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U.S. Universities to Assist Development of S&T University in Saudi Arabia

March 12, 2008

Earlier this month, three universities - Stanford University, the University of Texas at Austin and the University of California, Berkeley - announced partnerships with the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), a graduate-level research university set to open in Saudi Arabia by September 2009. Each of the U.S.-based universities will assist with the development of the following initiatives within specific academic fields of study at KAUST:

  • Organize and evaluate the graduate curriculum.
  • Nominate the initial faculty members.
  • Define the requirements essential for graduate degree attainment.
  • Conduct joint research projects.
  • Collaborate in joint thesis advisory committees for KAUST graduate students.
  • Exchange visiting fellows and host joint seminarsCollaborate on the acquisition of research equipment and needed facilities.

Specifically, Stanford will assist in the creation of KAUST's Applied Mathematics and Computer Science field of study, UT Austin with the Computational Earth Science and Engineering field of study, and UC Berkeley with the Mechanical Engineering field of study. The partnerships will provide between $25 million to $28 million to each of the U.S. universities over a five-year period for their services. Before reaching these agreements, KAUST invited select universities from around the world to apply for the positions.



However, not all of the selected departments within universities chose to pursue the relationship. The San Jose Mercury News reported UC Berkeley's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering decided "not to join over concerns about academic and personal freedom." KAUST promotes itself as a merit-based research university open to both men and women from across the globe, which will be governed by an independent, self-perpetuating board of trustees.



Armed with an initial endowment in excess of $10 billion, the campus will be constructed along the coast of the Red Sea and has formalized research agreements with other institutions around the world in recent months. These include, but are not limited to, the Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Munich Technical University, the National University of Singapore, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts and from the private sector, the GE Global Research Center.



A collection of all press releases from KAUST showing the series of agreements formed with both academic and research partners can be found at: http://www.kaust.edu.sa/news/press-releases.aspx



UC Berkeley's Public Affairs Office has more information about the agreement, including a link to the Berkeley's signed agreement with KAUST, at: http://www.kaust.edu.sa/about/degrees-fields-of-study.aspx



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