Coronavirus: UAE students braced for muted graduation celebrations during virtual ceremonies – The National

Coronavirus: UAE students braced for muted graduation celebrations during virtual ceremonies – The National

Coronavirus: UAE students braced for muted graduation celebrations during virtual ceremonies. On Wednesday, Hafsa Ahmed will take a short walk around her near-deserted university campus before heading back to her room to graduate online, alone.. The 22-year-old Pakistani student is one of hundreds in the UAE who will be graduating virtually this year due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.. Ms Ahmed said Wednesday will mark a "bittersweet ending" to her four year journey at New York University Abu Dhabi.. "I've had friends in the UAE take repatriation flights to their home countries without the chance to say goodbye.. "A graduation ceremony is a type of closure for students, it's hard to get that in these current times, but I'm grateful for the effort that has been made by our university.". For 22-year-old Khalid Abdelrahman Kareem, his ceremony has been cancelled all together.. "Our graduation ceremony has been cancelled and so has our end of year ball, which is something I've been looking forward to since starting university.". "When I realised I couldn't fly back home to the US to do the virtual graduation with my family around me, that was tough.. "It's very different to how I planned