The Deanship of Admission and Registration launched the “Attracting Talented Students Initiative” in line with the Kingdom Vision 2030: “Prosperous Economy … A Fruitful Opportunity” to support the National Transformation Program of the Ministry of Education 2020, whose slogan is “Providing Education Services for All Students and Improving the Educational Environment to Stimulate Innovation and Creativity.”

The initiative aims to update and develop admission programs and academic acceleration to make Umm Al-Qura University an attractive environment for talented students. One of its aspects includes activating the partnership between the Deanship of Admission and Registration and the Talented Students Department at Makkah General Directorate of Education. A meeting was held between the two parties in the presence of the Assistant Director of Educational Affairs at Makkah Education, Dr. Amnah bint Muhammad Al-Ghamdi; the Director of the Talented Students Department, Dr. Muhammad Rawwas; the Director of the Talented Students Department at Makkah Al-Mukarramah, Dr. Laila bint Muhammad Al-Sa`di; the Assistant Director of the Talented Students Department, Mr. Amr Taibah; Partnerships Supervisor, Mr. Adil Qutb; and the Supervisor of the Talented Students Schools, Mr. Hamid Al-Rashidi.

They were received by the Dean of Admission and Registration, Prof. Hashim bin Muhammad Al-Samadani; the Vice Dean of Admission and Registration, Dr. Khalid bin Thamir Al-Thaqafi; the Vice Dean of Academic Affairs, Dr. Hussam bin Hassan Al-Hukmi; the Vice Dean of Admission and Registration (Female Section), Dr. Fatimah bint Ali Al-Ghamdi; and the Vice Dean of Admission and Registration for Registration Affairs, Dr. Tahani bint Muhammad Al-Subait. The meeting aimed to boost the integrated role between the two sides and discuss means of cooperation to attract talented students to Umm Al-Qura University.

At the beginning of the meeting, Dr. Al-Samadani welcomed the visiting delegation and confirmed the keenness of the deanship to provide services to benefit students under the guidance of the UQU President, Prof. Abdullah Bafail, and the UQU Vice President for Educational Affairs, Prof. Abdul-Azizi Al-Suruji.

The representative of the Makkah General Directorate of Education spoke about the aspirations of the Talented Students Department and what is expected from UQU to support talented students after graduation from secondary school. Dr. Muhammad Rawwas said that activating programs to attract talented students has become a matter of urgency. He said that the number of talented students in the Makkah region amounts to 40% of all talented students in Saudi Arabia.

Then, Dr. Fatimah Al-Ghamdi explained the initiative, tackling the importance and elements of the unit, the fields of attracting the talented students, the procedures for admission and academic acceleration, and the partners and executive bodies. She also presented the executive plan for approval and said that the Deanship of Admission and Registration, represented by the Department of Admission, in cooperation with the relevant colleges and deanships, is ready to harness these capabilities to create new programs to attract talented students. The meeting welcomed this initiative, which aims to improve the educational environment for talented students.

Dr. Amnah Al-Ghmadi said the community strongly relies on talented students and she hoped for continued cooperation with the Deanship of Admission and Registration.

The meeting concluded with several recommendations, including establishing a unit to attract talented students and organizing annual visits for schools with talented students to brief them about the academic majors. They all wished to serve the children of this nation.