Titled Heritage Summers, it is a series of summer programs dedicated to learning, scholarship, diversity and intellectual pursuit, with reference to Islamic Heritage and relevance for the Arab world. The program is open to students around the world ages 16 and up and not yet attending university.

The Director and Founder of Heritage Summers, Asma Siddiki, decided to create such a program after realizing a lack of courses available to secondary students that focus on the Middle East.

“I'm passionate about learning and surrounding myself with people and places of interest.  More importantly, I want to see that passion grow in our youth,” explained Siddiki who is of Saudi origin and currently works between Saudi Arabia and Dubai. “Having taught students of all ages, from those at primary school to those in varied undergraduate programs, I have always tried to fill the void in the academic offerings available to students — young adults need to have their horizons expanded. From all the high school programs out there, there is very little that bridges the gap between education in the West (and what is now the Western style of learning) with content from our part of the world [the Middle East]. This is an attempt at contributing to our society as part of my social responsibility,” she added.

Heritage Summers at the University of Cambridge can be seen as a one-month retreat for learning in one of the world’s leading centers of excellence and one of its oldest universities.

Siddiki chose to host the inaugural summer program in the UK, as she completed her master’s and doctoral degree at the University of Oxford. Before that, she had studied at King Abdulaziz University in Saudi Arabia and has previously served as both Vice Dean for Student Affairs and Vice Dean for Academic Affairs at Effat University.

“The University of Cambridge is a unique university. The campus is very inspirational; it is safe and the weather is good in the summer. I hope the program expands to the University of Oxford as well,” she said.

With links to Nobel Laureates, both the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford are famous for their tutorial-study style sessions, which encourage dialogue, discussion and critical thinking.

The program, which is taught in English, will offer students a unique opportunity to experience life as an Oxbridge (Oxford and Cambridge) undergraduate and will introduce students to the Oxbridge style of learning in small group tutorials, which were typical of the early Islamic and Hellenistic learning styles. Since classes are small, ranging from one student up to a maximum of seven, it will allow one-on-one attention and will introduce students to independent learning, critical thinking, discussion, debate, reasoning and presentation skills. Not only will students get to experience life as independent scholars, but they will also get the opportunity to engage with other students from diverse backgrounds and occupy their time in the pursuit of learning.

“Heritage Summers is meant to inspire students and allow them to soak in the love of learning while benefiting in being in one of the oldest and most prestigious university cities. It will reintroduce them to the civilizations of our part of the world (Arab and Islamic) but through enriched course syllabi that incorporate a reference point for people interested in the Arab and Islamic civilizations and history,” added Siddiki.

The program requires students to choose one concentration course and one minor. They will then graduate with a Certificate of Completion and recommendation letters to support their university applications. Concentration courses include: Advanced English, Architecture, Brain and Cognition, Entrepreneurship in the 21st Century, Perspectives in History, Power and Politics and Literature through the Ages. Minor courses include: Art and Art History, The Formation of Islamic Thought and Scholarship, Silver, Spices Scholarship: An Introduction to the History of Ideas, Social Psychology and an Introduction to Economics.

“I found a unique opportunity in designing a program for students with an interest in the Middle East, in times when an awareness of the history of the Arab world and the interconnectedness of civilizations is woefully wanting. Heritage Summers is an attempt at remedying this trend. The program will incorporate reference to the Arab world through guest lectures, study tours and a careful preparation of syllabi for each of the relevant courses offered,” said Siddiki.

According to Siddiki, the program only has some reference to Islamic history and civilization, not to the teachings of Islam per se. For example, the course on Architecture will have reference to Islamic Art and Architecture and its influences, and the course on Brain and Cognition does not necessarily lend itself to that kind of contextualization.

As a result, she hopes to get both Arabs and non-Arabs interested in the Arab world to be a part of Heritage Summers. “I am hoping that our youth (Saudis) will benefit since they represent one of the profiles this program was developed for. However, we are hoping for real diversity: of citizenship, background and even religion,” she explained.

Siddiki confessed that she worked with tutors to develop the program. The tutors, who will be teaching the courses, are either pursuing their doctoral research or have earned their doctorates at the University of Cambridge or another prestigious university in the UK or North America.

“I must say that the tutors have had a big hand in developing the program with me. And, the courses lend themselves mostly to their expertise in the disciplines they are teaching. There are some real stars amongst them and I'm very excited about them being part of the program,” she said.

Heritage Summers’ tutors, who are all closely involved with research in the subject areas they teach, will ensure that tutorials offer students the chance to apply themselves. These sessions will be intensive and will be facilitated or supervised through selected readings and guided discussions with a focus on encouraging students to think critically and learn interactively.

“I want to provide students with a one-of-a-kind learning experience that inspires them to aim high and realize their potential. Heritage Summers will allow students to engage in learning with tutors who are experts in their field and to benefit from the wealth of knowledge and thought processes that the tutors and their surroundings will bring to them,” added Siddiki.

The tutors are just as excited for the program to begin. “This is an excellent opportunity for students to study subjects at a university-level,” said Faye Oikonomou, a Cambridge University Ph.D. candidate of Neuroscience and tutor of the course on Brain and Cognition. Her course aims to expand knowledge as well as develop essential critical thinking skills.

Noora Lori, a Ph.D. candidate at Johns Hopkins, is especially looking forward to introducing the students of Heritage summers to the dynamic world of power and politics.

“Heritage Summers is a real visionary project whose focus is to expose students to engage with some leading thinkers of the world, making it an unparalleled opportunity for young people,” said Cambridge Ph.D. candidate, Mujaddad Zaman.