It was in the quiet moments in the courtyards of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, walking through historical forts in Al Ain, and sleeping under a sky of stars in the desert that took a piece of Jasmin Normatova’s heart when she first arrived at NYU Abu Dhabi in 2024.
So much so that Normatova, a senior business and marketing major at NYU Shanghai decided to return to NYU Abu Dhabi campus again as a visiting student.
Originally from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Normatova moved to Shanghai in 2022 to pursue her undergraduate studies in business and marketing at NYU Shanghai. Her initial reason for choosing NYUAD as her study away location was because of the ease of traveling around the region. "Dubai and Abu Dhabi are global hubs, and there is a culture of travel. There are
also a lot of cheap flights to different places around the world, making it easy to
explore neighbouring countries," says Normatova.
Post graduation thoughts
The opportunity to explore the region sparked a dream of starting a career in the UAE. Keen to work in marketing or consulting, Normatova feels the country is the ideal place to start her career.
I like how many opportunities there are for international students... I see potential for me to stay here after graduation.
The lively class discussions in class also made the NYUAD experience special for her.
"Professors encourage class discussions and class participation and everyone has
something to say,” she said. “Professors here are really open and supportive, and I like that a lot.” Normatova also took up a research assistantship on a project on desert inhabitation.
Desert research
Jasmine worked as a research assistant on an ethnographic and historical study on how steppe and desert regions in Central Asia, specifically the Qizilqum Desert spanning Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, have been inhabited over time.
"Although the project was not directly related to my major in Business and Marketing, I was drawn to it because of its focus on Uzbekistan and Central Asian history," Normatova says.
She read and summarized Russian-language ethnographic and historical literature on desert and steppe inhabitation, transcribed, translated materials, and gathered supporting resources such as historical maps.
The research contributed to a broader academic project examining patterns of movement, settlement, and human adaptation in the Qizilqum Desert across different historical periods.
Campus life
One of her favourite things about living on the NYUAD campus was that everything was at one
place. Visiting students can also expect plenty of leisure activities in the midst of their busy academic term such as visiting other emirates and a boat trip in Oman.
"It's a very good environment to dive into academics and not be distracted… From Monday to Friday on campus, focus on your academics. On weekends, travel around, see the world, and relax,” Normatova advises.
