Officials and students hope to expand ESU-Saudi program
By Russ Morgan (Contact)
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
A program to bring students from Saudi Arabia to study at Emporia State University has been a success, and Saudi officials and the students who benefit from the program are striving to expand it.
Officials with the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Washington, D.C. paid a visit to ESU Tuesday to meet with students and administrators and to celebrate the success of the King Abdullah Scholarship Program.
There are currently 54 Saudi students in Emporia among the approximately 19,000 studying in universities all over the country. According to Musaid Assaf, director general of the Royal Embassy’s I.T. Center, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Higher Education hopes to expand that number to 25,000 students in the next couple of years. The ministry also hopes to increase the number of Saudi clubs on university campuses, of which there are 85 right now.
“Our mission is aiming to increase that number to 200 by the end of next year,” Assaf said.
The purpose of the program is not only to offer educational opportunities to the students, but to foster an exchange of culture and ideas.
“King Abdullah thought the most important exchange between countries and nations is the exchange of culture and education and knowledge,” said Mohammed Alomar, assistant attache for academic affairs for the Cultural Mission of the Royal Embassy.
The King Abdullah Scholarship Program started in 2005, and in that first year it offered exchange opportunities to about 10,000 students. Since then, it has grown steadily.
“The most important beside getting the knowledge and education is the cultural and also the social exchange,” Alomar said. “So we think we have 19,000 ambassadors besides what ambassadors are in Washington, D.C. Those students can show the American people ... in all the universities and cities where Saudi students are, they are really ambassadors of our religion and also our country.”
Nayaf Alluhaiden came to ESU in 2005, the first Saudi student in Emporia to benefit from the scholarship program. Alluhaiden, who will graduate next year, is glad to have been given the chance to study here.
“(Emporia’s) a good size,” he said. “You don’t get too many distractions. Emporia State is maybe small in size, but it’s very big in its name.”
Quassin Almukhtar, another Saudi student and former president of ESU’s Saudi Club, said he enjoys the atmosphere of the city and the school.
“One of the nice things about Emporia is having a good community here, very friendly,” Almukhtar said.
For Ahmed Ashi, current president of the Saudi Club, Emporia has not only benefited him but his wife and three children also. Ashi has a daughter in high school, a son in middle school and a son in elementary school.
“It is very friendly here,” Ashi said, “and for me also the schools are good for my kids.”
Alomar said the Ministry of Higher Education wants to continually expand the program, and to replace returning students with new ones.
“This program is really fruitful, and a good program to continue,” Alomar said.
“It’s also good for us as students not only from the educational part, but also from the cultural part,” Alluhaiden said. “We get to see another culture, experience another culture, and take what’s good from the culture, leaving what’s bad. And the same thing for the people over here who never get to travel ... to see our culture and how we do things, and then take what’s good from us and leave what’s bad. So that’s what benefits both cultures.”
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madpoet (anonymous) says...
I like that last quote. That is exactly how it should be. I don't agree with a lot of what goes on in Saudi Arabia what with the repression of women, but I'm sure if we dig deep enough we can find something worthwhile.
April 29, 2009 at 3:41 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )