Yanbu Industrial College (YIC), an entity of the Royal Commission of Jubail and Yanbu launched its very own newspaper, YIC Campus Times, on Monday, Feb. 21, in the college auditorium. Chief guest Tariq Al Maeena, leading columnist of English daily Arab News, and Dr Ahmed Dabroom, the college Managing Director, released the newspaper in a ceremony attended by students and faculty members of YIC. The tabloid-style newspaper is given a vibrant look and the editorial board has ensured that the content of the 12-page color newspaper catches the attention of students, staff as well as the local industry that hires a large number of graduates from the college every year. Yanbu, based on the bank of the Red Sea, has an industrial base of more than 20 billion dollars, yet the city does not have a newspaper. YIC Campus Times will fill this void to an extent by including local news from the city relevant to the students, besides covering details of the happenings in the college, like research and development and academic achievements. The college newspaper also has a sports page that has a profile of two YIC students who represented the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the Gulf Cup in the UAE last month. The other sections of the newspaper includes Education Focus, which showcases the institute's academic achievements, Industry Viewpoint, which highlights the perspective of the industry on YIC students, and Spotlight , which describes the features and details of a selected department or area of the college. The first edition draws attention toward the facilities in the library. YIC Campus Times also has two Arabic pages with the hobbies section that provides a platform for students to exhibit their talent in photography, poetry writing, painting etc. Speaking on the occasion, Al Maeena stressed the importance of a newspaper for a college and encouraged students to develop the habit of writing. Dr Dabroom, on his part, urged the students to be the driving force behind the changes taking place in the college, saying the launch of the newspaper is a step in this direction.
