Kuwait University struggles to groom young broadcasters
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 The recent privatization of Kuwait's media sector has led to an expansion and development of the domestic media industry, namely the opening up of the country’s first private TV station in 2004.
Yet despite this, the Mass Communications Department at Kuwait University is facing many hurdles in developing homegrown talent to fill the changing market needs. The role of women in the workplace, tough employer expectations and a strong tendency for graduates to seek jobs outside the TV industry are just some of the challenges they face.
Established in 1992, the Mass Communications Department at Kuwait University is currently the only institute in the country to offer a BA in television production. “We prepare students to be TV or radio directors” says assistant professor Dr. Yousef Alfailakawi, adding that the curriculum covers lighting, scripting, sound engineering, switching and camera work—all with an emphasis on hands-on training.
To achieve this, the department boasts a studio with four digital editing suits using Avid, DPS, and Canopus systems. Students of Assistant Professor Dr Mahmood Al-Musawi participate in an online radio station at www.kuniv.tv, designed specifically around his mass media course. Al-Musawi says he is also planning a major filmmaking project where students would produce a documentary covering the building of their new campus over the coming eight years.
Future graduates are also expected to complete internships at either the state-owned TV station or at one of Kuwait’s independent production houses, as well as participate in trips abroad. For his part, Al-Musawi has only recently returned from Beirut where he took students on a tour of the Rotana and Al Manar TV stations, while Dr Alfailakawi said he was planning to take his students to Hollywood this year.
But despite all the perks, many students end up pursuing careers outside the mass media industry, even with the country’s high hopes of expanding itsbroadcasting scene.
Although state-owned Kuwait TV, which has five channels, is the largest domestic employer, the recent launch of the country’s first independent TV station, Rai TV, is expected to be followed by several others.
“The broadcasting industry in Kuwait is starting to get busy with Rai TV and now Al Watan TV, which is in the preparation stage, plus some ad agencies,” said Hussain Dashti, a 2004 graduate with a BA from the mass communications department. “This will surely create more job opportunities for the new graduates.”
But even with Al Rai, “as a commercial TV broadcaster, most jobs will be filled only by experienced professionals,” Dashti admits, promising to return home when his contract with Rotana comes to an end: “In five to ten years it [the Kuwaiti media industries] will be good.”
A major factor explaining the high ratio of graduates deciding to work outside of TV is the high percentage of female students, which comprise some 70-80% of the department.
For reasons both cultural and personal most of the female students decide to find employment in another field. “When they graduate they say that they don't want to work in TV stations because either their families refuse or because they think that people have a bad idea about the people that work in the TV business,” said Dr. Alfailakawi. What’s more, the often highly tasking and competitive nature of work in TV deters lots of women from following this route. 
Graduate Fatima Al Fhakhs is one of the students that decided against pursuing a career in television. She currently works as a financial services representative for a major bank and says it was the late nights involved in working in the TV industry that persuaded her against the line of work. Nonetheless she insists that the degree course taught her many valuable skills that can be transferred to other jobs, such as dealing with the pressure of on-air programming.
Another significant factor is simply the original ambitions of the students. “Unfortunately most go into PR,” said Dr. Al-Musawi. This isn’t as a result of the job market itself though. “We ask them at the beginning, where would you like to go and work? Most say PR,” he added. In response to the inclination amongst the students, Kuwait University’s Mass Communications department will be introducing new majors in Communication Technology (including animation and desktop publishing) and PR and Advertising.
Al-Musawi said graduates often notice a difference between what they were taught in school and what they experience out in the field. “We teach the concept. We don’t graduate directors or presenters,” he said. “You have to go into the field and be creative.”
Tuition fees are waived for Kuwaiti students and of the few foreign students that attend the program, most benefit from scholarships.
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