Founded by the caliphs Harun Al-Rashid and his son Al-Ma'mun, Bait Al-Hikma or the House of Wisdom served as a library, research center and translation bureau in Baghdad from the 9th to 13th centuries. Acclaimed as an intellectual hub that highlighted the "Golden Age" of Islam by fostering nontraditional dialogue and alliances between those of different backgrounds, it attracted the likes of Jabir ibn Hayyan, Muhammad ibn Musa Al-Khawarizmi and Badi Al-Zaman Ismail ibn Al-Razzaz Al-Jazari.
Ibn Hayyan is known as the father of modern chemistry; Al-Khawarizmi is hailed as the creator of algebra; and Al-Jazari is considered the father of modern engineering.
Other resident scholars made significant contributions in the fields of medicine, navigation, agriculture and astronomy. But the giant strides the Muslim world was making in the pursuit of knowledge and excellence was dealt a body blow when the Mongols invaded Baghdad in A.D.1258 and destroyed the House of Wisdom.
It has taken several hundred years and the vision of a king to try and rekindle the noble virtue of learning that marked the Muslim world in earlier times. Announcing a new "House of Wisdom," Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah said this was a dream that lived in his heart for 25 years.
If, at that time, the waters of the Tigris indeed ran black for six months with the ink of all the books flung into the river by the Mongolian invaders, with the inauguration of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) on the shores of the Red Sea the clock has been reversed -- the tide has turned.
Probably the only postgraduate research university ever built from scratch, KAUST promises to propel the Kingdom into the 21st century by ushering in another age of Arab scientific inquiry and discovery; a new vision for the scientific realm and world change. It is a message that King Abdullah had spelled out at the very onset. Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony for the establishment of the SR10 billion university in Thuwal on Oct. 21, 2007, he said, "As a new Bait Al-Hikma, KAUST will be a beacon for peace, hope and reconciliation, and shall serve the people of the Kingdom and benefit all the peoples of the world."
"We hope that the university carries out its noble humanitarian message in a pure and clean atmosphere, taking the help of God and then that of enlightened intellectuals all over the world, without any bias or discrimination," he added, desiring that the new university serves as a bridge between cultures and nations.
At KAUST, which has only just been born into its academic life on Sept. 5, the king's message rings clear. Its ramifications on the world stage, all too evident.
Consider the facts. KAUST personnel represent 45 countries. These accomplished research scientists and educators hail from around the world. The top countries of origin are the US (14), Germany (7), Canada (6) and China (6). The university received more than 7,400 applications from potential students. To date, KAUST has accepted 798 students representing 61 countries. Of this group, 374 postgraduate students began classes this month. The rest will enroll at KAUST, beginning in 2010. Incoming students in the inaugural class represent 116 undergraduate institutions from many regions of the world including China (14 percent), Mexico (12 percent), Saudi Arabia (11 percent) and the US (8 percent). By all accounts, KAUST is a unique graduate research university that has brought the world to Saudi Arabia -- and Saudi Arabia to the world.
THE king's desire that the new university finds its place as one of the world's great institutions of research has been realized by his "Three Wise Men" -- Chairman of the KAUST Board of Trustees Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali Al-Naimi, KAUST President Professor Choon Fong Shih and Interim Executive Vice President Nadhmi Al-Nasr. They have done everything to transform the sleepy fishing town of Thuwal, located 80 km north of Jeddah, to a wellspring of knowledge boasting prolific researchers, innovators and authors, who claim 108 patents, 100 software products/invention disclosures and 64 books or chapters.
Thanks to KAUST's unique Discovery Scholarship, the cornerstone of the university's intellectual capital foundation, top minds from around the world have been convened to unlock the greatest mysteries of science and technology. The university's strategic collaborations and joint research programs with key partners like the US' Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, France's Institut Francais du Petrole, Britain's Cambridge, the National University of Singapore, the Indian Institute of Technology and Stanford in the United States will help fast track KAUST's bid to develop new sources of energy in the Kingdom, exploit the desert, develop new crops to be cultivated in hot and arid lands and optimize utilization of the marine environment.
Built on distinctive, interdisciplinary research thrusts that ensure flexibility, growth and relevance, KAUST's research programs have been defined to leverage the Kingdom's unique resources and help forge the future of the global economy and industries. As a logical corollary, job creation is at the heart of KAUST's mission. A mission that also targets Thuwal as the university seeks to build a "Silicon Valley of the East."
However, as the world-class academic institution develops and spreads its wings, KAUST leadership remains focused to see that it doesn't lose sight of the larger goal, as outlined by the king i.e. to help bridge the gap between peoples and cultures. To that end, Al-Naimi, Al-Nasr and Prof. Shih have worked hard to make KAUST a place of academic freedom. Openness is essential to KAUST's success. Accordingly, work and study at the university are open to qualified applicants regardless of nationality, gender or faith. But that's not all. Freeing it from bureaucratic policies and giving it absolute academic freedom, KAUST is also the first and only educational institution in the Kingdom that is not under the umbrella of the Saudi Ministry of Higher Education.
Now, what remains, is to convert some 60 different cultures and many different backgrounds, races and genders and establish a unique, new culture -- the KAUST culture. That is key to achieving the vision set by the king. Integral to this vision is KAUST's extraordinary mission.
Professor Shih views KAUST's great potential and mission through a concept he calls "heartware." He explains: "KAUST's heartware is the sum of our ideas, our people and our culture. Our ideas are the lifeblood for research and education, innovation and enterprise. Our people -- faculty, students, staff -- inject a pioneering spirit to our extraordinary endeavor. Our culture infuses our community with purpose and vitality. Our heartware is what gives life to KAUST and what makes KAUST tick." And tick, indeed, it will. After all, at the heart of the heartware is a noble Islamic message. A message that seeks to rekindle learning and spread knowledge, bridge cultural gaps and benefit all of mankind.
By Shafquat Ali
© Arab News 2009
