Mission

Modern communications, transportation, and research have shrunk the globe. Universities all over are competing in this global village, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM) is no exception.

Over 80% of KFUPM faculty members have received graduate degrees from foreign universities, and foreign students have been present since the institution began. Professors attend and present papers at international conferences and work on joint projects with faculty from other countries. They hold memberships in international societies and from time to time serve on executive committees. This global contact through students, personal study and research, conferences, learned societies and research projects brings to the University an expanded worldview and current scholarly research materials, which are incorporated into curricula and ongoing research programs.

The mission of the King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals Office of International Cooperation is to support the integration of an international perspective into the University’s threefold mission of teaching, research, and service, in order to enable members of the University community to meet the challenges and opportunities of an increasingly globalized world.

Currently, the University collaborates with partners in approximately 24 countries and has signed 70 cooperative agreements with various institutions in these countries. The office of International cooperation (OIC) has been charged with the following responsibilities to ensure that KFUPM is in the forefront of internationalization.

• Act as a clearing house for all university international affairs
• Establish and maintain international relationships and agreements
• Serve as the University authority for negotiating international contracts and agreements
• Review international projects/activities proposals and commission them when approved
• Collaborate with international funding agencies and attract international research funds for the University faculty and researchers
• Collaborate with international associations and organizations to promote the University interest
• Attract and facilitate the interests of faculty to participate in international research projects by assisting in project funding identification, proposal development and project management.
• Facilitate the exchange of both faculty and students and use information from exchanges to develop and strengthen teaching and research capacity
• Explore and identify the different channels and opportunities for international cooperation
• Facilitate the requests of visiting scholars and review the visit report
• Track and store the non-conference international visits of KFUPM members
• Act as a resource office for all international cooperative activities
• Act as the secretariat office for the International Advisory Board
• Manage and track the activities and requests in relation to chair professors
• Collaborate with other KFUPM offices/deanships in relation to international business
• Host appropriate international conferences or workshops for training or awareness
• Encourage faculty involvement by inclusion of international service activities in the annual performance review
• Educate faculty and staff on cross-cultural issues with the intent of making the campus more receptive to international students and faculty
• Maintain a database and publish a newsletter to communicate international activities to the community
• Prepare an annual report to the University management on the OIC activity and accomplishments

The OIC staff includes the Director, an administrative assistant and a secretary. The Director reports directly to the Vice-Rector (Graduate Studies & Scientific Research)