It is a great time to be alive, for we are today in the presence of history. Right under our eyes a dramatic historic process is taking place, transforming Saudi Arabia from an oil-rich country to a knowledge-rich one, with the former readily coming to the aid of the latter. Oil is a daily necessity, but there is a price tag attached to it. Knowledge is a value and it is priceless. Knowledge gives power, invincible and for all time.
The transformation is being wrought by an idea Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah had -- an idea so big, so ambitious, that it took 25 years to come to fruition -- to establish a world-class university, proudly to be named after him -- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), on the lines of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In King Abdullah's words: "It will support industries and the private sector and help set up new knowledge-based industries. It will also help in converting innovative ideas and inventions into economic projects benefiting the country and citizens."
One marvels at the King Abdullah's felicity with ideas -- opening trade routes to neighboring countries, setting up schools and colleges specially for women, and his concern for children, tomorrow's citizens. As John Ruskin so wisely put it: "He is the greatest artist who has embodied, in the sum of his works, the greatest number of the greatest ideas." But King Abdullah is as wise as he is visionary. He frankly admits in the context of setting up the university: "Compared to others, Muslim countries are far behind in the field of scientific research and need to create solutions for the challenges facing the Kingdom and the region and bring about a conducive atmosphere for the innovations and the talented technological ideas of scientific importance."
The inauguration of KAUST was held on Oct. 21 at a small village on the Red Sea coast north of Jeddah. In the presence of a vast gathering including intellectuals from several countries, King Abdullah expressed his happiness at his dream coming true. Referring to the university as "Bayt Al-Hekma" (House of Wisdom), he hoped that "KAUST will be a beacon of hope and reconciliation and will serve the people of the Kingdom and benefit all the peoples of the world in keeping with the teachings of the Holy Qur'an, which explains that God created mankind in order for us to come to know each other."
To realize the king's dream, to transform it into reality, the hour brought forth the man -- Nadhmi A. Al-Nasr, the interim president of the SR10 billion university, who has expressed his determination to transform Saudi Arabia's economy by directly integrating research undertaken at the university into the Saudi economy. The motivating factor behind the university's strategic plan is to become a world-class university able to contribute to the global research enterprise. The environment will be such that scientists and engineers will be free to focus on their work. KAUST will work in close collaboration with other Saudi universities such as King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals and King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah. It will try to raise the standard of research in these universities. Saudi Aramco will be closely associated with KAUST because of its 75 years of valued experience.
One hears occasional rumors that projects promised in the Kingdom often remain on paper. This cannot be allowed to happen, it cannot possibly happen in the case of KAUST because, over and above the personal interest in the project of King Abdullah and the interim president of the project, KAUST is built on the most solid foundations.
Firstly, there is the funding. The clamor of research scientists the world over is for more funding. Pure science finds itself at the back of the queue when it comes to funds. KAUST, however, is most generously endowed with 24 yearly scholarships in the name of King Abdullah. There is also a program called Discovery Scholarships which focuses on undergraduate students from outside and inside the Kingdom in their second and third years of study. KAUST will give scholarships so that the most talented can finish their undergraduate studies by 2009, when KAUST will start functioning.
Secondly, there is the three-pronged strategy to build KAUST's intellectual capital. A sound initiative is its Global Research Partnership and collaborations with leading scientific research industries around the globe. Already, KAUST has entered into relationships with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, the Institut Francais de Petrole in France, the National University of Singapore, the Indian Institute of Technology in Mumbai, and the American University in Cairo.
Thirdly, there is the location of the new university at Thuwal on the Red Sea, a short distance away from Rabigh, site of an existing Saudi Aramco refinery. One of the leading research areas of KAUST will be the Red Sea itself, its marine life and fisheries industry. The site is part of a bigger plan to be developed from Rabigh to Thuwal that will include the King Abdullah Economic City.
Fourthly, Al-Nasr's ambition is not only to reach MIT levels, but also create a model center linking the research institute with business and economics, thus filling the void in existing Saudi institutions. He has acquired the expertise in achieving this due to his association with Saudi Aramco.
Then, there is the promise of KAUST being a truly international institution with students of all nationalities from countries around the world. It will include talented students from Saudi universities as well as students from foreign universities.
Lastly, KAUST will have an International Advisory Council looking into its affairs, advising and lending a helping hand whenever required to do so. This advisory council will have men of the caliber and renown of Dr. Frank H.T. Rhodes, president emeritus of Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, who electrified the audience at the inauguration with his stirring words: "This is a great occasion, a memorable event in the history not only of the Kingdom but also the region and the world. It is also a significant event in the long history of higher education. A new chapter is being opened and written today."
Again, at a KAUST Symposium held on Oct. 22, the keynote speaker, Dr. Charles M. Vest, president emeritus of MIT, said that great universities seek to understand the past, engage the present and shape the future through a free flow of ideas. "Science languishes in a closed environment," he said. "The free flow of people and ideas across institutional and political boundaries is essential to the functioning of a great university. The very process of conducting science requires that others challenge one's hypotheses, independently verify the results of experiments and validate theoretical conclusions. Science cannot be done in isolation." On the symposium panel, befittingly, there were luminaries from all over the world.
Al-Nasr hopes that KAUST will transform the nation automatically. "It is like bringing the world to Saudi Arabia. And projecting the best image of Saudi Arabia to the world." KAUST is a revival of the ninth century when Islam led the world in science and mathematics. Today, in the 21st century, it is nothing less than a renaissance.
Dare one hope that, in a decade or two when KAUST reaches its full stature, Middle Eastern students who are today flocking to distant MIT will consider this Middle Eastern university as a worthy alternative to pursue their higher studies -- and at a lower cost?
By B.K. Karanjia
© Arab News 2007
