KGSP Students Begin Summer Enrichment Around the World

More than 200 KGSP students are beginning summer enrichment activities during June in positions at universities and commercial enterprises across the U.S., Saudi Arabia, and beyond.

Support for summer enrichment opportunities is part of what makes the KGSP scholarship unique, providing valuable experiences outside of the classroom that enrich student preparation for impactful careers. Typical summer enrichment activities include research positions at universities or research institutes, internships in industry, or specialized skills development programs where students undertake a STEM project with faculty mentorship.

From internships at Big Tech companies in California, such as software engineering at Meta and hardware design at Apple; to research at world renowned institutions such as physics research at CERN in Switzerland and organic chemistry research at Harvard University; the KGSP helps students secure summer activities that develop their unique interests and skills.

This summer, more than 60 KGSP students will be going to the KAUST campus for their summer enrichment to work under the guidance of KAUST faculty and researchers. In July and August, a handful of KGSP students will undertake Artificial Intelligence projects at University of Oxford as part of a program developed by KAUST Academy.

These and other summer activities give students the opportunity to develop their professional skills while applying their academic studies, expanding their networks, and benefiting from mentorship as they undertake real-world challenges to prepare for future careers.

Sohaib Bantan, a sophomore at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities majoring in Computer Science, and Hashim Motabagani, a sophomore studying Computer Science at Pennsylvania State University, recently began a summer of robotics research at the Carnegie Mellon University Robotics Institute. The KGSP facilitates and funds their participation in CMU’s Robotics Institute Summer Scholars (RISS) program. Sohaib will work in the Auton Lab under the supervision of Professor Artur Dubrawski and Dr. Chi-En Teh, and explains “I am applying Machine Learning methods on Hyperspectral data to advance Geophysical Discovery. This research topic is much needed to accelerate the process of discovery of natural resources that can be feasibly exploited.”

^{Sohaib Bantan, a Sophomore at University of Minnesota, Twin Cities majoring in Computer Science, and Hashim Motabagani, a Sophomore studying Computer Science at Pennsylvania State University, recently began a summer of robotics research at the Carnegie Mellon University Robotics Institute.}

As Sohaib describes, KGSP students often find that the hands-on summer experience helps them not only grow their professional skills but also hone their interests as they move forward in their academic and professional careers. “What excites me most is the opportunity to adopt the critical and curious mindset of the great research scholars at CMU, where I look forward to engaging in hands-on research in this intellectually rich environment. My experience at the RISS program will undoubtedly accelerate my academic development and guide my future research endeavors.”

^{Sohaib with his mentors at Carnegie Mellon University’s Auton Lab: Professor Artur Dubrawski and Dr. Chi-En Teh.}

Nawaf Alshaikhmubarak, a sophomore Mechanical Engineering major at New York University, also began an enrichment experience in June. Nawaf is joining the Aramco Research Center in Houston, TX, where he explains “I will be working on the Saudi Aramco Geomechanical Expert Platform (SAGE), with a focus on developing the Wellbore Stability Analysis module.” Nawaf hopes to learn how to apply the skillsets he’s learned in the classroom to a commercial project. “I'm excited to contribute a fresh perspective to help address ongoing challenges and assist with debugging and optimization of the platform."

The KGSP wishes a successful and inspiring summer to all students beginning enrichment activities this month!