King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) welcomed home around 150 of Saudi Arabia’s most talented and ambitious changemakers during the inaugural KAUST Gifted Student Program (KGSP) Alumni Summit — a platform to celebrate achievements, highlight national impact, and align with national priorities. 

Since its inception in 2008, KGSP has equipped future thought leaders, scientists, and innovators with the skills to contribute to the Kingdom’s research, development, and innovation ecosystem. The program supports selected Saudi scholars to undertake their undergraduate studies at elite overseas universities in preparation for graduate research at KAUST. In total, 656 alumni have completed their bachelor’s degrees abroad, while another 319 are currently enrolled. 

The Alumni Summit is an opportunity for the KGSP alumni community to connect with fellow community members across cohorts and career paths, strengthen their lifelong affiliation with KAUST as their home university in the Kingdom, and showcase the impact made possible through KAUST’s support of young talent development over the program’s 17 years. 

Beyond the numbers, the heart of KGSP lies in the individual lives the program has empowered. Among the many accomplished alumni, the four profiles that follow illustrate KAUST’s mission-driven commitment to developing Saudi talent through its flagship scholarship program. 

Mariam Awlia 

At the very start of KGSP, there was Mariam Awlia. Through her association with the King Abdulaziz and His Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity (Mawhiba), she first heard about this new program from King Abdullah’s then yet-to-be-built university on the Red Sea. She embraced the opportunity and joined the first cohort. 

“They asked me if I would like to join this adventure,” Awlia said. “At the time, it was a promise, and the promise was delivered. I feel KGSP is a badge and it is kind of an honor that I carry with me because, as the first cohort, we had no idea what we were getting into, and we pulled ourselves into the vision. We believed this could create a big ripple, not only in our lives but for generations to come.” 

After graduating from University College London in 2021 with a degree in biochemistry and molecular biology, Awlia earned a master’s and Ph.D. in bioscience at KAUST. Today, she is a national results-based monitoring and evaluation specialist with the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Riyadh. Awlia said her KAUST and KGSP experiences, both in Saudi Arabia and abroad, gave her technical and social skills necessary to excel in science. 

She envisions KGSP alumni — present and future — collaborating to create a legacy that shapes governance, youth development, and national progress. Awlia believes a blend of cultural grounding and global experience uniquely equips them to bridge worlds and lead with both technical expertise and humanitarian understanding. She added: “We know who we are and what we’ve learned abroad. That gives us the power to lead change.” 

Ahmed Aljohani 

For Ahmed Aljohani, a Misk Fellow, Rhodes Scholar, and Ph.D. candidate studying conservation biology at the University of Oxford, attending the first KGSP Alumni Summit was a way to connect with peers and give back to an academic community that mentored him and helped shape him into a successful graduate of Emory University. “I owe a lot to this community, and seeing it thrive is one of my personal goals,” he said. 

KGSP opened opportunities that shaped Aljohani’s career path, notably the Rhodes Scholarship. He said the program exposed him to like-minded, passionate people who value meaningful, community-based impact that extends toward a broader global perspective. “My impact right now is shining a lens and having a voice for desert ecosystems — really communicating the importance of restoring such an environment, such a vast system." 

As part of Cohort 9, Aljohani said he has witnessed KGSP’s contribution to Saudi Vision 2030 through training talented Saudis to bring back knowledge that strengthens the nation. Based on his own experiences, he hopes KGSP expands to include more students and an even stronger base. “I see it as a talent pipeline for the Kingdom.” 

He added: “The experience has been life-changing, because it opened my eyes to so many opportunities, and KGSP helped me reach those opportunities.” 

Farah Gomawi 

As KGSP Alumni Council president, Farah Gomawi is uniquely positioned to reflect on the program’s past success and future impact, and she believes KGSP is in a “really wonderful place,” as reflected in those attending the inaugural annual summit at KAUST. “We have people in government, people in the private sector, and people who’ve founded their own companies. I feel like this is just going to continue growing." 

Currently a KAUST Ph.D. candidate in statistics, Gomawi joined KGSP as part of its 10th cohort and graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 2023 with a degree in applied mathematics. She said KGSP advisors offered ample support while in the program, setting it apart from other scholarships. “The best part of the KGSP experience, that prepared me for my work at KAUST, was actually one of the regular professor visits.” 

First introduced to KGSP while participating in the KAUST-run Saudi Research Science Institute (SRSI), Gomawi has since earned a master’s degree at KAUST and continues to advance discovery for the Kingdom. She is currently conducting statistical analyses of Ramadan fasters’ brain waves — a niche study exploring the effects of dry fasting. 

Gomawi said she would urge any young Saudis passionate about science and innovation to apply for KGSP. “I would tell them to really look inwards to see what their goals and aspirations are, and they should consider it.” 

Ahmed Alsaggaf 

Since its inception, KGSP has enabled Saudis to make significant contributions across science, startups, industry, and leadership, said Ahmed Alsaggaf, a KAUST Ph.D. candidate in marine science and member of the scholarship program’s eighth cohort. He earned a biology degree from the University of California, San Diego, in 2020 and a master’s degree from KAUST in 2022. 

Having experienced the program’s impact firsthand, Alsaggaf believes future generations of KGSP participants will continue to benefit from the program’s investment in Saudi talent. “What I hope for the future of KGSP is that it will continue supporting its alumni — continue supporting the body of students it has invested time, money, and effort into building. That will come with amazing results in the future for Saudi’s Vision 2030 and for the Kingdom in general.” 

For Alsaggaf, KGSP established clear academic and personal standards, setting expectations of excellence, discipline, and consistent effort. Through its network of advisors and mentors, he noted, students receive guidance beyond academics, including support for daily life, motivation, and mindset. 

This structure was instrumental to his success while studying in the U.S., Alsaggaf added, and that same supportive community extends to KGSP alumni, as reflected in the KGSP Alumni Summit. “It’s amazing to see these people and reconnect, because these people are my second family.”