Eighteen outstanding student-athletes at American University of Sharjah (AUS) have been awarded partial athletic scholarships for Spring 2016. The scholarship program aims to inspire, advance and develop sports at the university and consists of a 50 percent tuition remission. It also supports student-athletes who have limited financial resources and who demonstrate athletic excellence and outstanding sports qualities.

Dr. Moza Al Shehhi, Dean of Students, applauded the students on their achievements. "The partial athletic scholarship at AUS is a great program that is absolutely necessary in order to acknowledge and reward AUS student-athletes who have shown excellence in sports," she said. "It is very important that AUS continues to show support in this area because convincing research suggests good quality learning outside the classroom adds significant value to young people's educational experience. It provides a context for accumulating integrated and subject-based knowledge and for developing key skills. Success is not only in the classroom, but also out on the field of competition," Dr. Al Shehhi added.

The winners are as follows:

• Men's Soccer Team: Yousef Ahmed Elbeltagi and Bashar Mohammed Oudat
• Men's Swimming Team: Talmir Ishmukhametov and Amr Mohamed Mohamed
• Men's Badminton Team: Owais Ahmed
• Men's Powerlifting Team: Salem I.H. Herzallah
• Men's Volleyball Team: Yousof Mohamed Ali Elshamashergy and Mohammed Abdurrauf Gusbi
• Men's Cricket Team: Muhammad Saeed Anwar and Mohammed Umar Shaikh
• Men's Table Tennis Team: Mihails Balonuskovs
• Men's Basketball Team: Yousef Mousa Shatat
• Women's Volleyball Team: Tala El-Kalache and Raghda Haider Al Rashi
• Women's Swimming Team: Cyndi Jamila Faber and Danya Assem Khafaga
• Women's Table Tennis: Shahdan Ibrahim Barakat
• Women's Basketball Team: Adji Ndiaye