend, what kind of athlete, what kind of husband, father, brother, son? And then I set my values and principles by which I would live,' says Uthappa. 'It took me two-and-a-half years of trauma healing, of making peace with my inner child, of setting my standards and living by them. It wasn't easy. I put in the hours, did the time.' By 2014, he adds, he started feeling a shift. 'I was okay. But I was still on medication and stayed on them until 2017. Just before my son was born, I finally went off them completely. That's when I felt free.' But recovery is never final. 'Even after the medication stops, it's still a daily practice. Every day is a new day and you have to deal with that day. It's intentional.' That sense of daily discipline, he explains, is also why he feels so strongly about men's mental health. 'We're not raised with the ability to process emotions. As boys we're told, 'Don't cry. Be tough. Take it on the chin'. And then we carry that suppression into every part of our lives. We don't know how to process or articulate what's inside us.' It was this realisation — born out of his own struggle — that ultimately led Uthappa to begin his journey as a life coach. 'I wanted to create spaces where men can be vulnerable, where they can learn that balance.' Building 'True' Together with his wife, Sheethal Goutham, who is a trained NLP practitioner and hypnotherapist, Uthappa has now co-founded 'True', a platform dedicated to life coaching and community building. 'I realised I wanted to empower people with tools for life — not just athletes, not just men, but anyone looking for balance, growth, and healing.' Performance coaching, men's mental health, and what Uthappa refers to as 'modern masculinity' form some of the core pillars of his work at 'True'. 'We want to help people understand their energies — the masculine and the feminine — and how to balance them. Balance isn't a one-time achievement. Like a seesaw, it's going to swing up and down. The key is awareness, to catch yourself when you're off balance and bring yourself back,' he adds. 'I know what it feels like to be lost in that darkness. And I also know what it feels like to walk out of it. If I can help even one person find that light, I feel I'm living my purpose.' Dubai and beyond Moving to Dubai, he says, was another exercise in stepping out of his comfort zone. 'In Bengaluru, traffic was stealing childhood from my kids. We wanted a better quality of life for them, so we moved here. For me, it meant pulling myself completely out of my comfort zone. But Dubai gave us safety, opportunities, and, as a gift, incredible friends. I think that was God's way of rewarding me for choosing my family.' Alongside his coaching, Uthappa has also discovered a new sporting passion: paddle. 'I play four to five times a week. It gives me the same joy cricket did — the competitiveness, the tactical sharpness, the agility. Anything that brings me joy, I won't deny myself.' A message to the next generation For someone who has lived through the highs of stadium glory and the lows of clinical depression, his message to young people is rooted in his own self-awareness. 'Prolonged sadness is not the same as depression. Sometimes it's unresolved issues you're avoiding. Address them with awareness and reverence, and they won't compound. Ignore them, and they will.' And always, he insists, listen to your inner voice. 'The instinct we feel inside, even something small, when you're doom-scrolling and you hear the inner voice say, 'What are you doing?' That's your inner voice. Listen to it. It'll always guide you to the right path,' he adds. 'Growth can never happen inside your comfort zone,' says Uthappa. 'But if you walk out with awareness and joy, even the hardest transitions can turn into your greatest purpose.'
