RIYADH: Six thousand students from the Kingdom will have the chance to become engineers, doctors and scientists in 23 different fields for 21 days as part of the Mawhiba academic enrichment program. One of the world’s largest scientific programs, organized by the King Abdul Aziz and His Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity (Mawhiba), began on June 13 across five Saudi universities, to be followed by a second phase that will be held virtually. The advanced scientific units were developed in cooperation with the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY). This comes within the program provided by Mawhiba for talented students discovered through the national program, held yearly by the foundation in partnership with the Education Ministry. Students in the Kingdom can register for the program directly or via their schools. The annual summer program aims to enrich student’s knowledge, increase their efficiency, promote their readiness, develop their practical and scientific expertise, challenge their capacities and develop their skills. “The academic enrichment program provided this summer covers the scientific and skills’ aspects, to promote student’s personal and social skills and help them acquire the skills of the 21st century,” a statement from Mawhiba said. Mawhiba’s academic enrichment programs this year will be held in in-person and remotely. The in-person attendance program will run from June 13 to July 1 and provide students with a total of 90 hours’ experience, six hours a day. Top academics will teach the scientific curriculum for four hours a day with two hours of skills’ development. The remote program aims to teach students the scientific curriculum of enrichment units and train them in specific skills. Students will receive a total of 60 hours training in this program, divided into four hours a day; three hours dedicated to the scientific curriculum and one hour to skills’ development. The second phase of the enrichment program will be held from Aug. 1-19, 2021. HIGH LIGHTS • Mawhiba’s academic enrichment programs this year will be held in in-person and remotely. • The in-person attendance program will run from June 13 to July 1 and provide students with a total of 90 hours’ experience; six hours a day. Attendance will be mandatory for students in five universities: King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah, King Saud University in Riyadh, Princess Noura University in Riyadh, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University in Dammam and the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) in Dhahran. The annual program reflects all training and qualification aspects for students. Those selected to train the students are among the best academics who receive periodical sessions and programs according to the best technology, sciences and direct and virtual teaching techniques, to deliver the information to students and create a positive environment for innovation, learning and motivation. “Mawhiba ensured that the training program provided to teachers includes specialized training sessions, to promote the coaches’ role in helping students acquire the skills and basics of rational thinking, empower them to deeply understand self-confidence skills, and provide them the scientific steps and techniques for problem-solving and decision-making skills,” the foundation said. The number of students enrolled in Mawhiba’s summer enrichment programs has reached 5,887 to date, with the program able to receive up to 6,000 students. A hundred and thirteen seats are still empty, including seven seats for the attendance program and 106 for the virtual program. The program provided for Mawhiba’s discovered talents is part of a journey in which students undergo different scientific experiences. Over the past 10 years, talented students discovered by Mawhiba have represented the Kingdom in scientific competitions and events around the world. They have won 500 international prizes; 415 international prizes in scientific contests and 85 international prizes in International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) — the world’s most prestigious scientific competition for students.