On Sept. 13, NYU Abu Dhabi Student Life hosted its first ever virtual Student Activities Fest, a biannual event where NYU Abu Dhabi students explore student-led organizations that cater to a wide range of interests. 50 Student Interest Groups and 10 other student-led organizations introduced themselves and their plans for the upcoming semester to generate student interest in their activities. The event took place on Engage, an online platform that houses all student organizations, where each organization set up a virtual booth accessible through a Zoom link.

The Gazelle reached out to Dana AlHosani, student life coordinator, to understand the planning, expectations and execution of the fest. Over the summer, AlHosani worked with a team of nine students planning what the virtual platform would look like. She expressed her nervousness about hosting the fest online. “Student Activities Fest is a very tough one to replicate in a virtual world because I think a part of what students want to see is the energy in the room.”

There were approximately 418 and 244 attendees for the SIG and non-SIG sections respectively and the feedback, according to AlHosani, has been overwhelmingly positive.

“It was very strange... because I’m used to the noisy, chaotic west and east forums. But it was really good because a lot of freshmen showed up,” said Michelle Hughes, Class of 2022, president of Greenhouse. “We had a lot of people sign up on Engage. It seemed like the people who did visit were keen on attending the [future] meetings and joining [our events].”

“Our SIG is also trying to have a better social media presence. That way we can try to engage people who may not be on campus and engage people asynchronously,” said Hughes. She brought up the role of SIGs in engaging people with the community, particularly in a remote semester.

Shaza Elsharief, Class of 2023, shared that while she was more open to exploring new SIGs through in-person events in the past, she found the online format more efficient. “It was helpful to have the whole list of SIGs because in a usual SIG Fair, you would have to look for a certain SIG you’re interested in.” Mentioning the option to simply join a student organization, Elsharief added, “In the usual SIG Fair, if you’re introverted, it can be harder to join a SIG without having a whole conversation.”

Ziad Hassan, Class of 2024, was initially conflicted about attending the event, but decided to venture out of his comfort zone and engage with the student organizations. He commented on the large variety of groups on campus, describing his experience as “a parent leaving their kids in a theme park.” Hassan added that the online format seemed easier to navigate.

AlHosani considered the event a success as, to her, it presented a shift in what SIGs are and what their roles are in our community. She expressed observing more “intimate and intentional conversations” than in an in-person event.

“I’m very happy with how it turned out. I think it was a great opportunity to delve deeper with what SIGs are [and] rather than just ... a surface level introduction, I think there were much deeper conversations. I’ve entered some SIGs conversations where the first year students ... were brainstorming with SIG leaders about different ideas.” AlHosani considered the event to be a good start and is optimistic about the virtual semester.