The Residential Life Department at the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) organized a ceremony honoring students who won a contest in ‘My Residence’ magazine. This was held on Monday 23^rd of February, 2015 in the crescent building theatre in the presence of Professor Ghaleb Ali Alhadrami, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Enrollment, Rashid Al Shamsi, Director of the Residential Life Department, both male and female residence students and officials from the residences.

At the opening ceremony Hussein Al Junaibi, Head of the Residential Life Department, gave a speech and congratulated the students who won the literary contest plus the student contributors to the ‘My Residence’ magazine. There was also a film shown about the history of the magazine, its beginnings and students’ experiences of writing. At the ceremony the fourth edition of the magazine was released and its contents revealed. This issue demonstrates the development of the students’ writing skills since the first edition. Also, this is the first edition to include contributions from female students.

The magazine was launched as a student initiative to serve as an introduction to the residences and to reflect residential life and student activities. The first edition was launched in May 2013, the second issue followed in January 2014 and the third in June 2014. All previous issues contained interviews with university staff. At the end of the ceremony the editorial board was honored, and the winners of the contest entitled “will I one day become a creative writer?” were also honored for their short stories, poetry, articles and caricatures.