Introduction
The KASP is a Saudi Government-funded scholarship program initiated in 2005 under King Abdullah ("King Abdullah Scholarship Program"; "Patent Program"). KASP has been launched in response to Saudi Arabia's increasing need for more qualified human capital, particularly in light of Kingdom's dependency on foreign labor (al-Shayea). The first KASP cycle was launched after late King Abdullah's and former U.S. President George W. Bush's agreement to increase numbers of Saudi students in U.S. ("King Abdullah Scholarship Program"). The Saudi Government invested SR7 billion and awarded 9,252 male and female students U.S. scholarships in first phase ("King Abdullah Scholarship Program"). The program, not a first in Saudi Arabia's student-abroad scholarship history, is implemented by Saudi Ministry of Higher Education and incorporates a number of stakeholders including most notably, Saudi missions in destination countries and destination country research universities ("King Abdullah Scholarship Program"; "Patent Program"). Moreover, KASP has expanded into more areas of studies and now cover 20 areas ("King Abdullah Scholarship Program"). The program currently covers undergraduate (for four years and postgraduate (for two years for Masters and three years for PhDs) studies ("King Abdullah Scholarship Program"). Depending on each student's language proficiency, KASP applicants are eligible for up to 18 months of English as a Second Language (ESL) preparation in order to achieve required academic language proficiency ("King Abdullah Scholarship Program"). Successful candidates are oriented on a range of academic and cultural issues prior to departure and are expected to return home after completion of respective program in order to contribute to Saudi Arabia's development in public and private sector economic activities. By 2015, KASP has become Saudi Arabia's largest scholarship program ("Patent Program"), sending students to over 30 countries and receiving funds at SR210 billion ("King Abdullah Scholarship Program"). This paper aims, hence, to highlight main candidacy criteria for, overseas benefits of and prospects after returning home from KSAP.
KASP Candidate
The profile of a KASP candidate is characterized by outstanding academic excellence and language proficiency ("King Abdullah Scholarship Program"). These requirements for a potential KASP scholar are further screened by a rigorous interviewing by an independent panel prior to nomination ("King Abdullah Scholarship Program"). Specifically, a bachelor degree KASP candidate is expected to achieve a secondary school grade above 90%, General Aptitude Test above 80%, Achievement Test above 80% ("King Abdullah Scholarship Program"). For Associate Degrees (2 year post-secondary diplomas), applicants are required to have a minimum GPA of 4.5/5.00 ("King Abdullah Scholarship Program").In addition to mentioned criteria, Master's Degree applicants are required to have a bachelor degree of at least 3.75/5.00 (or equivalent) GPA ("King Abdullah Scholarship Program"). For PhD applicants, a minimum of "Very Good" (or equivalent) for Master's Degree's GPA is required ("King Abdullah Scholarship Program"). Typically, applicants are predominantly males. However, an increasing numbers of female students are now been accepted in KASP (al-Shayea). Given most recent statistics, around 44,000 Saudi women have been sent to study abroad (al-Shayea). If anything, applicants come from all backgrounds and, in recent years, applicant pool has become more diversified as regards gender and age. Specifically, as more and more areas of study and destination countries are added to KASP list, more mature students are accepted into highly demanded – and, for that matter, expensive – areas, particularly in healthcare and engineering.
Overseas Benefits
Returning Home
Based on KASP's underlying philosophy, returning scholars are expected to contribute to Kingdom's economic development. If anything, outstanding Saudi students are sent abroad in order to gain required skills for local labor market. This end-goal justifies a growing dissatisfaction among Saudi Ministry of Higher Education of scholars preferring to stay abroad after program completion (al-Shayea). This pattern comes, in fact, in response to growing dissatisfaction of returning scholars of unavailability of employment opportunities at home (al-Shayea). True, KSPA has been launched for local, Saudi reasons, mainly strengthening Saudi human capital for long-range, more positive economic prospects. However, in-place policies of KASP appears to focus mainly on admission and funding processes, although more recent efforts are increasingly accounting for returning phase by developing networks of job marketplaces (al-Shayea). These efforts are commendable but need to be further enhanced in order to buffer against not only financial loss incurred by Saudi Government but also, more significantly, human capital loss to more attractive job markets.
Overall, KASP has opened up a world of opportunities for thousands of Saudi students over years since inception in 2005. As stated by former U.S. President: "International Education cannot be the work of one country. It is the responsibility and promise of all nations. It calls for free exchange and full collaboration" ("Patent Program"). KASP, Saudi Arabia's biggest scholarship program, responds to local labor market needs and continues to be a promising human capital investment program. The program is, moreover, an indicator of Saudi Arabia's increased openness to outside world. Therefore, in addition to leveraging local human capital, KASP also enhances Kingdom's country brand image. The growing funds for KASP are, if anything, a positive indicator of Kingdom's commitment to broad prosperity for Saudis at large. This commitment, interpreted into substantial financial and non-financial support for KASP scholars, should be guaranteed by stricter follow-up measures after program completion. By ensuring returning scholars are better placed in job market place, Saudi Arabia can generate ROIs more effectively as compared to current policies. Moreover, if KASP's end-goal is Kingdom's prosperity by proper investment in human capital, approaches by countries as China and India can be adopted as models for retaining returning scholars.
Works Cited
"Patent Program." Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission to the U.S. Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission to the U.S, n.d. PDF file.
"The King Abdullah Scholarship Program." Saudi Arabian Cultural Bureau in Canada. Saudi Arabian Cultural Bureau in Canada, n.d. Web. 6 February 2016.
al-Shayea, Khaled. "Saudi students on scholarship: Achievements and challenges" Al Araby. The New Arab, 6 October, 2015. Web. 6 February 2016
