Filipinos looking to pursue higher studies in the Kingdom may now apply for scholarships in various Saudi universities. Saudi Arabia has allocated 150 scholarships for Filipinos in all fields except medicine, the Saudi Ministry of Higher Education has announced. “Filipinos are in high numbers in technical and administrative positions in Saudi universities,” said Saudi Minister of Higher Education Dr. Khalid Al-Anqari, adding that the Ministry welcomes Filipino applicants for scholarships in graduate-level courses in these institutions. The Minister met with Philippine Ambassador Ezzedin Tago at the Ministry's headquarters in Riyadh on Feb. 8. They were joined by Third Secretary Paul Saret and Cultural Attaché Mohammad Taha Guinomla. Tago thanked the Minister for the generous gesture and also invited Saudi students who plan to study abroad to consider public and private Philippine universities, especially the country's national university, the University of the Philippines and its Diliman and Los Ba?os campuses. The Minister and Tago also discussed possible academic and educational cooperation between the Ministry and the Philippine Commission on Higher Education, in line with a memorandum of understanding signed in 2005. There are currently six Filipino graduate students on full scholarship at the King Abdullah University for Science and Technology (KAUST), which opened in 2009 in Thuwal, north of Jeddah. There are also Filipinos completing Islamic studies in universities in Makkah and Madina. The Embassy urges interested Filipinos to explore the universities' programs through their respective websites: KAUST, www.kaust.edu.sa; King Saud University in Riyadh, www.ksu.edu.sa; King Fahd University for Petroleum and Minerals in Dhahran, www.kfupm.edu.sa; King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah, www.kau.edu.sa; King Faisal University in Hofuf, www.kfu.edu.sa; King Khalid University in Abha, portal.kku.edu.sa; Umm Al-Qura University in Makkah, www.uqu.edu.sa; Islamic University in Madina, www.iu.edu.sa; and Imam bin Mohammad bin Saud University in Riyadh, www.imamu.edu.sa. Applicants may also send applications to the Philippine Embassy, which shall forward these to the Ministry. The Embassy's Cultural Attaché addresses information requests and queries via email at [email protected].
