Gifted female Saudi students studying in various universities in the Kingdom will demonstrate their scientific prowess and express their needs at a workshop organized by King Abdul Aziz and his Companions Foundation for Gifted and Creativity in Riyadh on Saturday. Dr. Amal Al-Hezza'a, Director General of the Women's Section of the Foundation, told Saudi Gazette that around 14 gifted female students from various universities in the Kingdom have registered to attend the workshop. The students, who have expressed their desire to attend the workshop and present a demonstration of their skills, will also speak about what has inspired them and will give a brief outline of the scientific applications they have already developed, she said. Princess Adeela Bint Abdullah, Associate Chair of the Women's Consulting Committee of the Foundation, will grace the event. She said four professors from international universities, such as, the University of Helsinki, Finland, the Arabian Gulf University in Bahrain and Jordan University will speak on the occasion. Dr. Al-Hezza'a said the target participants of the event are the academic staff of various universities in the Kingdom both public and private. Teaching at universities with the right techniques will leave a greater positive impact on students, she added. “The basic aim of the workshop is to create awareness among the academic staff on how to foster and nurture giftedness among students of higher education,” she said. Around 200 academic staff from various universities in the Kingdom, including King Saud University, Imam Saud University in Riyadh, King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, Umm Ul-Qura University in Makkah, King Khalid University in Abha and a number of private universities will attend the event. She said it is important to train the academic staff, who are at the forefront of identifying talented students. “There is a lot of talent among female Saudi students, which needs to be tapped, fostered and nurtured in a proper manner,” she said. To make this happen the academic staff, irrespective of the discipline, should get the proper support in teaching techniques, she added. The four professors invited from international universities will deliver lectures on teaching techniques that include topics such as inquiry-based learning and stimulus thinking, as well as educating gifted students to further their scientific inquisitiveness. “One never knows when gifted students will bloom. There are, however, some late bloomers (in talent) whom we want to foster and nurture,” Dr. Al-Hezza'a said. Princess Adeela, who has always shown her keen interest and support for fostering and nurturing gifted female students will make the closing remarks on the occasion. She said the foundation has for the first time organized the event exclusively for the academic staff in order to train them in how to develop critical thinking among the students of higher education.
