At the end of August more than 50 newly minted KGSP alumni returned home to KAUST for the start of their graduate degree programs. For many, the return to KAUST offers a large community of support to assist with navigating the transition to a new campus and to the demanding pace of graduate-level coursework and research. Nearly 150 KGSP alumni are on the KAUST campus for the start of the fall semester, giving returning students an unprecedented social and professional network of colleagues and peers.

To (re-)introduce new graduate students to the wider KGSP alumni community at KAUST, the KGSP Alumni Council hosted a Welcome Dinner and reception on Sunday, August 30^th.  The annual tradition welcomes new alumni to the KAUST campus and celebrates their return home. Attended by alumni new and old from across the KAUST community, the dinner ensures that new alumni are immersed in the KGSP community at KAUST, fostering connections beyond alumni cohort or undergraduate institution. The reception also serves to introduce alumni to their KGSP Alumni Council officers and members of program leadership, and to excite them about opportunities to continue engagement with the KGSP in the year to come.

Included among speakers at this year’s Welcome Dinner was KGSP Alumni Council Vice President, Ali Bohliga, who joined KAUST as a M.S. student in the Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (TIE) program in 2025. Reflecting on the success of the event, Ali noted that

Hosting the new students was the highlight of the council’s academic year. There was a real sense of a fresh start for both the students arriving at KAUST and for those already here. The room was full of energy, and the questions and conversations kept going long after the event ended. We are more than happy to host this event every year to strengthen the bond between KGSP alumni and to keep building the moments that bring them into the circle. - Ali Bohliga, KGSP Alumni Council Vice President

The Welcome Dinner also included a formal agenda that included a panel discussion with current alumni offering advice and guidance on navigating life at KAUST, a networking reception for students to learn more about the breadth of KGSP community members on the KAUST campus and beyond, and remarks from the Head of the KGSP, Ameer Alsabaa. Over the course of the evening, alumni were encouraged to expand connections, forge or strengthen friendships and support networks, and learn more about activities and opportunities for KGSP alumni to remain engaged with one another and the Program.

It was exciting to see the alumni community come together to welcome and celebrate the new KGSP graduates joining KAUST. The cohort brought a wonderful mix of familiar faces I was glad to reunite with and new people I hadn’t crossed paths with during KGSP but now have the chance to connect with here at KAUST. - Sondos Quqandi, KGSP Alumni Council Events Coordinator

I've always enjoyed attending the alumni welcome dinner to see the new cohort returning to KAUST. One thing in particular that changed, is how in the past it was a chance to reunite with my cohort, friends from our foundation year, and I was focused on getting to know the alumni who have been in KAUST for a while to get their insights. However, now I'm on the other side of this table, the welcome dinner is mostly the new cohorts, and now I find the new students asking me about life at KAUST, research-life balance, and how to navigate graduate life at KAUST. - Farah Gomawi, KGSP Cohort 10 Alumna and former President of the KGSP Alumni Council

The KGSP and the KGSP Alumni Council wish to congratulate the newest cohort of alumni who have returned home to KAUST this fall and wish them all the best as they begin their academic programs.