Visiting Student Research Program (VSRP) is quite a different research internship program with 150 plus research projects. This offers 130 undergraduate or graduate students to perform novice research at KAUST each year.

By Arsalan Ahmad

King Abdullah University of Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia is one of the pioneering Research universities in whole Asia. Basically, Its cutting edge research gain interest of multidisciplinary projects which involves European researchers. Moreover, common goal of KAUST is to advance science and technological innovation via education and collaborative research internship. This is to address national and international needs.

Visiting Student Research Program (VSRP)

The fascinating thing about KAUST is international partnerships. This provides extra opportunities for faculty and students. Additionally, KAUST open door for students to join faculty through Visiting Student Research Program (VSRP) as research internee. Anyone can apply for suitable projects with relevant experiences but universities having MOUs agreements have relatively more preferences.

What is Visiting Student Research Program (VSRP)?

Basically, Visiting Student Research Program (VSRP) is quite a different research internship program with 150 plus research projects. This offers 130 undergraduate or graduate students to perform novice research at KAUST each year. The students can contribute innovative ideas in an international research society. This unique internship is for talented students to get insights into experimental studies and to explore untapped potential via the latest technologies. Specifically, this research provides a break that harness scientific knowledge. Self-driven students with good academic backgrounds can gain many other fantastic opportunities to question science under the supervision of faculty members.  

Benefits

  • Visa & Two Way Airfare
  • 1000$ Monthly Stipend
  • Medical Insurance
  • Full Furnished Private Room
  • Access to All KAUST Facilities

Basic Requirements

Third-year Undergraduate or Master students are eligible while current PhD, KAUST students and Alumni are ineligible.  The Minimum GPA for VSRP is 3.5 on a scale of 4 or 14 out of 20 on the ECTS scale. The candidates having good verbal and written English proficiency. Additionally comprising minimum 6.0 IELTS or Internet-based TOFEL 79 scores are recommended levels. The applications are accepted throughout the year with starting dates such as 1st July. The length of the internship period is three to six months on case to case basis of the research project.

Documents

Following documents are necessary during the application.

  • Official English Language Current Transcript
  • Valid national Passport
  • Statement of Purpose or SOP
  • One Letter of Recommendation
  • Updated Curriculum Vitae or Resume

Selection Criteria 

Furthermore, After application and fulfilling requirements on the online application portal. The complete application will be analyzed and the candidate may also be emailed by a respective faculty member for Skype interview. The interviewer shall discuss academic knowledge, research expertise and understand the interests of candidates for internship. After selection, the application will be forwarded to Admission Office for another Skype interview to discuss life at university and candidate interests. Finally, after approval, the candidate will receive an acceptance letter via email.

At last, the KAUST Travel Advisor will help out to relocate smoothly to Campus destination.

Source KAUST -VSRP

By Arsalan Ahmad

Arsalan Ahmad is a Research Engineer working on 2-D Materials, graduated from the Institute of Advanced Materials, Bahaudin Zakariya University Multan, Pakistan. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arsalanahmad-materialsresearchengr/