A step in right direction.
The abysmal presence of Muslim students at the prestigious institutes of higher learning all around the world is obvious. We come across many studies describing this situation and attributing the blames rightly or wrongly to various causes. Though such studies and reports are helpful, what we need more is well thought out concrete measures which can bring Muslim Ummah out of this dismal condition. Here is one such step by a young Arab entrepreneur Dr. Mussaad Al-Razouki to help Muslim students enroll in prestigious institute of higher learning. The organization he started is called Ebtikarat Education, is a not for profit organization.
As per him “Islam has always been a path towards enlightenment. Muslims are always asked to remember that the first word of the Holy Qur’an revealed to the Prophet (saws) by the Angel Gabriel was “Read.” While the achievements of Islamic knowledge and international thought leadership are widely considered to have peaked during the early part of the last millennium in Al Andalus, Ebtikarat aims to catalyze the resurgence of an Islamic knowledge-based renaissance during this millennium—the Age of Information.”
For a student there are multiple obstacles to access prestigious institutes of higher learning, but lack of funds and lack of necessary information along with necessary connections are two major hurdles. Ebtikarat Education is providing solutions to later hurdle.
Ebtikarat was founded at Columbia University in the summer of 2007 by four business school students, who noticed the lack of Arab and Muslim students at Columbia University and other Ivy League schools when compared to other ethnicities. Their goal was simple: to maximize the applications of Arab and Muslim students in order to increase their chances of acceptance into the best colleges and universities of the world.
Now based in Kuwait Ebtikarat is trying to address the current needs of the local market (Middle East and Gulf Countries). Ebtikarat considers itself to be a “link between students and the real world.”
Ebtikarat helps fresh graduates in three ways; students are presented with three paths upon graduation:
- Get a job: Ebtikarat assists students with resume development, interview skills, and professional development skills to prepare them to enter the job market.
- Pursue further education: Ebtikarat offers admission counseling and standardized test preparation courses to assist students in applying to top tier graduate programs.
- Start a business: Ebtikarat works with recent graduates on incubating their ideas, developing a business plan and seeking out seed investors.
Ebtikarat, has also built three franchises for assisting students in shifting from an academic-centered world into a world of practical professionalism:
1) MBAArabia.com is an admission counseling and executive education website geared towards students and young professionals in the various fields of business administration. It is Ebtikarat’s first franchise and provides a bilingual online model of advising Arab and Muslim students on their MBA applications, in addition to providing GMAT courses and professional development training courses (e.g. resume development, presentation skills, and entrepreneurship) on college campuses in the region. Ebtikarat maintains a local cadre of mentors across the Middle East and the United States in order to ensure the best possible mix between local expertise and global best practices
2) IvyArabia.com is an admission counseling franchise for graduate students in the arts, science, and engineering fields. IvyArabia also follows a bilingual online model with partnerships with best-in-class service providers from the United States. IvyArabia instructors also offer GRE courses on campuses across the region.
3) Qudorat Education Center. The vision is for QEC to be a one stop shop for all admission services that students in the different cities of the Arab and Muslim world need. The idea is currently being piloted in both Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and in Kuwait City, Kuwait, where Ebtikarat is currently developing a curriculum to teach the local ‘Qudorat’ examinations required by the Saudi and Kuwaiti Ministries of Education for acceptance into the public university system. Ebtikarat aims to add this course to its already existing courses on the GMAT, GRE and SAT courses so as to once again ensure the best possible mix between local expertise and global best practices.
Ebtikarat is also extensively lobbying government entities in the region to subsidize these value-added services with the goal of preparing their youth for the practical challenges of the real world.
We wish there will be many more Ebikarat for students of Muslim Ummah, helping them to get admission at the prestigious institutions in their own respective regions and around the globe.
This article is adapted from the article on http://dinarstandard.com
