King Saud University plays an important role -since its inception- in the comprehensive and integrated development of the society. This is through its multiple missions represented in providing a number of services, such as personnel training, research, as well as the dissemination of culture and preparation of specialists and human capital development. Educational globalization is a phenomenon that imposes thinking in new and creative ways on the national academic institutions, including King Saud University. This is to catch up with the challenges posed by the higher education market in the world, and the challenges that national academic institutions face considering their global orientations which has gore beyond the requirements and the criteria of the national academic institutions. In light of these variables, King Saud University has developed strategic plans to meet these requirements, the most important of which is the strategic plan developed by the university that we can see now. This strategy focuses on the preparation of highly qualified teaching members of staff.
The University has adopted the idea of preparing a cadre of faculty members through the appointment of a large number of teaching assistants and lecturers (males and females), and attracting outstanding and highly-qualified faculty, as well as providing opportunity for scholarships abroad to pursue postgraduate degrees to obtain doctoral degrees. While a number of male teaching assistants and lecturers found an excellent opportunity to complete their postgraduate studies in their field of specialization, some obstacles have emerged for the female teaching assistants and lectures to go abroad for a scholarship. This resulted in preventing them from complete their graduate studies, because there is no available programme in their colleges that matches their specialty or because of family and social related circumstances of a student that does not allow her to spend many years abroad. Therefore, it was imperative to find a mechanism to enable them to make sure that teaching assistants of King Saud University continue to develop, taking their circumstances into account. Based on His Royal Highness the Deputy Prime Minister, the Royal Decree No. 5 / b / 16918 dated 11/25/1407 H which aims at "the need for finding codified ways which can substitute the scholarship abroad for female teaching assistants and lectures, so that they can obtain the PhD while remaining in Saudi Arabia". Under the prudent guidance, which takes into consideration that teaching assistants and lectures may not be able to travel abroad for the scholarship without a male guardian, the Rector of King Saud University has given his direction that a study must be conducted to find the channels or other means that provide the appropriate opportunities for some teaching assistants and lecturers who are unable to travel because of social barriers (being accompanied by a male guardian) to go abroad for a scholarship. However, they still have a serious desire to obtain a PhD degree from outstanding international universities recognized and renowned for their role in the origination and development of knowledge, based on programmes and curricula which take into account the appropriate study leave needed for studying. Accordingly, His Excellency the Rector of King Saud University issued Resolution No. 2929000651, dated 06/14/1429 H that included the formation of the Standing Committee of the EJSP for teaching assistants and lecturers. His Excellency the Rector then requested restructuring of the Standing Committee under Resolution No.118084/20/2 dated 23 / 4/1430 H. With this caveat in mind, King Saud University, represented by the EJSP and the Standing Committee of the EJSP established the programme which aims to benefit from existing programmes in many of the world's prestigious universities in a number of developed countries, which allow the teaching assistants or lecturers to divide their time between the external foreign universities and King Saud University.
It is expected that the EJSP at King Saud University will become one of the building blocks that enables King Saud University to be amongst the world top-ranking universities. In addition to this, the EJSP is an ideal solution for the problem of many teaching assistants and lecturers who are unable to travel due to their circumstances, and it has a number of scientific, academic and financial benefits to all parties. The EJSP also contributes in the preparation of qualified faculty members through participation in the programme.
