When we all applied to come here, there was a lot of talk about the strong sense of community, and in a certain sense that's true. The student body of only around three hundred know all their fellow peers perhaps a little too well, but the same can't be said of the students and the faculty. Although obviously most pupils know their teachers and vice versa, as would be expected of somewhere with classes that max out at a fifteen to one ratio, most students don't know professors who haven't taught them - and not only do they not know them, they don't know anything about them.
I propose a show on the radio consisting primarily of an interview with a faculty member. Most every teacher here has an intriguing backstory, and the question of what they're doing here in Abu Dhabi is often enough to provoke an interesting conversation. This, interspersed with perhaps a few of their favourite tracks, would surely be enough to hold the student body's attention. To make the show even more relevant, the interviewees would be selected according to the university's current schedule - a faculty member putting on a play would be interviewed the week after, or a teacher setting up a new class could discuss their plans on air.
In addition to the interviewer, there would also be the opportunity for listeners to (Skype) call in and ask the faculty members a question or two of their own. This could range from the banal to the thought-provoking, of course, and even from the trivial to the academic. Help with an algebra problem, or perhaps just wondering where to get the best chocolate in Paris? Most faculty members can answer just about anything, and this show would be the chance to put that to the test. Perhaps the show could even lead towards some sort of quiz show - faculty against faculty, with the winner returning the next week to maintain the crown.
