On March 28 at KFUPM King Fahd Conference Center, His Royal Highness Prince Saud bin Naif bin Abdulaziz, Governor of the Eastern Province, will patronize the honoring ceremony for KFUPM's role in establishing the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) and ten years of cooperation and strategic partnership. The ceremony will be attended by officials of the two universities, industry leaders and pioneers of scientific and technical innovation in the Kingdom.
The honor is due to the pivotal role played by King Fahd University in establishing KAUST as the most important strategic partner in the region.
The ceremony will include awarding King Fahd University the shield of King Abdullah University as a recognition of KFUPM role in establishing and developing KAUST programs to be the only Arab and local body receiving this shield within a number of international bodies. The award is a tribute to its partners who have supported its historic journey since its inception. The award is a tribute to the individual and institutional investment that they have made in KAUST vision to be a destination for research and scientific excellence.
Dr. Khalid Al Sultan, Rector of King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals and a member of KAUST's Advisory Board, said the establishment of KAUST could have been considered a challenge or a chance, but at KFUPM we viewed it as an opportunity. From this principle, we embarked on cooperation with KAUST.
He pointed out that King Fahd University was not only aiming to help KAUST but KFUPM moves to another stage of excellence from this experience. "We have benefited greatly from the establishment of KAUST not only from the honest competition between the two universities, but also from the harmony and complementarity of the roles between them".
H.E. said that the complementary role and harmony between two national universities with international standards, one on the Arabian Gulf and the other on the Red Sea, has become clear among the professors, students and leaders of the two universities, stressing that this cooperation will elevate the two universities to new horizons and note that the biggest beneficiary of this integration is the homeland and the international academic community.
"KAUST's mission and the mission of KFUPM intersect with the commitment of both universities to scientific and technical progress through integrated collaborative research with higher education, and to work together to contribute effectively in innovation, economic development and social prosperity of Saudi Arabia and the world." said Dr. Jean-Lou Chameau, KAUST President.
Both universities are empowering local and international talent and supporting them to tackle the most challenging issues in the region and the world. Our solid cooperation and contributions with KFUPM will have a great impact in stimulating discoveries and innovations in the Kingdom." He added.
Engineer Nadhmi A. Al-Nasr, KAUST Executive Vice President for Administrative and Financial Affairs, said that when the establishment of KAUST was entrusted to Saudi Aramco, we felt the size of the responsibility because the challenge is great and not limited to building, but to academic establishment and the preparation of the academic programs of the university as expected.
"We have established an integrated team, but we lacked the academic experience. Therefore, from the very beginning, we entrust KFUPM to establish and develop the university, and we considered it necessary to establish a global advisory board that includes a mix of distinguished expertise in all sectors from the Kingdom and abroad to supervise all the work and plans.
"Our advisory board included Dr. Khaled Al-Sultan, Rector of King Fahd University, who represents the Saudi academic vision. We desperately need this vision. KAUST could not be established without a national academic opinion."
"In this period, I remember my close work with Dr. Khaled Al-Sultan, known as a leader and a pioneer in education and I knew him as a loyal person of his homeland. He helped us a lot and supported the position of KAUST."
Al-Nasr expressed his gratitude to the employees of King Fahd University saying "You did what you promised and you were with us from the first day. I say it to every member of KFUPM. You gave us the support to enter the academic world and we started with confidence."
Dr. Sahel N. Abduljauwad, Vice Rector of King Fahd University for Applied Studies and Research said that since King Abdullah University was established, King Fahd University has contributed in all details such as site selection, environmental impact assessment of the construction work and the provision of infrastructure services, noting that the first two lectures at King's University Abdullah presented by two professors from King Fahd University in December 2009.
A number of academics at KAUST believe that cooperation with King Fahd University at the institutional and individual levels is in a high-spirited environment, adding that the presence of a large number of KFUPM graduates in KAUST has contributed to the transfer of a culture of commitment and leadership.
They added that since the first batch of 370 students from 45 countries, but the majority of graduates were from King Fahd University who were interested in establishing and developing a distinguished relationship between the two universities. Many programs have been developed, especially in the field of student cooperation and student exchange.