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 the National U.S. - Arab Chamber of Commerce (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 (KFAS). 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.
All of the 2016 PDI Fellows have been placed with U.S. companies across the nation, including: major multinationals such as the Boeing Company, Dow Chemical, and General Electric; the Museum of Modern Art in New York; small- to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) such as 1776, an entrepreneurship incubator with offices in four cities, and Ghafari Associates, an architectural and engineering firm with offices across the United States and Middle East.
"These outstanding young men and women have enjoyed the benefit of study in the United States, and the PDI program is now helping to take them to the next level in their professional careers," said H.E. Sheikh Salem Al Sabah, Kuwait's Ambassador to the United States and a driving force behind the program. "This is a remarkable opportunity to gain hands-on work experience with some of America's finest companies, and the Embassy of the State of Kuwait is proud to be a partner in this highly successful enterprise."
Dr. Adnan Shihab-Eldin, Director General of KFAS, expressed his warmest welcome to the new PDI fellows. He stated, "I urge PDI Fellows to make the most out of this opportunity and gain as much knowledge and experience as possible before returning to Kuwait." He also mentioned, "KFAS is committed to building the capacity of fresh graduates and contributing to the development of the workforce in Kuwait."