Northwestern Qatar’s faculty, staff, students, and alumni brought their scholarship and creative works to the global stage at Web Summit Qatar 2025 with Sound Bytes, a platform designed to present innovative research and ideas to a global audience. This dynamic platform facilitated meaningful conversations between participants and entrepreneurs, media professionals, and technology leaders.
Building on its successful 2024 participation, the University reinforced its commitment to scholarly engagement through the Sound Bytes initiative, featuring concise, high-impact presentations that focus on the intersection of media, technology, communication, and the arts. Participants had exactly seven minutes of storytelling and up to three slides to support their message, followed by a brief Q&A session. A total of 10 selected finalists, selected from a rigorous review process by representatives from journalism, communications, liberal arts, production, and IT, presented their work, offering research-backed insights and innovative solutions to a global audience.
"Our expanded presence at Web Summit Qatar 2025 reflects Northwestern Qatar’s commitment to advancing thought leadership in media, technology, and communication globally,” Marwan M. Kraidy, dean and CEO of Northwestern Qatar. Through initiatives like Sound Bytes and NU-Q Talks, our faculty, students, and alumni are contributing meaningful insights to global conversations shaping the future of media. I am proud to see our community’s scholarship and creativity showcased on such a prominent stage."
“Through initiatives like Sound Bytes and NU-Q Talks, our faculty, students, and alumni are contributing meaningful insights to global conversations shaping the future of media.”
The Sound Bytes programming took place over three days of the summit, beginning with Day 1, where Associate Professor Spencer Striker kicked off the event with a presentation on using immersive gameplay to decode disinformation. Liellina Teshager Molla ’24 followed with a discussion on the potential impact of deepfake technology on the Global South. André Visperas ’24 explored the role of artificial intelligence in creative industries, while Iman M. Khamis, director of the library, presented on using machine learning to predict stock market trends.
Day 2 began with Professor Gregory Ferrell Lowe sharing insights on fostering creativity in organizations, and Assistant Professor Dana Atrach explored humor’s potential to address complex emotions. Assistant Professor Shakeeb Asrar examined AI’s evolving influence on journalism, and postdoctoral scholar Mariam Karim discussed the significance of digital archives in preserving Arab media history.
The final day began with a presentation by Associate Professor Eddy Borges-Rey and Jana Al-Otoum ’27, examining the potential and challenges of generative AI in journalism. In the following presentation, Sahar Mari, senior learning engineer, discussed the role of generative AI in education, considering whether it could act as an equalizer or divider in learning opportunities.
In addition to Sound Bytes, Northwestern Qatar’s presence at Web Summit included NU-Q Talks, demos, and meetups, furthering scholarly engagement on AI and media at the region’s largest and most influential technology conference.
