A Yemeni prodigy in Germany [Archives:2006/932/Culture]

archive
March 27 2006

Shaker Mohammed
“I want to say that Mr. Mohammed Al-Saidi got outstanding grades within his studies in economics and achieved this in an amazing short period,” wrote professor Dr. Dietfried Gunter Liesegang of Heidelberg's Ruprecht-Karls University in his confirmation letter. He further added, “We are proud to have him at our institution.”

Born 23 years ago in Al-Qafr district in Ibb province, Mohammed Abdullah Al-Saidi now draws the attention of German media. In an interview with German daily Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung published in its March 4-5 issue, Al-Saidi was recognized for his exceptional achievements. “The fastest student in a German institution of higher education until the exam-year 2004 comes from Yemen,” wrote the newspaper.

Now nearly five years since he came to Germany, he describes them as “the most important and influential years of my life.” Al-Saidi left Yemen for Germany when he was almost 18. During his studies in Yemen, he spent most of his time taking educational courses outside school such as language and computer classes.

“Since my father was the manager of several Central Bank branches in small cities, the whole family had to move with him. So we, the children, got used to changing schools and friends,” he narrated. The family moved among several provinces: Sana'a, Dhamar, Hajja and Ibb.

Al-Saidi was “a pretty good student,” participating in various interschool contests in Hajja and on the national level.

“Generally speaking, in my time at school, I was a pretty normal student, except for the fact that I was among the best students in school,” he said. “But the most exciting times for me were at the holidays. I normally would go to our house in Sana'a and spend the holiday visiting computer or language courses.”

Al-Saidi's high achievement in Germany is attributed to his attitude of gratitude toward his parents, admitting that the most central facet of his life is “the unlimited support and trust of my parents.” They had so much confidence in him that he began thinking, “This trust is not normal,” a notion that vanishes at the fact that they know from experience that he will not let them down and always will exceed their expectations.

His father wrote to the Yemen Times expressing appreciation for his son's achievement: “Thank God we have succeeded in the task of bringing up our son Mohammed, who has reached this excellent scientific level. This shows that Yemen has brilliant and creative minds. It is all Yemenis' pride.”

In grade 12, Al-Saidi received the sixth best grade in Hajja province, thus securing a scholarship to Syria that later changed to Germany.

His childhood was characterized by diverse interests and he was well known among the school community. He used to print recognition certificates for School Bests, write notes in English and read political essays for the morning program. “The talent of being interested in different things at the same time and my liking discussions brought me a lot of respect from other students,” he said. However, this talent also contributed to his having only a few buddies, those whom he could “discuss with or were good enough to learn together profitably.”

Al-Saidi spent most of his time after school reading magazines and newspapers, watching political TV shows and learning languages and computer. The year after he finished secondary school, he came to envision his path in life. He visited YALI language school and got to know people from Western cultures for the first time. “I believe language is the door to a lot of new and unlimited knowledge in the global world,” he asserted.

He took the TOEFL exam in Sana'a and traveled to Syria on a scholarship granted by the Yemeni government. However, already having plans to move to Germany, he left Syria after four months, arriving in Germany April 2001.

“I was received by members of my family who already live there,” Al-Saidi said. “I couldn't speak the language at all, so I first had to attend language school. I spent the first five months in the northern German city of Munster and after that, I moved to the city of Karlsruhe where I continued learning language for 10 more months.” He faced some tough times, once having to sleep at the rail station, yet, he generally describes his experience as “very good,” and Germans as “really helpful and supportive.”

After a year and a half, he began his preparatory year in Heidelberg. By that time, he could communicate in the language and had come to discover new things about his host country. “It was amazing – the City Library with access to unlimited knowledge, different people from different cultures, the many freedoms one can enjoy and opportunities to excel and get much of what you want.”

He realized his first major achievement in Germany in prep school. He began first semester as a normal student, but his teachers soon noticed he could acquire knowledge much faster and had the potential to go on to the next semester.

“The German education system is built in such a way that talented students can and must have the chance to acquire knowledge according to their abilities, whereas in Yemen, it's difficult to jump a class, even if you have the talent to do so. In Germany, teachers have the obligation to encourage and help talented students do just that.” Therefore, his teachers constantly motivated Al-Saidi to take the next step.

Feeling more convenient with the German education system that unleashes students' potential, he decided to embark on parallel study, i.e., two diplomas simultaneously.

When he first arrived in Germany, Al-Saidi intended to study something useful for his future career like computer science, business information or engineering. After two years of learning the language and studying at prep school, he learned an important lesson: “It doesn't really matter what you study, as long as you study something you really like and, if possible, something you're good at.”

Therefore, he modified his plans, beginning a diploma in economics and then, after some time, he was permitted to go on to another diploma program. He began studying the diploma in economics for a year, finishing half of the two-year program with pretty good grades. Consequently, he was readily able to take up the parallel study. After a year, he was studying two diploma programs in four subjects – economics, politics, philosophy and law. He studied two more semesters and completed half of the second diploma.

In his fifth semester, a German friend told him he'd read a newspaper article about a German student at another university who was being celebrated as the fastest student in Germany because he finished his diploma in five semesters. He therefore received a special award from a private foundation, as well as another award and a lot of attention from his university.

“I had accomplished nearly double what this German student had – a diploma in economics, half of a second diploma and four language courses in only four semesters.” His German friend suggested he contact the media out of “moral obligation,” which was true, as what he had done not only was relevant to himself, but also to Yemen and foreign students who face numerous problems. German media found Al-Saidi's university history to be unique and record-breaking.

In his university studies, he focused on international and development themes like international trade, globalization and development economics. In his final economics thesis, he wrote about industrial estates, notable in many countries around the world, including Arab countries like Egypt and Jordan. He recently received a fairly high grade for his work.

In Germany, Al-Saidi's spare time is occupied by two main activities: his love of music and his role at the student organization. Having discovered music in Germany – “I've since been fascinated by it” – he's particularly interested in playing one instrument, the guitar. He learned the skill from a German colleague and now plays masterfully. “I often describe it as if I had a bachelor's in guitar.”

In terms of planning, Al-Saidi is a self-confessed “freak.” In his first semester at the university, he developed a four-year plan and stuck to it to the letter. Two months ago, he developed a new four-year-plan and he's determined to be just as committed to it. Many ambitions are enshrined in this newly-coined plan: he's to finish his second diploma in the next year and half, do a doctorate in economics and simultaneously begin language training in French and Spanish, then Chinese and Russian.

Additionally, he really likes his role with student organization AIESEC, where he befriends many people from different nations. He noted that AIESEC is the world's largest international student organization seeking to promote cultural understanding via student exchange in traineeships in many countries. In the organization's Heidelberg-based committee, Al-Saidi is responsible for trainees coming to Heidelberg companies, ensuring new trainees integrate themselves into Heidelberg and begin their traineeships well.

Al-Saidi describes his German experience and his future plans in two words: freedom and responsibility. He intends to continue using this freedom, but at the same time, he has resolved not to forget his commitments “toward people and things I owe. With my further plans, I hope to deliver to my originating country, Yemen, something that's socially relevant to this great and beautiful country.”
——
[archive-e:932-v:14-y:2006-d:2006-03-27-p:culture]