Twelve PDI Fellows Attend Professional Training Workshop

​The Professional Development Initiative (PDI), now beginning its fourth year, recently hosted 12 Kuwaiti Fellows for a two-day, intensive Leadership Training program in Washington DC.  The PDI was inspired and developed by the Embassy of the State of Kuwait, the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS), Kuwait’s Ministry of Higher Education, and the National U.S. – Arab Chamber of Commerce(NUSACC).  More than a dozen American companies have participated in the PDI to date, including such U.S. entities as Boeing, Dow, GE, Intel, and the Museum of Modern Art.  Click HERE to read the full report.

NUSACC PDI Fellows Represent Boeing at Kuwait Airways DeliverY

Two young professionals from Kuwait recently participated in a commercial airplane delivery ceremony to Kuwait Airways. PDI Fellows Ayoub Ali Ashkanani and Sarah Gharib, Boeing employees, recently joined company executives for the tenth and final 777 delivery to Kuwait Airways.  "Our PDI Fellows have proven to be great additions to our Boeing team," said George Paddleford, International Human Resources Senior Manager at The Boeing Company. "This program has allowed us to seamlessly integrate high-quality, highly-skilled employees into our workforce, and we are grateful for their dedication and enthusiasm throughout their fellowships."  Click HERE to read the full report in English.  Click HERE to read the translated report in Arabic by Al Rai Media.

nine kuwaiti students accepted into the 2017 pdi

Nine Kuwaiti university students currently enrolled in the United States have been accepted for the 2017 summer term of the Professional Development Initiative (PDI), a joint program developed by NUSACC, the Embassy of the State of Kuwait in Washington, DC, Kuwait’s Ministry of Higher Education, and the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences.  The objective of the PDI is to build U.S.-Kuwaiti commercial relationships and offer professional work experience for highly qualified Kuwaiti students as they graduate from American universities and before they return to Kuwait.  Click HERE to read the full report.

PDI 2016 LEADERSHIP TRAINING IN WASHINGTON, DC

The 2016 PDI Leadership Training was held in Washington, DC on October 1 - 2.  Click HERE for a full news report on this training, including the opportunity for U.S. host companies in hiring PDI Fellows.
The PDI Fellows, staff, and VIP guests. Front row (left to right): Dr. Mohammad Al Jeragh, Cultural Counselor at the Embassy of Kuwait; Dr. Aseel Alawadhi, Director of the Kuwait Cultural Office; H.E. Nawaf Al-Enezi, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of Kuwait; Mr. David Hamod, President & CEO of NUSACC; Cynthia Douglass, PDI Director; and Janine Colon, PDI Manager.  Back row (left to right): Omar AlAli, mechanical engineer; Abdulrahman Alaiban, mechanical engineer; Yousef Ali, mechanical engineer; Aziz Akbar, mechanical engineer with Dow Chemical; Alymamah Rashed, fine arts; Ayoub Ali, industrial engineer; Abdu Albusairi, mechanical engineer with BlueWave; Mohammad Molani, mechanical engineer with Dow Chemical; Yazan AlGhabra, business entrepreneur with 1776; Mohammad AlQallaf, architectural engineer with Ghafari Associates; Hamad Shareef, mechanical engineer; Sarah Gharib, environmental systems engineer.
H.E. Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber AlSabah (fourth from right), Ambassador to Kuwait in the United States, hosted a private dinner for the inaugural class (2014-15) and second class (2015-16) of PDI Fellows. Pictured left to right (front row): Mohammed Albader, Abdulrahman Albusairi, Mohammad Molani, Sarah AlAbdulmohsen, NUSACC President & CEO David Hamod, Ambassador AlSabah, Kuwait Cultural Counselor/Director Dr.  Abdulwahab M. Al-Dhafiri, Mansour Elmefrej, Ahmed Alfarhan.  Back row, left to right: Faisal Almadani, Abdulhusain Ben Nakhi.

Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)

By Sherouq Sadeqi

WASHINGTON, March 8, 2014 (KUNA) -- The State of Kuwait Ambassador to the United States, Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, has affirmed that the embassy has exerted relentless and intensive efforts to create opportunities for excellent Kuwaiti students to work in top-notch American companies for one year.

Ambassador Sheikh Salem said the diplomatic mission had played an effective role in signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Kuwait Foundation for Advancement of Sciences (KFAS) and the National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce (NUSACC) on December 12, 2013.  Today, a similar MoU was signed by the Embassy with the Chamber and KFAS, Sheikh Salem noted, in a statement on the occasion late on Friday.

"The objective of such MoUs is to assert each side's role in bolstering the training program and offer everything needed for Kuwaiti students to take advantage of such opportunities," Sheikh Salem said.
Kuwait Ambassador to the US, Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah (second from right) signing a memorandum of understanding between the Kuwait Foundation for Advancement of Sciences and the National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce, represented by David Hamod, NUSACC President & CEO (second from left).
He affirmed the close coordination with KFAS, namely its Director-General Adnan Shehab-Eddine and the Arab-American chamber to help the Kuwaiti students get enrolled in the top American companies and establishments to gain field experience and professional skills, before looking for work in the Kuwaiti market.

The Embassy, represented by the Cultural Office, headed by Dr. Abdel Aziz Al-Omar, has paved the way and offered all possible facilities for launching the joint training program, themed, "vocational development and creativity," during this year. For its part, the Chamber will seek to meet all the program requirements in coordination with the relevant authorities, namely the American corporations and institutions.

Nomination of the students for employment will be on basis of specific criteria. Choosing American companies for the task will be also on the basis of certain considerations, namely their qualification for the mission.

Kuwait's Ministry of Higher Education has agreed to cover the students' expenses to be selected in the program, Ambassador Sheikh Salem added. He also thanked all the involved authorities and their efforts to ensure the success of this program, designed to enable the students to work in Kuwait and contribute to the country's progress under "leadership of my master His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah may Allah safeguard him." 
Kuwait Ambassador to the US, Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah (second from right) signing a Memorandum of Understanding between Kuwait Foundation for Advancement of Sciences, The Embassy of Kuwait, and the National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce, represented by David Hamod, NUSACC President & CEO (second from left).
NUSACC President & CEO David Hamod said he is privileged to participate in the Professional Development Initiative (PDI).  "We are very proud to join two outstanding partners - the Embassy of the State of Kuwait and the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS) - in what we believe is the first such Public/Private Partnership (PPP) of its kind in the Arab world." The internship opportunities offered by PDI will help to bridge gaps between formal education in the classroom and the kind of "hands-on" experience that is needed for the workplace. Over time, this program will help to train a new generation of Kuwaitis for the global marketplace. This will be very attractive to U.S. and Kuwaiti companies looking for talent, of course, but the biggest beneficiaries of all will be the Kuwaiti young professionals who have an opportunity to experience this program," he said.

"The 'soft opening' of PDI commences today, enabling us to move into high gear in the months ahead. It's a modest start but, over time, I believe that this program has the potential to play a vital role in Kuwait's historic transformation from a hydrocarbons-based economy to a knowledge-based economy," Hamod added.
The President of the National Union of Kuwait Students (NUKS), Ahmad Qabarzad, thanked Sheikh Salem for all the effort that he has put in to the initiation of this program.

He added, "I would also like to thank the National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce, the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences, and Ministry of Higher Education for providing the necessary factors that helped start this program. Through this program, students will not only benefit from getting an education in the United States, but will be able to gain work experience as well.

"Based on our fundamental belief, that our generation shall take the lead in the prosperity of Kuwait, we regard this program as an investment in us. We hope our fellow students would be able to make the most out of this experience, and return to Kuwait to enhance the labor force. This program provides an incentive for us as students to strive for excellence, and this will consequently add a more competitive edge in the job market. Therefore we hope that this program will expand, in the next years, to allow more students to benefit from such an experience."