Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Media have signed a cooperation agreement to launch the “Media Scholarship” initiative aimed at training and qualifying Saudi talents in top global media companies and educational institutions.

The initiative will begin with the “Waed” track for the media sector, one of the tracks under the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Scholarship Program, offering study-abroad opportunities linked to employment in media.

The program will target specializations in high-demand fields such as digital media, artificial intelligence in media, content production technologies, augmented and virtual reality, digital journalism, publishing, and platform management.

The memorandum of cooperation was signed in the presence of Education Minister Yousef Al-Benyan and Media Minister Salman Al-Dosari.

Representing the Ministry of Media was Undersecretary for Strategy and Vision Realization Majed Al-Thaqafi, and representing the Ministry of Education was Undersecretary for Scholarship Lina Al-Tuaimi.

Al-Thaqafi said the program, offered in partnership with the private sector, will provide training opportunities in 15 countries, leading to diplomas, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees in media disciplines based on industry needs.

The Ministry of Media will submit requirement forms from interested companies to the Ministry of Education for program approval and agreements with private sector entities.

A workshop was held on Thursday at the General Commission for Audiovisual Media with more than 35 private sector participants from the media, advertising, journalism, gaming, and audiovisual production sectors to define training and hiring needs. Available seats for students are expected to be announced within 60 days.