Female applicants out stride males for Bidaya programme

During its hugely successful first year, Bidaya gave 20 UAE public high school students the opportunity to pursue the degree of their choice and now the race is on for more talented students to apply to be part of the next stage.

Successful students will benefit from private university education, career advice, mentorship, training and work experience, all of which will prepare them for real life challenges outside of the classroom.

Amina Taher, Executive Director of Corporate Communications, Zabeel Investments and Bidaya founder, said:

'We have discovered that from this year's applicants we have 82% girls to 18% boys. Bidaya realises how girls are keen on pursuing professional careers and will provide all types of support for their career ambitions. We have also observed that Ras Al Khaimah has the highest number of applicants at 24%, with Sharjah and Dubai running a joint second. Ajman has the least applicants! We are looking forward for more applications from Ajman, Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, Western Region and Fujairah and numerous applications from the boys.'

Mohamed Al Suwaidi, Bidaya Programme Manager said, 'Amongst the first year's students we've had many of them entering the fields of Medicine, Engineering and IT. This year we are receiving more diversity of study programs in the applications from last year, such as students who want to take Environmental Science, Physical Therapy and Graphic Design. We are encouraging students interested in specialised degrees such as Human Resources, Art History, Agricultural studies, Finance and Banking, Sales & Marketing, Arts & Design to go ahead and apply before 6 June.'

'Bidaya is a programme that provides you with choices, and doesn't commit you to working with either Nakheel or Zabeel Investments,' adds Amina Taher.

Selection into the programme is based on several factors which include: demonstrated leadership, academic performance, financial situation, and future potential.

20 students will be selected each year following recommendations from public schools across the UAE.

The panel responsible for selecting these students includes representatives from Zabeel Investments, Nakheel, community leaders, along with academic partners including the American University of Dubai, American University of Sharjah and the University of Sharjah.