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  • Interim Provost Ahmed Al-Khowaiter welcomes participants to the KAUST symposium in Jeddah on October 22, 2007. <ul><li><a href="http://kaust.edu.sa/about/symposium.aspx ">Learn More</a></li></ul>
  • Dr. Charles Vest, president of the National Academy of Engineering and president emeritus of MIT, delivers the keynote speech at the KAUST symposium in Jeddah on October 22, 2007. <ul><li><a href="http://kaust.edu.sa/about/symposium.aspx ">Learn More</a></li></ul>
  • Dr. Charles Vest answers a question from the audience during the panel discussion at the KAUST symposium in Jeddah on October 22, 2007. <ul><li><a href="http://kaust.edu.sa/about/symposium.aspx ">Learn More</a></li></ul>
  • Dr. John Hegarty, provost of Trinity College, Dublin, speaks of KAUST as a fascinating experiment that the world is watching at the KAUST symposium in Jeddah on October 22, 2007. <ul><li><a href="http://kaust.edu.sa/about/symposium.aspx ">Learn More</a></li></ul>
  • Dr. Frank Rhodes sets out a vision for a 21st century research university at the KAUST symposium in Jeddah on October 22, 2007. <ul><li><a href="http://kaust.edu.sa/about/symposium.aspx ">Learn More</a></li></ul>
  • Prof. Fawwaz Ulaby moderates the second panel discussion on the scientific and economic aspects of a 21st century research university at the KAUST symposium in Jeddah on October 22, 2007. <ul><li><a href="http://kaust.edu.sa/about/symposium.aspx ">Learn More</a></li></ul>
  • Marye Anne Fox, chancellor of University of California, San Diego, stresses the need for successful world-class universities to embrace globalization. The KAUST symposium in Jeddah on October 22, 2007. <ul><li><a href="http://kaust.edu.sa/about/symposium.aspx ">Learn More</a></li></ul>
  • Dr. Karen Holbrook, former president of the Ohio State University, discusses the future challenges in scientific discovery. <ul><li><a href="http://kaust.edu.sa/about/symposium.aspx ">Learn More</a></li></ul>
  • Dr. Frank Rhodes, president emeritus of Cornell University, moderates the first panel discussion at the KAUST symposium in Jeddah on October 22, 2007. <ul><li><a href="http://kaust.fhdbeta.com/about/symposium.aspx">Read More</a></li></ul>
  • Dr. Frank Press questions the panel at the KAUST symposium in Jeddah on October 22, 2007. <ul><li><a href="http://kaust.edu.sa/about/symposium.aspx ">Learn More</a></li></ul>
  • Attendees of the KAUST symposium in Jeddah on October 22, 2007.

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology Symposium: “The Role of the Research University in the 21st Century”

Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (October 23) – King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), a new graduate-level research university in Saudi Arabia, hosted a special academic symposium yesterday to discuss “The Role of the Research University in the 21st Century.” The symposium brought together some of the world’s most influential scholars, including Paul Ching-Wu Chu, president, Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Dr. Marye Anne Fox, chancellor, University of California, San Diego, and Dr. Frank H. T. Rhodes, president emeritus, Cornell University.

“This symposium is an example of how KAUST will play a critical role of convening the best minds from around the world and of collaborating with other leading institutions to uncover new innovations and discoveries,” noted Ahmad Al-Khowaiter, interim provost of KAUST.

During the sessions, academics from around the world discussed the social and economic aspects of current research universities and the lessons that KAUST can learn from the experience of others. Several speakers applauded the vision of KAUST and its financial and academic independence.

In his keynote speech to the symposium, Dr. Charles M. Vest, president emeritus of MIT and president of the National Academy of Engineering, said, “KAUST has been founded to be a different kind of institution, to serve the purposes of the emerging knowledge age in the Kingdom, and indeed throughout our interconnected and interdependent world. This is a noble and far-sighted undertaking.”

With a multi-billion dollar endowment, one of the largest of any university in the world, a program to recruit top-flight faculty and students from across the globe and collaborations already underway 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.

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, across 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.

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