DUBAI, (Pakistan Point News - 20th Apr, 2020) The Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation for Education awarded full scholarships at Arizona State University, ASU, to 58 underprivileged students from the Arab world to pursue their Master’s degrees, as part of the Al Ghurair Open Learning Scholars Programme, OLSP.
The 58 students were selected based upon merit and need from a large group of applicants, and represent nationalities from the Arab world, including those from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and Yemen. Of these aspiring young Arabs, 14 percent are refugees or conflict-affected youth with increasingly limited opportunities to continue their higher educations. Given that there are lower rates of graduate students in the Arab world than the global average, it is a game-changer for these Arab youth, who are being given access to the top one percent of the world's most prestigious universities, as ranked by Times Higher Education.
Mohamed Guleid, a young Somalian working at Mediclinic in the UAE, was awarded a scholarship to pursue his Master’s degree in International Health Management at ASU. "This scholarship will kickstart my professional development by increasing my knowledge and understanding of healthcare management, especially as I am already working in the field. On a personal level, this opportunity will also enable my future plans to develop my own country's healthcare system. This is a major turning point in my higher education journey and I truly appreciate the opportunity," he said.
The OLSP offers full online Master’s scholarships at ASU, in a range of fields such as engineering, technology, health, education, sustainability, tourism and other degrees relevant to Arab youth in the region.
Regarding the assistance, Dr. Sonia Ben Jaafar, CEO of AGFE, said, "During this unprecedented time, the foundation has increased its efforts to ensure that higher education does not stop for youth in the Arab world. We will continue to support young people who are dreaming of education for better livelihoods, and educational institutions that want to provide a high-quality education for all. Most of these scholarship recipients reached out to us because they wanted to pursue a graduate degree in engineering, health or education. They want to make a difference in their local communities. These are exactly the kind of impressive young people we need to support to contribute to the sustainable development of the region."
