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KAUST will welcome the springtime months of the year by hosting its second annual Enrichment in the Spring Program from April 22 to 30.

The KAUST community is invited to “Explore Innovation” during the one-week inspiring journey featuring a diverse range of events, lectures and seminars, including a jazz festival on April 22 to 23; a photography competition and exhibition in collaboration with the KAUST Photography Self-Directed Group; World Intellectual Property Day celebration on April 26 and 27 in collaboration with the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) and the Saudi Patent Office (SPO); and a keynote lecture by Thomas Skalak, executive director, science and technology, from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation.

Enrichment in the Spring is made possible with support from Innovation & Economic Development, Graduate Affairs, the Office of the Arts, the Islamic Development Bank and KACST.​

WEP gala event

The KAUST community was treated to an evening gala to celebrate the conclusion of the University’s 2016 Winter Enrichment Program (WEP) on January 21. WEP is part of the University’s three annual enrichment programs that also include Enrichment in the Spring and Enrichment in the Fall.

Featuring a performance by Khusugtun, a group of traditional throat singers from Mongolia, the gala also included an awards ceremony for different competitions that took place during WEP.

With a focus on sustainability and climate change for 2016, the University’s seventh WEP “included all sorts of activities aimed to broaden the experiences of us all and to enrich us all,” said Mark Tester, professor of plant science and chair of the 2016 program.

“This evening we end with Mongolian music—the arts are a key part of our lives and our cultures,” he continued. “Our scientific discoveries, applications, spinout companies and publications are wonderful for KAUST and for a wider academic community, but they are of little point if we don’t use the advances we make to support the arts and culture and enrichment.”

Marie-Laure Boulot, manager of enrichment programs, noted “WEP’s main goal is to enrich and inspire. The 2016 program featured many challenges and competitions of discovery, creativity and curiosity. Tonight we reward those who took part in them.”

International Undergraduate Research Poster Competition
This year’s WEP International Undergraduate Research Poster Competition received over 600 applications from around the world. Fifty finalists were selected to take part in the on-campus competition. Three winners were selected from the 50 finalists.

“The International Undergraduate Research Poster Competition is an opportunity to showcase students from across the globe, sharing the results of their research and hard work with faculty, visitors and the KAUST community,” said Can Ikram, KAUST director of admissions and enrollment. “Our judging committee is carefully selected from faculty members from all [KAUST] divisions, and judging is based on quality, completeness, impact of the work and the visual clarity of the posters. The best work is recognized at the Awards Ceremony.”

Third place: Alanoud Albaiz, Abeer Alissa and Shaden Alhedaithy
(Al-Faisal University, Saudi Arabia)
“Urgent Care System”

Second place: Katherine Miller
(Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, U.S.)
“Time-Resolving Unimer Exchange in Block Copolymer Micelles”