As KAUST celebrated its 15th commencement ceremony in 2024, it also celebrated a significant milestone: the highest number of Saudi graduates in the University’s history. Saudi students comprised a record-breaking 203, or nearly 44%, of the total 465 graduates. This milestone comes just a week after KAUST was named the top Arab university for the second consecutive year by Times Higher Education. 

Further, this year’s graduating class set new benchmarks, with the highest number of Saudi females graduating, at 108 — a 29% increase compared to 2023. Reflecting KAUST’s global appeal, the graduating students hailed from 46 nations, showcasing the University's commitment to fostering international talent. 

The ceremony also marked a significant moment for KAUST's new president, Sir Edward Byrne, who presided over his first commencement since assuming office on September 1. In his address, Sir Edward emphasized KAUST’s pivotal role in advancing the Kingdom’s ambitious development goals and its mission to drive innovation and excellence on the global stage. 
 
“Saudi Arabia has transformed at an unprecedented pace since KAUST’s founding. KAUST has also evolved with the Kingdom, perhaps most exemplified by our 2023 Accelerating Impact strategic plan allowing us to play an even greater role in contributing to the cutting-edge research and innovation priorities of the Kingdom, which will carry the country forward,” he said. 
 
Several outstanding graduates were highlighted during the commencement ceremony, including Walla Basylman, who will be the first woman to join the chemistry department faculty at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, and Nawal Al Maymoni, who will join Princess Noura University as a physics professor. Yingzi Zhang was noted for her work on a new gene sequencing tool that King Faisal Research Hospital and Research Center has used to diagnose patients with rare genetic diseases. 
 
In addition to Sir Edward, three of the graduating Saudi students spoke. Linda Alzaben is a mathematician who began her Ph.D. studies 13 years after completing her master’s degree at King Abdulaziz University, where she has taught ever since. Arwa Alghuneim expressed how grateful she was for the opportunity to do cancer research in her home country and support Vision 2030.  

Finally, Yousef Algoos shared the significance of graduating from a world-class domestic university — a notion that was once inconceivable to him as a child growing up in the desert — and now has an opportunity to contribute to the Kingdom’s semiconductor industry. 

Among the graduating students, 188 earned doctorate degrees (51 Saudi), 253 earned master’s degrees (128 Saudi), and 24 earned postgraduate diplomas (all Saudi).