Recently it has been announced that a Dubai-based foundation will distribute scholarships worth Dh4.2 billion to needy Arab students.
A programme for high-achieving youth was announced by the Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation for Education, a non-profit entity launched last year in July.
During the launch, Abdullah Ahmad Al Ghurair, businessman and founder had donated a third of his assets to the education foundation which seeks to improve the quality of education, and help thousands of promising Arab youth from underprivileged backgrounds.
The foundation said it will use Dh4.2 billion, donated by its founder, to cover university costs of 15,000 students from across the Arab world, including Emiratis, over the next 10 years.
It will also support 5,000 high-achieving grade 11 and 12 Emirati students at public schools who wish to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
The scholarship programme was launched by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, at Zayed University in Dubai.
The Al Ghurair STEM Scholars Programme currently covers only undergraduate and graduate studies. Students can apply for the programme on the foundation’s website (www.alghurairfoundation.org) up to May 30 for admission in September.
“The programme is focused on providing Arab students as well as Emirati students to go to top universities to study STEM subjects,”explained Maysa Jalbout, chief executive of the foundation.
The foundation signed agreements with the American University of Sharjah, the American University of Cairo , Khalifa University and the American University in Cairo, allowing students enrolled into the scholarship programme to study at these institutions.
The foundation hopes to sign agreements with universities from the United States, Canada, the UK and Australia in the future, according to Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair, chairman of the Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation for Education Board of Trustees.