The making of Kaust: The vision behind Saudi Arabia's science university

The region’s oldest institutions were established during a period when Arab scholars led the world in scientific discoveries and philosophy. In an effort to revive that tradition, King Abdullah University of Science & Technology (Kaust), inaugurated in September this year near Jeddah, has set itself the goal of becoming the leading academic research institution in the Middle East, able to rival the likes of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US.

Kaust’s supporters, led by King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, want the university’s researchers and professors to make discoveries that can be applied to the wider benefit of the Saudi and Middle East economy. The university’s executive vice-president, Nadhmi al-Nasr, summed up the ambitions for Kaust when he told MEED: “My dream is that, in 2020, Kaust will be mentioned in the same breath as MIT or Cambridge.”

The list of partners who have helped design, build and develop Kaust is impressive. State-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco was selected to build the 36-square-kilometre site, and is now acting as interim manager of the institution before later becoming a strategic partner.

Leading academics from around the world have been appointed as teachers and mentors to the university’s students. Major companies including IBM and Boeing from the US, and Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic), have signed up to be founding members of Kaust’s industrial collaboration programme, working with the university in areas such as oil engineering, earth sciences and water desalination.

Having designed and built the university within just three years, those involved in Kaust already have much to be proud of. The proof of Kaust’s success will lie in the research and applied science that its academics and students now produce.