King Launches KAUST on Red Sea Coast
- Pipeline
- Saudi Aramco News
- Dhahran Media
Author: Saudi Aramco Week
Released 27 October 2007
THUWAL, SAUDI ARABIA (October 24, 2007) - King Abdullah ibn Abdulaziz Al-Saud, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, on Oct. 21 hosted a gathering of more than 1,500 dignitaries from around the world to officially break ground for the new world-class, graduate-level science and technology university on Saudi soil.
King Abdullah ibn Abdulaziz Al Saud, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, views a model of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology as interim president Nadhmi A. Al-Nasr points out features. Among government and business dignitaries are Ali I. Al-Naimi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, and Saudi Aramco president and CEO Abdallah S. Jum'ah.
With one of the largest university endowments in the world, a program to recruit top-flight faculty and students from across the globe and collaborations already under way with prestigious research institutions across several continents, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) is positioned to become a leading center of scientific discovery and human advancement within the Kingdom, across the region and around the globe.
Construction of the facility on the shores of the Red Sea has begun, and the university is expected to open for operation in September 2009.
The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques poses with Ali I. Al-Naimi, Saudi Aramco and KAUST officials, and members of KAUST’s International Advisory Committee.
KAUST was the brainchild of King Abdullah, who has inspired and overseen a heightened investment in education and the economy in recent years. King Abdullah selected Ali I. Al-Naimi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, to lead the development of KAUST.
“KAUST is the decades-long vision of His Majesty King Abdullah to build a world-class university in Saudi Arabia dedicated to convening the best minds for the purpose of unlocking the great mysteries of science and technology for the progress of all humanity,” Al-Naimi said. “And indeed, that vision is now becoming a reality.”
KAUST interim president Nadhmi A. Al-Nasr further emphasized that while the University will be physically grounded in Saudi Arabia and serve the Saudi people, it will be an international institution as well.
“KAUST will collaborate with the best institutions and convene the most talented scientists from around the globe to enable discovery that will help all humanity,” Al-Nasr said. “It will also deepen and diversify Saudi Arabia’s knowledge-based economy.”
Abdallah S. Jum'ah speaks at the KAUST groundbreaking ceremony.
Underlining the groundbreaking celebration, KAUST also opened an academic symposium Oct. 22 titled, “The Role of the Research University in the 21st Century,” which drew on many of the most influential scholars and academic administrators from around the world.
Among those participating in the conference were:
- Khalid Al-Sultan, rector of King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals.
- Mohammed Al-Suwaiyel, president of King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology.
- Olivier Appert, chairman and CEO of Institute Francais du Petrole.
- Robert Brown, president of Boston University.
- Paul Ching-Wu Chu, president of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
- Marye Anne Fox, chancellor of the University of California - San Diego.
- John Hegarty, provost of Trinity College, Dublin.
- Wolfgang A. Herrmann, president of Technische Universitat Munchen.
- Karen Holbrook, president emeritus of Ohio State University.
- Frank H.T. Rhodes, president emeritus of Cornell University - moderator.
- Fawwaz T. Ulaby, Williams Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Michigan - moderator.
- Dr. Charles M. Vest, president of the National Academy of Engineering and president emeritus of MIT - keynote speaker.
Al-Sultan, Appert and Holbrook are members of KAUST’s International Advisory Committee.
Nadhmi A. Al-Nasr, KAUST interim president, addresses the ceremony gathering.
In the 12 months since the university has been under development, KAUST has formed partnerships with some of the world’s leading research institutions.
These include formal agreements with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in the U.S.; Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay, India; Institut Français du Petrole in France; the National University of Singapore; and the American University in Cairo.
These relationships were established to help foster innovation and convene some of the world’s leading minds in science and technology.