Saudi students abroad: Experience matters

By Khaled M. Batarfi. “Why Poland?” I asked Sara Al-Bassam, a Saudi medical student in Warsaw. At the request of Ambassador Walid Radwan, she and eight other students studying in medical and science universities were meeting with us -Al Jazeera’s Saad Al-Shehri, Asharq Alawsat’s Bader Al-Gahtani and me — in the Saudi Embassy in Warsaw.

My question was based on the fact that Polish is a local language regarded as the world’s fourth hardest, right after Arabic. However, unlike Arabic, it has no use outside of Poland.
Sara was eloquent. She explained: “I didn’t just choose this country for its natural beauty and wonderful cities, only. After all, Germany is right next door, and has similar merits, plus the more global language and image.
“After much research, I saw that European and German students found Polish universities, especially in medicine, science and technology, superb.  They are right. Education here is that good. Did you know that Jagiellonian University was established in 1364, in Kraków City. It is the second oldest university in Central Europe and one of the oldest universities in the world. Read more...