(MENAFN - Arab News) Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) has offered the best gifted students in the Kingdom an opportunity to study abroad under its sponsorship.
About 119 students from the King Abdulaziz and his Companions Foundation for the Gifted and Creativity (KACFGC) or "Mawhiba" participated recently in a meeting organized by SABIC.
The petrochemical giant presented its offer to the best high school students in mathematics, physics and chemistry in the Kingdom to provide them scholarships abroad.
Students from the Ministry of Education (MOE), who have obtained a high school diploma in sciences, are eligible for undergraduate study at a number of accredited universities, both domestic and international under this program.
According to a Mawhiba source, a delegation from SABIC attended the Third Winter Meet for the gifted students organized by KACFGC in collaboration with MOE, with the participation of 84 students. Of these, 35 are female students from different educational departments in Saudi Arabia. The event concluded yesterday.
It aims to select and nominate the national teams that will represent the Kingdom in the International Olympiads 2013 in mathematics, physics and chemistry to be held in July in Colombia, Denmark and Russia, respectively.
The students were briefed on the SABIC scholarship program during a meeting last Sunday with the education management at SABIC at Grand Khalidiyah Hotel here to brief them on the company's scholarship program, during which SABIC explained the details of the program and acceptance terms and conditions in order to attract talented students.
Speaking on the occasion, KACFGC General Supervisor for the International Olympiad Abdul Aziz Al-Harthy said that to be eligible for participation in the International Olympiad in its three branches namely, mathematics, physics and chemistry, is more than enough for admission of these student to the most prestigious universities in the world, "especially when you get a medal in addition to ensuring their acceptance in local universities."
He said King Abdullah University for Science and Technology (KAUST) is ready to accommodate gifted students.
Al-Harthy said this meeting is a sequel to Mawhiba and the MOE attempts to attract major national companies like SABIC and Saudi Aramco. These companies can take advantage of the achievements of these students and help them with scholarships inside and outside the Kingdom.
He added: "SABIC is among leading national companies that have contributed during its distinguished career in building the Saudi citizen and development of intellectual capital of the nation."
He pointed out that the SABIC scholarship program has achieved success since its inception nine years ago.
He said the forum aims to train students and harness their experience gained from three high-level tests held during the winter session launched last Saturday in the capital.
Some 11 foreign experts from the United States, Estonia, Hungary and Romania, in addition to the national training staff from various universities in the Kingdom, conducted the training program.
They will continue completing their rehabilitation through online training until the middle of the second quarter, after it had been agreed with the MOE on the completion of their school examinations on March 20, 2013.
This will set the stage for intensive training for physics and chemistry students at KAUST for three months, while students are trained in mathematics in Riyadh followed by a two-week session in the US before traveling to Colombia.
KACFGC has announced that another 30 national agencies and institutions will be adopting students for the local summer enrichment programs (LSEP), an increase of 16 percent over the past year.
Mawhiba is targeting 2,620 students this year, up from 1,918 in 2012. This represents a growth of 36 percent in many technical and scientific areas of expertise.
The scientific content accounts for 60 percent of the summer programs and 20 percent for personal skills, while thinking skills represent 20 percent.
By ABDUL HANNAN TAGO
