King Abdullah University of Science and Technology Partners with King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology to Deepen the Kingdom’s Research Capacity

Collaboration Will Support Fundamental and Applied Scientific Research and Development

Dhahran, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (March 2, 2008) — King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) and King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) today to establish a collaborative research and academic development relationship that has the potential to benefit the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the region, and the world.

KAUST, a new world-class, graduate-level research institution currently under development in Saudi Arabia, is pursuing global collaborations with institutions such as KACST as part of its efforts to build its intellectual capacity. The MOU with KACST, an independent scientific organization of the Saudi Arabian government, is KAUST’s ninth research agreement with a major international university or industry organization in the past nine months.

“Within Saudi Arabia, KACST has been a critical coordinator and catalyst of work at several Saudi research institutions, particularly in fields such as solar energy, remote sensing, aquaculture, petroleum and petrochemicals, natural resources, arid lands, astronomy, and atomic energy,“ said KAUST Interim President Nadhmi Al-Nasr. “KAUST’s relationship with KACST will further deepen the growth of a knowledge society in the Kingdom and generate important discoveries that support the well being and progress of all humanity.”

The MOU calls for research activities in principal areas of collaboration, as well as for establishing educational and graduate curricula and programs in the following areas:

• Energy, water, and environmental technologies
  
• Oil, gas, and petrochemicals
  
• Material science and technologies, including nanotechnology
  
• Applied computational science
  
• Information and communications technologies
  
• International connectivity to the research networks
  
• Bioscience and biotechnology
  
• Electronics, photonics, aerospace, and aeronautics technologies

The organizations will also share the KAUST Global Research Partnership experience and tools, including the availability of online research management and post-award management programs at KACST. In addition, KAUST will contribute its experience and recommendations for supply chain management with KACST, considered to be a critical success factor for any research program.

Mohammed I. Al-Suwaiyel, President of KACST said, “The promise of KAUST is one that we are all eager to see brought to life at this world-class academic and scientific institution. The results of our combined efforts in these areas will be experienced for many generations to follow, both in the Kingdom and around the world.”

The KAUST/KACST collaboration will enable:

• design, construction, and initial operation of research centers and lab facilities at KAUST;
  
• collaborative research programs conducted at KACST and KAUST;
  
• scientific and/or technological meetings on topics of mutual interest;
  
• exchange of personnel, including scientific, technical, and administrative staff, from time to time;
  
• use of each other’s facilities; and
  
• exchange of information on research and engineering in energy sciences.

In addition to the KACST agreement, KAUST has signed agreements to create similar partnerships with: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (United States); Institut Français du Pétrole (France); National University of Singapore (Singapore); the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (India); American University in Cairo (Egypt); Technische Universität München (Germany); and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (China). KAUST also recently concluded its first industrial collaboration agreement with an industry partner, GE Global Research Center, based in the United States.

About KAUST

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) is being built in Saudi Arabia as an international, graduate-level research university dedicated to inspiring a new age of scientific achievement in the Kingdom, the region and around the globe. As an independent, merit-based institution, KAUST will employ many of the best practices from leading research universities and enable top researchers from around the globe and across all cultures to work together to solve challenging scientific and technological issues. The KAUST global research and education network will support diverse talents, both on its campus and at other premier universities and research institutions, through collaborative research agreements, grants, and student scholarship programs. The core campus, located on more than 36 million square meters on the Red Sea at Thuwal, is set to open in September 2009. For more information about KAUST, visit http://www.kaust.edu.sa

About KACST

King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) is an independent scientific organization of the Saudi Arabian government, established in 1977 under the name of Saudi Arabian National Center for Science ‎and Technology (SANCST) and in 1985 renamed as King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology. From its inception in 1977, KACST had been carrying out its mission in the promotion of science and technology in the Kingdom by coordinating and cooperating with various universities, agencies, and institutions concerned with research and technology, and encouraging Saudi experts to undertake research that will help promote the development and evolution of the society. KACST is governed by a Supreme Committee, which is chaired by the Prime Minister (the King) and is composed of the ministers of the major ministries to which science and technology are of greatest relevance. For more information, please visit www.kacst.edu.sa/eng