Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — Several universities in the Kingdom, in cooperation with the Council of Universities' Affairs, have begun launching and implementing the Self-Designated Academic Degrees initiative, which is one of the initiatives of the Human Capacity Development Program in various specialties.

Dr. Basam Al-Bassam, the Secretary-General of the Council, explained that the initiative aims to ensure alignment between educational outcomes and labor market needs, and to improve the readiness of youth for qualification in the labor market, thereby enhancing the efficiency of educational outputs.

"The initiative allows students to diversify their study plans and choose to study in more than one specialty according to their inclinations and academic desires," he said.

"This contributes to enhancing their knowledge and skills, and improving their readiness to join the labor market, in line with the best global educational practices."

The initiative includes the implementation of several models in Saudi universities, such as minors and double majors, along with other models that will be applied in phases to ensure review, evaluation, quality control, and alignment with developmental requirements and labor market needs.

The universities that have started implementing the initiative in its first phase include King Abdulaziz University, King Faisal University, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Al-Qassim University, and the Saudi Electronic University.