Saudi scholarship programme aims to enrol students into top global universities

Programme looks at early planning, pathways to universities and post-graduate guidance for students

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Reuters

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has launched a new strategy to enhance the competitiveness of the kingdom's workforce.

The Custodian of The Two Holy Mosques Scholarship Programme Strategy includes three pillars. The first highlights the importance of early planning for young students for their educational journey at global institutions and universities.

The second aims to help plan scholarship paths and programmes "in order to elevate the kingdom’s competitiveness both locally and globally”.

It focuses on the roles needed in future to meet the needs of local and global labour markets, including top-rated global educational institutions, the state news agency SPA reported.

The third pillar ensures proper “post-graduation follow-ups and guidance for the scholarship beneficiaries, providing them with services to improve their readiness to join the labour market locally and globally".

There will be four paths to achieving the aims of the programme.

The first, the Pioneers or “Alrowad” path, aims to enlist Saudi students in the top 30 educational institutions around the world.

The Research and Development or “Al Bahth wa Al Tatweer” path will help to boost the kingdom’s research and innovation system by investing in students and helping them to join top-rated universities around the world and become the scientists of the future.

The Provider or “Emdad” pathway aims to meet labour market needs by continuously updating and ensuring Saudi Arabia has talent “in the top 200 universities to provide the labour market with the necessary competencies.”

The fourth pillar, Promising or “Wa’ed”, aims to train scholarship students in promising sectors and fields based on “national demands by giga projects and priority sectors”, such as manufacturing and tourism.

Saudi students at King Saud University in Riyadh. AFP

The changes are part of Saudi Vision 2030, which says the country will continue to invest in education and training so young Saudi men and women are equipped for the jobs of the future.

“We want Saudi children, wherever they live, to enjoy higher quality, multifaceted education," the official statement said.

"We will invest particularly in developing early childhood education, refining our national curriculum and training our teachers and educational leaders.

"We will also redouble efforts to ensure that the outcomes of our education system are in line with market needs."

Saudi Arabia launched the National Labour Gateway, and plans to establish councils that will determine the skills and knowledge required in each sector.

The country's scholarship opportunities are steered towards prestigious international universities and aim to help the future generations excel in advanced technology and entrepreneurship.