Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: Plans are under way to offer the Master of Business Administration (MBA) program at Dar Al-Hekma College in cooperation with the Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley, as well as master’s program in learning disabilities in collaboration with Teachers College at Columbia University in New York and International Relations Program with Fletcher School at Tufts University.
This was indicated at the college’s 2011 graduation ceremony, where 167 female students of various disciplines were awarded undergraduate degrees upon successful completion of their chosen field of study at the college.
The students graduated from different disciplines including interior design, graphic design, management information systems, nursing, banking and finance, speech and hearing program and legal studies.
This was the ninth batch of females graduating from the college since its establishment in 1999 with 120 students in three majors.
Dar Al-Hekma awards bachelor’s degrees to students who successfully complete a four-year, college-level curriculum.
The expected ninth batch of Dar Al-Hekma graduates have been involved in various activities. Nine students have memorized the Qur’an; this year’s graduate Basma Qutub has completed the highest community service hours, that is 358 hours by being actively involved with the social responsibility unit at Dar Al-Hekma through the course of her study at DAH; a graphic design graduate, Maria Mahdaly presented her project in Obama Summit for Entrepreneurship last year in 2010; Noura Talal, a student graduating in banking and finance, has established the Iqraa Umma Project; and a couple of graduating students have won competitions such as Dubai Summer Festival and Model United Nations best writer competition in Holland.
Most of Dar Al-Hekma alumnae are either employed in reputable organizations or pursuing further education in renowned institutions including; The Islamic Development Bank, The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), The Ministry of Higher Education, KSA (MOHE), Procter & Gamble, Unilever, King Abdullah University for Science and Technology (KAUST) and Imperial College Business School-London. Some graduates have established their own businesses in the Kingdom.
With futuristic thinking based on practical applications and the use of educational technology and the continuous pursuit for excellence, we are always ensuring that efforts are made to provide a rich teaching and learning experience to our students to enable them to pursue successful avenues upon completion of their studies. We are proud of our graduates’ achievements till date and desire the same and even more for the college’s future graduates, said Suhair Hassan Al-Qurashi, president, Dar Al-Hekma College.
I am very excited as the 9th batch is the 1st graduating batch of students enrolled in the legal studies and autism programs. I feel immense pride with the achievement of the graduating students and wish them success in whatever further they pursue post-graduation, added Al-Qurashi.
A total of 946 females have been awarded undergraduate degrees since the first graduation ceremony took place in 2003 when the college’s first batch of graduates was rewarded for the successful completion of their chosen program.
Dar Al-Hekma is a major private college for women in Jeddah. Established in 1999 and based on an American model curriculum developed by the Texas International Education Consortium (TIEC), it has recently been awarded institutional accreditation from the Accrediting Council of Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS), based in Washington DC.
The College is currently the first and the only institution in Saudi Arabia to receive institutional accreditation from an American accrediting body.
© Arab News
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