Leading one of the newest universities in the Middle East, KAUST President Jean-Lou Chameau was invited to share his insights at the inaugural Times Higher Education MENA Universities Summit. This is the second time President Chameau has been featured as a keynote speaker at a Times Higher Education summit, drawing up on his leadership experiences at Caltech and Georgia Tech to share perspectives on the attributes of a great research university.

"While it might have been easy to conclude my career at Caltech," explained Chameau, "I was compelled to join KAUST because of the rare opportunity to be a part of such a historic undertaking."

Several new and emerging universities in MENA countries are being established as agents of change; spurring transformations in the science and technology sectors of society, to promote economic diversification and knowledge creation, while educating today's generation of students to address the world's grand challenges - making this summit especially relevant.

The Times Higher Education (THE) MENA summit held in Doha, Qatar from February 23 – 24, 2015, was hosted in partnership with Qatar University and under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Thani, Deputy Emir. The summit invited academic leaders within and beyond the MENA region to consult on plans for a new addition to the THE rankings portfolio: the MENA University Rankings, shaped by metrics designed to meet the region's specific challenges.

High-impact research in the MENA region

"While universities historically have played an integral role in economic development of their host countries and regions, in recent years there have been increasing demands placed on universities across the world, including the Middle East and North Africa," said Chameau.

"According to the 2014 Nature Index report, KAUST not only leads Saudi Arabia's strong science output, but at five years old, the university published more papers than any other institute in the Arab world that year," said Chameau. "Our high-impact research is one of the ways we are contributing positively to society. And it is an important indicator of our early success. Hence, the progress being made in the region, including at KAUST, is worth acknowledging."

However, Chameau went on to explain that ultimately the success of universities (including elite universities) in making a positive contribution to the economy and society is highly dependent on the larger educational ecosystem in which they exist.

A university as part of a larger innovation ecosystem

In the national and regional context of the Middle East and North Africa, cultivating an optimal ecosystem that supports knowledge creation and innovation is a great challenge for countries in the region. In addition to developing their educational and research programs, new universities must proactively engage other stakeholders to lay a foundation from which this innovation and educational ecosystem can thrive.

"This is the case for KAUST as we will measure our success and growth, not only through our scientific contributions, but also through the influence we will have as a catalyst for a strong innovation ecosystem," said Chameau. Unlike many established universities or even new institutions arising in the region linked by partnerships with existing universities in the U.S. or Europe, KAUST was built from the ground up, with a purposeful design that bridges the focus of the university with larger national goals: academic, scientific research and economic development.

"Our focus, commitment to excellence, international DNA, and long-term support for research and laboratories form the basis of our early accomplishments," explained Chameau.

Innovative research at KAUST

Some of KAUST's early accomplishments that Chameau highlighted in his talk included the solar research of Professor of Material Science and Engineering Osman Bakr, who recently published groundbreaking results in Science. Bakr measured and characterized some of the properties of the common Earth mineral perovskite that allow it to have remarkably high energy efficiency, rivaling traditional silicon - which means less cost and less waste involved in the production of solar cells.

Although Bakr does not typically work on crystallization processes, within the KAUST environment of encouraged collaboration and the opportunity to pursue curiosity-driven research, he ventured into this new area of study where he has found great success.

Another noteworthy example is Professor Andrea Fratalocci, an electrical engineer who has found ways to harness the inherent chaos in systems to improve the storage capacity of photonics crystals.

"Combining Fratalocci's work on energy storage with the improvement of the solar cells themselves could lead to the design and implementation of a new generation of alternative energy technology," said Chameau. "The practical industrial application of this holistic approach is what distinguishes KAUST as a scientific leader AND with time, as a contributor to the economic development and the knowledge economy of Saudi Arabia."

Contributing to the knowledge economy

To date, KAUST's achievements in innovation and technology transfer include 33 active startup projects and over 30 industry partners. Building on this momentum, KAUST is constructing a Research and Technology Park to be fully integrated physically and organizationally within the university by blending academic research with corporate-focused activities to facilitate knowledge transfer, corporate interactions, and economic development.

"In my experience, the climate for innovation in the university is a catalyst for a parallel supportive environment in the local ecosystem. The same agile, interactive talent-driven infrastructure and policies are needed to enable business creation and to facilitate their growth and success," said Chameau.

Although developing a research and technology park and creating new companies will be an important contribution, Chameau notes the most important contribution to the ecosystem will be through the human capital produced by and drawn to the university.

"As a global university, we attract talent to Saudi Arabia and we prepare this talent to become the leaders of innovation and new business creation in the Kingdom and the region. Our role in attracting top international talent, and developing human capital in Saudi Arabia, is integral to establishing a strong innovation ecosystem in the country."

Building on early successes and looking ahead

"My experiences at KAUST underscore that while new universities can draw on the best practices of other, more established universities it is essential that they tailor a path forward that meets their particular needs and the local assets," said Chameau. "At KAUST our work is far from done. As we move forward it will be essential to retain our entrepreneurial spirit, even as we grow into a level of maturity built on a solid institutional structure and sustainable model of growth."

According to Chameau, this is one of the key areas of focus moving forward for KAUST. Another area of focus for KAUST, as well as for other new and emerging universities in the region, is to be an academic and research destination for what Chameau refers to as "unusual" talent. "At the institutions where I served in leadership, my emphasis has been on finding people who demonstrate an enterprising spirit, an unusual way of thinking; individuals who embrace high-risk approaches to problem solving that others may dismiss."

Chameau also drew attention to the importance of a collaborative competition among leading universities. "I believe that a major consideration for leadership at new universities in the MENA region is to balance the need to benchmark success against established universities while staying focused on the mission and goals of the university," said Chameau. "As KAUST is moving from a startup to maturity, we are able to compete with elite science and technology institutions across the world. Certainly, benchmarking is one way to measure our progress."

KAUST is an example of a new university whose mission is deeply embedded in the larger goals of the nation and region. Only five years into its existence, KAUST is producing noticeable results and has shown that it is increasingly able to compete with the very best science and technology institutions from around the world.

- By Michelle D'Antoni, KAUST News