BCG commits to ‘Building Skills for the Future’ as it welcomed Saudi Youth at the launch of the Fourth Edition of Jeel Tamooh

The two-day interactive virtual event delved into key areas of Sustainability and Digitization for students to develop timely skillsets ahead of rapid market transformations.

Riyadh, Gulftech— The fourth edition of Jeel Tamooh will guide a new class of aspirational students and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) once again set to jump-start its edition with a launch event that ran from March 26-27. Launched in 2019, BCG’s Middle East program – Jeel Tamooh – is aimed at the next generation of leaders in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The 5-month program develops, motivates, and inspires the most talented and distinguished university students in KSA to help them achieve their full potential. It strengthens their leadership, professional, and interpersonal skills. Now more than ever, it is critical to explore the impact of future trends and create a brighter future for ourselves and the younger generations.

Jeel Tamooh alumni, Reem Alfares, said, “I feel privileged to have been selected for Jeel Tamooh’s 3rd Edition. I benefitted from the invaluable experiences such as discussions led by BCG seniors, networking dinner and the interactive learning portal, applying what I gained to my professional role, which was secured once the program was concluded.”

“Meeting and hearing the experiences and insights of BCG seniors was one of my highlights. The sessions throughout the learning journey were excellent, and the topics well-selected,” added Abdulrahman Al Abdullatif upon completing the course last year.

Under the theme “Building Skills for the Future”, the fourth edition of Jeel Tamooh launched with a two-day event that highlighted pressing topics with a focus on Digital & AI, Climate & Sustainability, Innovation, and as in the previous edition, the program also focused on the students’ personal development such as motivational skills, identifying strengths, and more.

Philippe Cornette, Head of BCG Riyadh Office, said, “It is a pleasure to be launching yet another edition of the great success that is the Jeel Tamooh competitive program. This year marks a special edition as we take on a path towards greater digitization, facilitating long term sustainability for the people and planet. The theme is one intimately linked to Vision 2030 and the realities of tomorrow and sets to inspire the future generation of decision-makers with a broader set of hard and soft skills to face the rapidly changing world we live in.”

With a record number of applications this year, the top 100 university students across Saudi Arabia’s best universities were selected under inclusive standards of a 50/50 gender ratio. The launch event gave students the opportunity to engage in 11 sessions in a virtual format on Zoom across interactive workshops, panels, activities, and dynamic discussions with excellent speakers. Sessions delved into key topics of digitization and climate and sustainability looking at emerging space tech, smart cities, circular economy, and corporate incentives in sustainable advancements.

Yves Morieux, Director of BCG’s Institute for Organization, led a session on “The Productivity Revolution” which outlined the critical importance of relational productivity and connectedness as a means to unlock the full potential of digital technologies. He described how the power of relational productivity was discovered during the global shift towards remote-work that followed the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chairman of the BCG Henderson Institute (BHI), Martin Reeves presented a session on innovation and guided students towards mining and harnessing their imagination in order to find new ways to succeed. Students were then each provided with a copy of Martin’s new book ‘The Imagination Machine: How to Spark New Ideas and Create Your Company’s Future’, published by Harvard Business Press in English and Harvard Business Review Arabia in Arabic.

As per the key themes shaping this year’s launch event, Shelly Trench, Managing Director & Partner at BCG shared her perspective on sustainability and circular economies. She said, “The subject of circular economies is becoming more mainstream, and increasingly urgent. Today, many economies globally are innovating and accelerating the transition by driving cross sector integration, investing in green ventures and educating populations to support low waste and regenerative processes. It was my pleasure to have piloted this session and extended real-world examples from the field of climate and sustainability.”

Other key sessions were led by Rami Riad Mourtada, Partner and Associate Director, Digital Transformation at BCG who presented on “Smart Cities: Accelerating Impact with Digital and AI”; Faisal Hamady, Managing Director & Partner at BCG who led a session on “Space: Humanity’s Next Frontier”; and BCG Partner, Simon Birkebaek, who presented on the topic “Sustainability: Why Companies Should Care”.

Day 1 was supplemented by a panel discussion entitled “What does it take to be a consultant?” with BCG Managing Director & Partner, Jaykumar Patel and BCG Riyadh consultants and junior associates, followed by a networking activity and a strengths-based development workshop on Day 2 designed to help students identify and utilize their strengths in their personal and professional lives.

A Case Prep Bootcamp will follow the launch event for the first time in the history of Jeel Tamooh. The Bootcamp will prepare students for their BCG Visiting Junior Associate interviews that are set to begin mid-April. Spanning across March 30-31 march, it will introduce students to case interviews and case cracking; followed by a case workshop. Day 2 will begin with an ice breaker; a case simulation; and end with a presentation on how to best prepare for a case interview, with thoughts from an interviewer.

“We faced a record number of applications this year from Saudi Arabia’s most prestigious higher education institutions. The selection process was very demanding though I am thrilled at the outcome. The 100 students all show passion and tenace to take up the challenge. I look forward to the developments of the course and see yet another edition unfolds into a great success,” said Ziad Halabi, Managing Director & Partner, BCG.