Partnerships
Additionally, KAUST will continue its collaboration with renowned companies globally and within the Kingdom, as well as KSA ministries, some of which are shown (non-exhaustive list).
KAUST's New Strategy
How we will Accelerate Impact
Our New Strategy
KAUST’s strategy presents new opportunities to accelerate our positive impact on the world through alignment with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 Research, Development, and Innovation (RDI) priorities, enhancing our global and local partnerships, and focusing on commercialization and economic impact.
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Strategic Pillars
Enhancing Research Commercialization
Re-focusing research to align with new RDI priorities
Through re-focusing our research in alignment with the Kingdom’s 2022 RDI priorities, KAUST will play a more active role in supporting Vision 2030 and accelerating impact.
KAUST National Transformation Institute
Creating the new KAUST National Transformation Institute (NTI) will accelerate our technology development and commercialization to support the Kingdom’s economic diversification aspirations.
International collaboration & partnerships
Synergistic partnerships with top-tier academic institutions and leading international innovation hubs in USA, China and other regions will create opportunities and networks for our people to drive global impact at unprecedented speed and scale.
Re-Focusing Research to Align With New RDI Priorities
To accelerate our positive impact for the betterment of the Nation and the world, we will maintain the world-class research destination KAUST is known for and evolve our research model to explicitly re-focus and align with the Kingdom’s new RDI priorities.
Achieved by:
- Leveraging KAUST’s current strengths in alignment with KSA priorities to unlock further opportunities for Vision 2030 RDI funding and strategic partnerships.
- Optimizing support resources through centralization to encourage closer scientific collaboration.
- Transfering knowledge from international partners and diffusion to the rest of Saudi Arabia’s economy.
KAUST National Transformation Institute
The creation of the new KAUST National Transformation Institute (NTI) will accelerate our technology development and commercialization to support the Kingdom’s economic diversification aspirations.
Achieved by:
- Explicit alignment with Vision 2030 RDI pillars to create new opportunities for applied science and research to deliver real-world impact and solve national and global challenges.
- Building on our established innovation ecosystem to accelerate the translation of KAUST’s world-class knowledge into downstream products and services for key KSA stakeholders and the national economy.
- Unlocking new opportunities for funding and synergy between KAUST, government, academia and industry.
International Collaboration & Partnerships
Synergistic partnerships with top-tier academic institutions and leading international innovation hubs such as Silicon Valley in the USA and Shenzhen in China will create opportunities and networks for our people to drive global impact at unprecedented speed and scale.
Achieved by:
- Facilitating accelerated development of a national innovation ecosystem and opportunities for strategic agreements with leading business and academic institutes.
- Establishing reciprocal arrangements to leverage partners’ complementary strengths to expand capabilities in areas such as industrial innovation and exchange; technology transfer and incubation; knowledge sharing of talent and materials; joint laboratories and research and development platforms; and entrepreneurship training.
- Identify and establish mechanisms and platforms to help accelerate innovation at KAUST up to the standard of world leading research and technology hub.
- Identify and establish mechanisms and platforms to help accelerate innovation at KAUST up to the standard of world leading research and technology hub.
- Developing the Kingdom’s higher education system and nurturing scientific research and innovation leaders.
- Catalyzes the growth of technology adoption to bolster research commercialization and enhance the Kingdom’s economic competitiveness.
Major Initiatives
Deep Tech Innovation Fund (DTIF)
Our new deep tech innovation fund, Capital K, will invest $200 million (SAR 750 million) over five-to-eight years into early-stage technologies from KAUST, KSA or around the world that will contribute to the economic development and job creation ambitions of the Kingdom. This initiative aims to accelerate the development of a made-in-Saudi high-tech sector as well as strategic investment in “spin-in” technologies and companies.
KAUST Reefscape Restoration Initiative
KAUST will lead innovation on major projects of national importance, including the world’s largest coral reef restoration project at Shushah Island in NEOM. This initiative gives KAUST a stake in the creation of a landmark and world-first marine destination focused on coral propagation, conservation, and enhancement, with nurseries producing 500,000 coral fragments per year.
Strategic Enablers
Our vision for the future is underpinned by five strategic enablers, which are critical to achieving our ambitions and maintaining the research excellence that has made KAUST a world-class academic institution.