Originally under a five-year watch at its inception in 2005, the King Abdullah Scholarship Program (KASP) received short extensions in 2007 and 2009. A major extension was announced early this year that will keep the program running to 2020. Such a move reflects the Kingdom’s response to addressing the growing needs of higher education of the youth demographic in Saudi Arabia to feed its job market and economic demands to become a greater competitor in the world market. The Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) says the focus of the program is to prepare Saudi youth for the various fields in the public and private sectors.