Held last Monday on campus, with the ninth batch of the institution's graduates since its establishment in 1999, the college has grown from offering three majors to eight. Plans are currently underway to offer the Master of Business Administration (MBA) program in collaborations with the Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley, as well as a Master's program in learning disabilities in collaboration with the Teachers College at Columbia University in New York and an International Relations program with the Fletcher School at Tufts University, remarked Amna Syed Ali, a graduation committee member at Dar Al-Hekma told Saudi Gazette. Dar Al-Hekma awarded bachelor's degrees to students who successfully completed a four-year, college-level curriculum. This year's batch included the first graduates from the Legal Studies and Autism programs. Most of Dar Al-Hekma's alumnus are either employed in reputable organizations or pursuing further education in renowned institutions including the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE), Procter & Gamble, Unilever, King Abdullah University for Science and Technology (KAUST), Imperial College Business School (UK) to name a few. Some graduates have established their own businesses in the Kingdom. “With a futuristic way of thinking, based on practical applications, the use of educational technology and the continuous strive for excellence, we are always ensuring that efforts are made to provide a rich teaching and learning experience to our students to enable them to pursue successful avenues upon completion of their studies. We are proud of our graduates' achievements to date and desire the same and even more for the college's future graduates,” remarked Dr. Suhair Hassan Al-Qurashi, President, Dar Al-Hekma. “I am very excited as the ninth batch is the first graduating batch of students enrolled in the Legal Studies and Autism programs. I feel immense pride with the achievement of the graduating students and wish them success in whatever matters they pursue post-graduation.” She added that the college's administration, board and faculty are delighted with the growing success of their graduates and are celebrating over a decade of academic achievement. “The academic programs that we offer now and plan for in the future tend to reflect the need for certain jobs in the labor market and we aspire to continue to provide for such needs.” A total of 946 young women have been awarded undergraduate degrees since the first graduation ceremony in 2003. Dar Al-Hekma is a leading private college for women in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Established in 1999 and based on an American model and curriculum developed by the Texas International Education Consortium (TIEC), it has recently been awarded institutional accreditation from the Accrediting Council of Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS), based in Washington D.C. The college is currently the first and the only institution in Saudi Arabia to receive institutional accreditation from an American accrediting body. Sheikha Haya Bint Rashed Al-Khaleefa was this year's winner of the Hekma Award for Outstanding Contribution and Achievements. She is the first Arab and Muslim women appointed as the President of the 61st session of the United Nations, General Assembly. The ceremony was also graced by the guest speaker, Ifatth Nawaz, a lawyer and President of the Association of Muslim Lawyers, based in the United Kingdom). She has more than 20 years of experience in local government in the United Kingdom and has headed the association since 2002. Her presence and speech was indeed inspiring not only for the students and graduates of the Legal Studies program, but the entire audience present at the event.
