University Scholarships: From Employment Management to Shaping Kuwait's Future

No government policy shapes the nation’s future as profoundly as the scholarship program. Roads and bridges can be rebuilt, and projects can be adjusted, but the individuals sent abroad today will lead the state’s institutions and economy in twenty or thirty years. Therefore, the real question when announcing a scholarship plan is not: How many seats were announced? Nor: How many specialties were included? But rather: What kind of Kuwait do we want in 2040 and 2050? And were the scholarships designed to build this future?

The Ministry of Higher Education is credited with making a clear effort to align the scholarship plan with labor market needs, in coordination with the Civil Service Bureau, the Public Authority for Manpower, government entities, and the oil sector. Furthermore, directing a significant proportion of seats toward health specialties reflects a response to a genuine shortage in certain vital professions.

The world is not merely experiencing technological advancement, but a complete reshaping of the global economy. The World Economic Forum’s “Future of Jobs 2025” report confirms that approximately 39% of the core skills in current jobs will change by 2030, and that economic transformation will create around 170 million new jobs, while 92 million jobs will disappear, resulting in a net increase of 78 million jobs. More importantly, the fastest-growing jobs will be in artificial intelligence, data analytics, cybersecurity, financial technology, environmental engineering, and advanced energy, while many traditional administrative and routine jobs will decline.

The question posed in advanced countries is no longer: “How many doctors or engineers do we need?” It has become: “How many artificial intelligence scientists? How many semiconductor specialists? How many cybersecurity experts? How many biotechnology researchers?”

Countries leading the global economy today do not base their educational plans on current jobs, but on the industries they wish to master in twenty years.

Perhaps the most dangerous mistake any country can make is planning its future with a present-day mindset.

Kuwait possesses an ambitious national vision, Kuwait Vision 2035, which aims to transform the country into a financial and commercial hub, diversify its economy, establish a digital government, and foster a more productive private sector. However, achieving this vision depends not only on projects and infrastructure, but primarily on the quality of the competencies we are cultivating today.

Here, I believe the philosophy of scholarships still requires a qualitative leap. Most of them currently focus on filling the needs of existing government entities, whereas they should transform into tools for building the human capital that will lead the knowledge economy.

For example, where are the major national programs for training artificial intelligence scientists? Where is the organized scholarship in data science, quantum computing, semiconductors, biotechnology, the digital economy, cybersecurity, robotics, genetic engineering, and data-driven public policy?

Therefore, limiting scholarships to meeting current job needs may solve today’s problems, but it could create a larger gap tomorrow.

The latest reports from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) indicate that the skills gap has become one of the biggest obstacles to adopting artificial intelligence, and that institutions investing in training digital competencies and data analytics derive greater benefits from technological transformation. Meanwhile, skills related to data and AI have become a key prerequisite for economic growth and competitiveness.

The question we should ask today is: Do we want scholarships to produce employees, or to produce scientists, leaders, tech entrepreneurs, and innovators?

The difference between the two approaches lies in the distinction between an economy that consumes knowledge and one that produces it.

From this perspective, what Kuwait needs is not merely an annual scholarship plan, but a national human capital strategy extending to 2050, built upon clear and precise questions. Scholarships, graduate programs, research grants, and vocational training should then be structured around these needs, with periodic reviews aligned with global developments.

I also propose restructuring scholarships into five integrated national tracks: the first to cover basic needs in health, education, and engineering; the second to support major national projects and Kuwait Vision 2035; the third to advance future technologies; the fourth to prepare senior leaders in management, economics, and public policy; and the fifth to nurture exceptional talents in science, innovation, and the arts, even if their fields fall outside traditional classifications.

Today, nations do not compete based on the number of their graduates, but on the quality of their minds. The strength of universities is not measured by the number of degrees they confer, but by their capacity to generate knowledge and innovation. Consequently, every scholarship placement is, in essence, a long-term investment decision, no less significant than any major national project.

The Ministry of Higher Education acted wisely by linking scholarships to labor market needs, but the next phase demands a further step: aligning them with Kuwait’s future, not merely its current job market.

The economy we wish to see in twenty years will not be shaped by tomorrow’s decisions, but by the scholarships we approve today.