JEDDAH — The Rhodes Trust will be offering this year two Rhodes Scholarships for Saudi Arabia in partnership with Muhammad Alagil, following the launch of the program last year. Students from Saudi Arabia aged 19 to 25 will be eligible to apply when the applications open in May.

The Rhodes Trust, a preeminent international scholarship program established at the University of Oxford in 1903, selects creative young leaders with a commitment to serve.

In the 116 years since the establishment of the Rhodes Scholarships, the trust has formed a community of extraordinary people who share a history of enriching their communities, pioneering in their chosen fields, and applying the knowledge and experience acquired as scholars to the betterment of society.

The launch of the Saudi Arabia Scholarship last year was part of a wider geographic expansion program of the Rhodes Scholarship aimed at ensuring that the world›s diversity is reflected at Rhodes House by strengthening the reach of the Scholarship around the world.

The Class of 2019 Rhodes Scholars will in fact be the most geographically diverse in the Trust›s 116-year history, with scholars selected from new Rhodes constituencies including Saudi Arabia.

Education is one of the core elements of Vision 2030, the Kingdom›s ambitious blueprint for the future. The Rhodes Scholarship in Saudi Arabia will enable students across the Kingdom to fully develop their skills and knowledge in the fields that will help Saudi Arabia achieve its goals under Vision 2030.

The first Saudi Rhodes Scholar is Majd Abdulghani, who was selected following last year›s application process. She will join a total cohort of 101 Rhodes Scholars arriving at Oxford in October 2019.

Majd is a geneticist currently working in the Cheung Lab at the University of Michigan. Her podcast, «Majd›s Diary: Two Years in the Life of a Saudi Girl,» aired on NPR and received two prestigious radio awards.

Majd has a blue belt in karate and has won a show-jumping competition. During her Master›s at Iowa State University in the Tuteja Lab, she proposed her own research project and uncovered genes that may play a role in pregnancy disorders.

Majd believes that her identities as a Muslim and Saudi woman are the keys to pushing scientific and stereotypical boundaries.

The Rhodes Scholarships cover all university and college fees for two years, an annual stipend, and travel expenses to the University of Oxford before the start of the program and a return ticket following the course of study. Potential candidates should go to www.rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk/scholarships/apply/saudi-arabia when applications open in May. The selection process will conclude by the end of 2019 and the selected Scholars will arrive in Oxford in October 2020. — SG