The National
an hour ago
- The National
Tears at Gaza graduation ceremony for children without parents to cheer them on
What is usually a joyful milestone for families became a solemn reminder of loss in Gaza as more than 1,000 children orphaned by the war took part in a graduation ceremony with no parents to applaud them. Wearing caps and gowns and clutching photos of their parents, the children took to the stage on Monday in a bittersweet ceremony organised by Al Wafaa Village, a sanctuary for orphans in Khan Younis. This was the first graduating class at the centre since it opened its doors in January. In a video shared on social media by Palestinian journalist Abdallah Al Attar, the children are seen wiping away tears in the absence of the people they longed for most. The children range in age from six to 13 and will start their next academic year at Al Wafaa Village next month. "The children were emotional because they remembered their parents, whom they miss deeply," Mr Al Attar said. "Many of these kids have known loss before even starting school." Wafaa Abu Jalala, a speech and language pathologist, founded the centre to care for children "who lost everything overnight", she previously told The National. The village provides shelter as well as psychological and social support to children who have lost one or both parents in Israel's war on Gaza. Palestinian authorities say more than 5,000 families have only one surviving member after more than 22 months of the conflict. Most of these sole survivors are children, said Ismail Al Thawabteh, director of the Gaza's government media office. The staggering statistic has raised concerns over how the trauma and grief that children in Gaza have faced will affect them in the long run. The UN in June named Israel on its " list of shame" for grave abuse of children, for the second year running. Almost two years of horrific violence in Gaza have left deep emotional wounds on the war's youngest victims, parents and psychologists told The National. With its Smurf-inspired interior and expert-led rehabilitation programme, Al Wafaa Village aims to offer children an escape and refuge from the tragedies of war. "They come in with shattered spirits but here they find hope and life," Ms Abu Jalala said. Mr Al Attar said the organisers of the graduation ceremony believe it sends a message of hope and resilience to Gaza's youth. "These children want to study, they want to live and they want a better future," he said.
Khaleej Times
2 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
UAE: Ancient cross discovered in monastery site on Sir Bani Yas island
A team of archeologists has made an exciting new discovery at the site of an ancient monastery on Sir Bani Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. The Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) on Tuesday announced the discovery of a cross moulded on a stucco plaque from the monastery. This find comes during the first major excavation on the island in more than 30 years. In January 2025, DCT Abu Dhabi launched a new fieldwork campaign on Sir Bani Yas Island, leading to the discovery of the cross. The object is believed to have been used by monks for spiritual contemplation. The style of the cross shows similarities with finds from Iraq and Kuwait, and is linked to the Church of the East, which has origins in ancient Iraq. Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman, DCT Abu Dhabi, said, 'The discovery of this ancient Christian cross on Sir Bani Yas Island is a powerful testament to the UAE's profound and enduring values of coexistence and cultural openness." "It stirs within us a deep sense of pride and honour and reminds us that peaceful coexistence is not a modern construct, but a principle woven into the very fabric of our region's history," he added. Monastic complex The seventh-to eighth-century CE Christian monastery was first discovered on Sir Bani Yas Island in 1992 by the Abu Dhabi Islands Archaeological Survey (Adias), under the direction of the UAE's leadership. Excavations since then have uncovered a church and a monastic complex occupied at the same time as the monastery. They are currently interpreted as separate spaces, where senior monks retreated for periods of contemplation and ascetic seclusion. Archaeologists are currently researching and exploring a group of courtyard houses near the monastery, where early Christian monks lived in retreat. Christianity in the region Sir Bani Yas is part of a wider group of churches and monasteries that emerged across the region around the same period, with similar sites found in Umm Al Quwain, Kuwait, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. Christianity spread and declined across the Arabian Peninsula between the fourth and sixth centuries CE. Christians and Muslims later co-existed until the eighth century CE, when the Sir Bani Yas monastery was peacefully abandoned. Today, the church and the monastery, set within nature reserves home to gazelles and hyrax, serve as a reminder of Abu Dhabi's ancient past. As part of restoration efforts carried out by DCT Abu Dhabi in 2019, the church and monastery are now protected by shelters. The Sir Bani Yas church and monastery site has reopened to the public with improved facilities, including directional signage and a small exhibition of artefacts from previous excavations, such as glass chalices, a cross-shaped stucco, and a stamp seal with a scorpion motif. A multi-faith church, inspired by the ancient site, has also been built adjacent to the visitor centre. DCT Abu Dhabi will continue excavating the courtyard houses in the coming years, which may be integrated into a wider visitor trail connecting the island's cultural landmarks.
