Saudi- 4,548 students graduate from Umm Al-Qura 

(MENAFN - Arab News) Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal yesterday attended the 60th graduation ceremony of Umm Al-Qura University and distributed degrees to outstanding students.

A total of 4,548 students have graduated from the university this year looking for jobs.

Muhammad Al-Hazmi, dean for admission and registration, said among the new graduates 52 were holding doctorate degrees, 152 master's degrees, 506 higher diplomas, 3,436 bachelor's degrees and 402 diplomas.

"The graduates also included students of the Institute for Teaching Arabic Language to Non-Arabs as well as the university's branches in Al-Laith and Qunfudah," he said.

Bakri Assas, president of the university, thanked Prince Khaled for attending the ceremony. "This is a day for celebration not only for the graduates but also for the university," he said.

Assas commended Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah's generous support for higher education and his launching of the second phase of a massive university campus project, which is to cost SR 81.5 billion.

Anas Al-Mahdi, who spoke on behalf of the graduates, said they would exert all possible efforts for the Kingdom's development. He thanked the Saudi leadership for their generous support to the institutions of higher learning across the country.

Located in the most virtuous of cities, Umm Al-Qura offers a chance for non-Arabic speakers, male and female, to learn Arabic within a two-year intensive program.

Upon completing the initial studies in the Arabic Language Institute with excellent grades (80% average or higher), the student earns the opportunity to take an entrance exam to study in one of the colleges of the university.

"If students do not qualify, the Arabic Institute provides a chance for them to broaden their studies in Arabic, specializing in teaching Arabic with a two-year and four-year program," an official said.

Umm Al-Qura has launched the first innovation incubator for geographical information systems with the objective of encouraging patents and technological innovations from both university students and teachers.

The university's Business & Knowledge Innovation Agency set up the incubator in cooperation with the departments of computer science, geography and engineering and the Haj and Umrah Research Institute.