Empowering High-
Potential University
Students in Saudi Arabia

About QimamApplication deadline passed

About

40+ Companies

400+ Executives

6 Benefits

Founding Partner: McKinsey & Company

Qimam is a fellowship program supported by a coalition of leading national and international companies that aims to identify, develop, and empower the most promising and distinguished university students in and from Saudi Arabia to achieve their full potential.

Qimam provides its fellows with one-on-one mentorship from senior public and private sector leaders, leadership training by professionals from renowned companies, visits to the Saudi Arabian offices of leading national and international companies, membership in the Qimam Alumni Network, and an award for their distinctiveness upon completion of the program during a high-profile ceremony. It will also share profiles of fellows with leading HR executives in KSA to facilitate their career opportunities.

The Qimam Fellowship was created based on the belief that Saudi Arabia is rich with extraordinary talent and that developing such talent is one of the best investments for a brighter future. Since its founding in 2018, six classes of 50 fellows each have been admitted to the Qimam Fellowship, with an average applicant pool of 17k candidates per class. To be admitted, candidates have to undergo a very rigorous evaluation process, including two in-person interviews by senior leaders from the public and private sector. Review our Alumni’s profiles and hear the thoughts of our executive partners and Alumni about their experience with the Qimam Fellowship.

Qimam was founded by McKinsey & Company and Dr. Annas Abedin, a McKinsey Alumnus and entrepreneur, and it is funded by McKinsey & Company. Discover know more about the team that is leading and operating Qimam on a day-to-day basis.

Qimam in the Press

Partners

Corporate Partners

40+ leading national and international companies across different sectors have partnered with the Qimam Fellowship to support its mission to identify, develop, and empower the most promising and distinguished university students in and from Saudi Arabia to achieve their full potential.

Founding Partner: McKinsey & Company

Executive Partners

A full overview of all executives who supported Qimam since its inception in 2018 can be seen by clicking here

Since 2018, more than 400 senior leaders from the public and private sector have generously volunteered their time to provide one-on-one mentorship and career guidance to our fellows, or to conduct in-person interviews with shortlisted applicants. Some of those executives include:

Benefits

The Qimam fellowship program in 2024 will take place over a 12-day period in-person in Riyadh (25 June – 06 July 2024), during which all of the benefits outlined below will be provided. All of these benefits will be provided by Qimam completely free of charge, including all costs for travel and accommodation. Should it not be possible to run the program in-person due to health concerns, the program would be run virtually in the same time period planned for the in-person program.

Training

In-person leadership training by executives and accomplished professionals from leading companies as well as workshops on how you can build a successful career in the area of your choice.

Mentorship

One-on-one sessions with at least three leading executives to get personalized input and guidance for your career plan. In addition to that, numerous other opportunities for you to directly engage and network with outstanding leaders (e.g., during the training sessions, the company visits, or the award ceremony). Click here for an excerpt of leaders who have volunteered to support the Qimam Fellowship since 2018.

Company visits

Field visits to leading companies in KSA, including Seera Group, Careem, Cisco, General Electric, Ma'aden, McKinsey, STC, and others, which will provide you with a behind-the-scenes look at how these companies operate, an opportunity to engage with and learn from their top executives, and a perspective on career paths in these companies.

Recognition

Recognition with the Qimam Award for High-Potential Leaders. The awards will be given at a high-profile ceremony on the final day of the program and will be attended by our corporate partners and other dignitaries from the public and private sectors (thoughts of our executive partners about their experience with the Qimam Fellowship are available here).

Network

Building important and long-lasting connections with other program participants who share your ambitions and passions. After graduating from Qimam, you will all become a member of the Qimam Alumni Network, which will enable you to remain connected with each other as you go on to become leaders in your respective fields. The network will keep growing year after year with each new incoming class of Qimam fellows. You can review the profiles of our alumni from 2018-2023 on our website by clicking here, as well as in the official profile books we share with top executives on an annual basis (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023).

Career opportunities

After completing the training, we will publish your profile on the Qimam website and share it with leading HR managers and executives in Saudi Arabia. This will enable them to learn about you and reach out to you for potential internship or job opportunities. You can review the profiles of our alumni from 2018-2023 on our website by clicking here, as well as in the official profile books we share with top executives on an annual basis (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023).

How to Apply

Application timelines for the Qimam Fellowship Class of 2025 will be announced in January 2025

Eligibility

You can apply to the Qimam Fellowship Program if you meet the following three criteria:

You are currently a bachelor’s or master’s student at a KSA university, or a KSA national studying for a bachelor’s or master’s degree at a university abroad, and your graduation date from your current university program is after 25 June 2024.

You are committed and able to participate in the virtual interviews on 22 March - 24 March 2024, as well as to attend the full-time fellowship training, which takes place 25 June to 06 July 2024.

You have minimum conversational and comprehension skills in both English and Arabic, since the training curriculum will include content in both languages.

Selection criteria

We will evaluate applicants and decide on admission to the fellowship based on three criteria:

Academic performance. Have you performed well academically in high school and university?

Initiative. Do you have any accomplishments or activities beyond school or university? Examples may include any interesting skills acquired, working experience gained, or initiation of or participation in a club at your university.

Social responsibility. Did you engage in activities providing service to society? Examples may include volunteering at charities, independent activities (e.g., mentoring other students), engagement in a university club, or any other activity that has direct benefit to society.

If you are distinctive in at least one of our selection criteria, we strongly encourage you to apply. Candidates that score high on all three dimensions have a higher chance of being selected to the fellowship program. However, a particularly strong performance in just one of these three areas may also be sufficient.

Timeline

  • 22 Feb 2024
    Application deadline
  • Candidates shortlisted for virtual interviews will be notified via email, which will include exact interview time-slots as well as dial-in details
    9 Mar 2024
  • 22 Mar - 24 Mar 2024
    Virtual interviews will be conducted with all shortlisted candidates
  • Candidates admitted to the fellowship program will be notified via email
    3 Apr 2024
  • 25 Jun - 6 Jul 2024
    Leadership and career building training, in addition to mentorship sessions and company visits

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