AURAK Empowers Students Against Drug Addiction

The American University of Ras Al Khaimah’s (AURAK) Department of Student Life featured the Head of the Policy of Prevention Committee, Dr. Layla Alhyas, in the Drug Awareness Workshop, “How Substance Use Impacts Success.”

The speaker, Dr. Layla Alhyas, is a Program Manager for Health and Wellness in the Department of Knowledge and Education and the Head of Prevention Task Force in the Anti-narcotic Council. She has nine years of experience in clinical and quality improvement in the pharmacy field and five years of experience leading strategic, operational, and research and policy oriented projects.   She earned her PhD. from the Imperial College London, School of Public Health and her MSc in Clinical Pharmacy International Practice and Policy from the University Colleges London in the UK.

Dr. Layla explained that one of the main reasons that contributes to the increase of the number of drug-addicted students is the lack of awareness concerning drug addiction; students begin drug usage not understanding the long-term effects associated with drug addiction. The solution is simple, she stated, "We need to have knowledge. The lack of information can kill you."

“Knowledge is Power,” stated AURAK President, Professor Hassan Hamdan Al Alkim, “The purpose of this initiative is to make students more aware of the level of severity laced in the dangers of drug usage so that they think more critically before making bad decisions that have the potential of derailing their future. If one student walked away from the presentation with a better understanding of the high stakes involved in drug experimentation, the initiative is a success.”