TU President: Our goal is to build an integrated and balanced personality of the good citizen
date of publication : 2019-03-11TU President Dr. Husam bin Abdulwahhab Zaman affirmed the University's endeavor to build an integrated and balanced personality of the good citizen who carries the values of loyalty and belonging to his country, excellence in his work, and community participation.
In an open meeting with a group of outstanding students, TU President stated that the University has taken important steps to develop the capabilities and competencies of academically outstanding students through the launch of the Academy of Excellence. Dr. Zaman noted that the Academy will provide short training courses to develop the abilities and skills of outstanding students in various fields, including leadership, entrepreneurship, advanced work skills and languages, pointing out that the study at the Academy will start at the beginning of the next academic year.
TU President noted that the Academy of Excellence will have its own identity, special programs, and enrollee students in terms of their high school scores as well as their undergraduate cumulative GPAs, performance and participation in volunteer work, and student activities.
In this regard, Dr. Zaman stressed the necessity and importance of outstanding students’ participation in volunteer work teams and student activities, noting that such participations are an integral part of what an outstanding student is as well as a fundamental element of good citizenship. TU President said, "We would like to send a message that student activity and volunteerism do not conflict with excellence and academic distinction, but are rather pillars of excellence and distinction." He added, "With our new plans and curricula, academic excellence does not depend solely on learning what is in textbooks, but on the absorption of knowledge, skills, and the development of right sentiments, which will be reflected on community participation, volunteer work, and student activity.” He stressed that the excellence of students in academic study, performance, student activities, and volunteer work reflects positively on the image of the University and its reputation. He called upon outstanding students to showcase their excellence in all these fields and to provide the ideal model through good management of time and resources.
The meeting witnessed an open dialogue between TU President and outstanding students. The meeting was also attended by TU Vice President for Academic Affairs and Development Prof. Abdulrahman Al-Asmari and Dean of Student Affairs Dr. Bandar Al-Bugami. TU has a unit for distinguished students in the Deanship of Student Affairs, which aims at building communication links between TU and its students, establishing an information base for the gifted, giving them priority to participate in all academic and research developments within the University, and to actively participate in the University's internal and external events. The unit aims to benefit from the outstanding experience of students in achieving the future vision of the University, and the development of academic and research plans and training commensurate with the latest developments and needs of the labor market, and the organization and enrichment of events and activities organized by TU such as conferences, seminars and workshops.
TU Council has recently approved the launch of the Academy of Excellence program, an applied training program that specializes in catering to outstanding students. It also aims at building and developing the creative environment at Taif University and exploiting and harnessing their talents to serve the nation. This is to be achieved over four semesters simultaneously with the student’s undergraduate program. The aim of the Academy is to provide the appropriate educational environment to develop outstanding students’ abilities and creativity, to understand their abilities and potential, to broaden their perceptions, to guide and utilize them o serve the development goals, to bring out their talents, and to encourage them to innovate. The Academy of Excellence will provide talented students at Taif University with a range of skills, including leadership skills, soft skills (self-management, interpersonal skills, conflict and crisis management capacity), research skills, and specialized skills.