Beacon of learning on Red Sea
The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (Kaust) is on track to open its doors next autumn. Aiming to become one of the region's leading universities in the fields of science and technology, King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud is staking US$12.5 billion on this beacon of learning on the Red Sea coast.
Located between an oil refinery and the sea, 80km from Jeddah, the kingdom's commercial capital, it is hoped that eventually the total community will number about 20,000 students and faculty.
The total area will be in excess of 36 million square metres, including a coral-reef ecosystem that will be maintained and protected as a marine sanctuary - and as a natural habitat for research purposes.
The university's founders are insisting on a more modern approach to Saudi learning, and assert that male and female students will be able to study together. Most religious and ethnic groups will be welcomed to the university, as it pursues academic freedom and excellence.
King Abdullah commissioned state-owned oil company Saudi Aramco to source architects and developers to build the campus, set up the curriculum, seek world-class faculty members and conduct the student-recruitment drive. International architectural firm HOK was selected to design the campus.
The interim chairman of the university development team is Nadhmi al-Nasr, a Saudi Aramco vice-president who is ensuring that construction continues smoothly.
'Because Aramco is founding the university, I believe it will have freedom,' said Abdulmalik Aljinaidi, dean of the research and consultation institute at King Abdul Aziz University, Jeddah's largest. 'For Kaust to succeed, it will have to be free of all the restrictions and bureaucracy we face as a public university.'
Not shy of expressing painful truths, King Abdullah has asserted that the Arab world has fallen behind in intellectual achievement and is concerned that Saudi nationals depend too much on oil revenue and not enough on creating wealth through innovation - hence this initiative, among many others.
Abdallah Jumah, the chief executive of Saudi Aramco, said at the groundbreaking ceremony: 'There is a deep knowledge gap separating the Arab and Islamic nations from the process and progress of contemporary global civilisation. We are no longer keeping pace with the advances of our era.'
The hope is that the university will redress the balance and King Abdullah's support is absolute. 'The king is lavishing the institution not only with money, but also with his full political endorsement, intended to stave off internal challenges from conservatives and to win over foreign scholars who doubt that academic freedom can thrive here,' remarked The New York Times writer Thanassis Cambanis after a visit late last year.
Earlier this year, Shih Choon Fong was named founding president of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. Professor Shih, the current president of National University of Singapore, will be leaving his post at the end of this year.