(MENAFN - Arab News) The King Abdulaziz and his Companions Foundation for the Gifted and Creativity (KACFGC) or "Mawhiba" has adopted another 30 national agencies and institutions for the local summer enrichment programs (LSEP), an increase of 16 percent in the number of agencies for the past year.
Mawhiba is targeting 2,620 students this year, up from 1,918 last year, amounting to a growth of 36 percent in many technical and scientific areas of expertise.
The scientific content represents 60 percent of the summer programs and 20 percent for personal skills, while thinking skills represent 20 percent.
The participants in these programs will undergo specialized scientific activities while developing all aspects of their personal and social skills. The summer program will run for three weeks during the summer holidays and will begin immediately after the end of the school year.
The programs are divided into two categories: a local full time summer program, designed for resident male students in the 15 to 18 years age group. The second type is for local students but not full timers, who are under 14.
Mawhiba seeks to achieve its objectives of local summer program " the development of mental and creative abilities in promising students. The goal is to direct their energy and capabilities to the needs of society by providing an opportunity for outstanding students to discover academic and scientific areas.
Over 20,000 Saudi students have registered for participation in the upcoming National Olympiads for Science and Innovation.
The Ministry of Education urges more students at intermediate and secondary grade level to take part in the contest. The finals will be held in Riyadh from March 16-20. Mawhiba said 4,741 boys and 4,430 girls would be participating in the innovation category and 7,398 boys and 4,458 girls in the course of scientific research. The total number of participating schools is 3,531, while the number of projects submitted is 385.
Saudi Arabia recently honored 41 students and innovators for their world and Arab records in the Global Olympiads in mathematics, physics and innovation that took place in four different countries last year. The students won gold medals in innovation and mathematics and received bronze in physics. Saudi Arabia has overtaken many developed countries in Europe and Asia with this landmark achievement and brought laurels to the Arab world.
