What is King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia?
The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, or KAUST, is an international, graduate-level research university being built in the town of Thuwal, on the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia, approximately 80km north of Jeddah, the second-largest city in Saudi Arabia. KAUST is scheduled to open in September 2009.
As stated on their website, KAUST will be:
- supported by a multi-billion dollar endowment ($10 billion)
- governed by an independent, self-perpetuating Board of Trustees
- merit-based and open to men and women from around the world
KAUST’s organizational units will not be faculties or schools, but will be interdisciplinary research institutes in four areas:
- Resources, Energy and Environment;
- Biosciences and Bioengineering;
- Materials Science and Engineering;
- Applied Mathematics and Computational Science.
Additionally, there are future plans for a Marine and Ocean Research Center and an Islamic Science and Technology Research Center.
Each research institute will have its own multi-investigator, problem-oriented, often industry-collaborative Research Centers. “A typical Research Center at KAUST will include a multi-investigator, multi-laboratory, often industry-collaborative group of professorial faculty, research scientists and engineers, post-doctoral researchers, visiting researchers (including resident and visiting scientists from industry) and administrative and technical staff.”
According to a March 6, 2008 New York Times article, KAUST has signed five-year partnerships (worth $25 million or more) with the University of Texas at Austin, the University of California, Berkeley, and Stanford University. Under the agreements, the universities will help pick the faculty and develop the curriculum for the new university
KAUST’s language of operation will be English. Though based in Saudi Arabia, admission is not restricted to Saudis. Admission is merit-based, and is open to men and women from around the world.
The president-designate is Professor Choon Fong Shih, an internationally known engineering researcher, who received his PhD from Harvard in 1973.
A brief description of KAUST from their website states: “The University will be located in a secure environment featuring a well-planned and landscaped academic core and research laboratories, along with a seaside community and commercial center with a wide variety of shops and housing, from apartments to single-family homes. There will be parks, playgrounds, and schools for families with children; recreation amenities will include a golf course, yacht club, and marina. The campus will overlook the sea, and many of the residences will have waterfront views.”
