Today, Umm Al-Qura University presented the scholarship procedures and forms, as well as some guidelines for selecting the scholarship country. This took place during the fifth session of the "Preparing Teaching Assistants and Lecturers for Scholarships" program, organized by the Scholarship Department at the University Vice Presidency for Postgraduate Studies and Scientific Research in Al-Jafali Hall, Al-Zahir Campus.

The Scholarship Department explained the administrative procedures necessary to complete the scholarship process, along with a brief description of the major scholarship countries, namely Britain, the United States of America, and Australia. The Vice President for Postgraduate Studies and Scientific Research, Dr. Thamir Al-Harbi, pointed out that the theme of the meeting focused on preparing the teaching assistants and lecturers for scholarships from the time of filling in the application documents until arrival at the scholarship headquarters and the destination country. Furthermore, he hinted at the many opportunities offered by the university to its scholarship students with the support of the Ministry of Education.

Dr. Al-Harbi reviewed the procedures of starting the scholarship up to the attainment of the academic degree. He went through full details of the scholarship process, from the time the scholarship student departs from Saudi Arabia until they return to it. Some scholars from the Scholarship Department, who have completed their scholarship term and returned to the university, participated in the meeting to share their experiences with their colleagues.

The Vice President for Postgraduate Studies and Scientific Research stressed the importance of selecting prestigious universities before proceeding with filling in the application documents. He deemed it an essential positive aspect of personality refinement of scholarship students. He added that among the conditions for scholarship grants, for study at home or abroad, was that the teaching assistant or lecturer must obtain admission from an academically accredited university.

Dr. Al-Harbi, who attended on behalf his Excellency the UQU President Prof. Abdullah bin Omar Bafail, welcomed the Vice President for Female Students Affairs, Dr. Sarah bint Omar Al-Khuli, who shared some of her experiences from the period of her scholarship and encouraged the attendees to seek external scholarship opportunities for their various benefits.

The General Supervisor of the Scholarships Department, Dr. Basim Makhdoum, enumerated the benefits of scholarships, including assuming responsibility, learning about new cultures, and obtaining an academic degree. He also discussed the main problems that might be encountered by the scholarship students, such as unfamiliarity with the procedures and systems of the scholarship country that sometimes unintentionally lead to problems with the Department of Immigration or the university. Therefore, he stressed the importance of benefiting from the experiences of students who have already traveled on scholarships.

He also stated that the Scholarship Department has begun building an electronic platform that is still under construction and will bear the name "Mubtaath [Scholarship Student] Program." It will work in parallel with the global program "Safir," supported by the Ministry of Education. This system contributes to realizing the vision of digital transformation, by means of which services are provided electronically and in an integrated manner to the beneficiaries. This makes it easy for applicants applying for scholarship grants to deal and communicate with the program administration electronically.

Finally, the Director of the Scholarship Department, Wa`il Shaldoum, said that he considers scholarships to be a national message not restricted to science, but also serve to develop personal and scientific experiences, in addition to acquiring useful knowledge through positive interaction with other communities.