KAUST - Saudi Arabia Opens Co-Ed University

[Richard]

KAUST - King Abdullah University for Science and Technology.

Richard's $.02

Saudi Arabia Opens First-Ever Fully Integrated Coed University
AP, 23 Sep 2009

The opening of Saudi Arabia's new multibillion dollar, first-ever fully integrated coed university on Wednesday is a pivotal step forward in the oil-rich kingdom's quest to strengthen its economic base, said the Oil Minister Ali Naimi.

"With all the natural resources that God has endowed us, the kingdom is keen to diversify its sources of income for the future," Naimi said at the institution's inauguration outside the coastal city of Jeddah in remarks carried by the state press.

The university breaks many of the conservative country's social taboos by allowing, for the first time, men and women to take classes together.

The King Abdullah Science and Technology University, or KAUST, boasts state-of-the-art labs, the world's 14th fastest supercomputer and one of the biggest endowments worldwide.

Saudi officials have envisaged the postgraduate institution as a key part of the kingdom's plans to transform itself into a global scientific hub — its latest efforts to diversify its oil-reliant economy.

So far 817 students representing 61 different countries are currently enrolled, with 314 beginning classes this month while the rest are scheduled to start in the beginning of 2010. The aim is to expand to 2,000 students within eight to 10 years.

Of that total, 15 percent are Saudi, say university officials.

The university's financial backing will allow all the students to receive full scholarships covering their tuition plus a stipend.

Naimi said environmental research will be a priority at the university where more than 70 international faculty are on board. In a bid to recruit distinguished researchers, KAUST has tossed generous salary packages to prospective hires from around the world.

The university is being launched at a time when the OPEC powerhouse has been upping its push to focus on education and development programs aimed at boosting economic growth.

Officials say KAUST's embrace of scientific freedom marks Saudi Arabia's determination to not be left behind as technology increasingly drives global development.

The hope is that KAUST will succeed in promoting scientific freedom in a country where strict implementation of Islamic teachings has often been blamed for stifling innovation.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,554322,00.html

[Pete]

Interesting.

The article mentions it's co-ed, knows the number of counties providing students and the percent of Saudi students - 15%.

But for the story being Co-ed there is no mention of the percent of females or which countries they are coming from.

And how will the females get to school?

[Sigaba]

Originally Posted by Pete

Interesting.

The article mentions it's co-ed, knows the number of counties providing students and the percent of Saudi students - 15%.

But for the story being Co-ed there is no mention of the percent of females or which countries they are coming from.

And how will the females get to school?

Unfortunately, the data available at KAUST's website thus far are not as robust as those provided by American schools as part of the Common Data Set Initiative <<LINK>> (with an example available here).

According to KAUST*, the data indicate the following breakdown. Source is here.

* More than 7,187 qualified students submitted applications during KAUST’s global recruitment period. To date, KAUST has accepted 817 students representing 61 countries.
* Of this group, 374 students will begin classes on the KAUST campus in September 2009. The remainder will enroll in KAUST beginning in 2010.
* Incoming KAUST students represent 161 undergraduate institutions from many regions of the world.

o The most represented countries in the inaugural class are Saudi Arabia (15%), China (14%), Mexico (11%), and the United States (8%).

* KAUST is open to men and women.
* Students can pursue master’s or doctoral degrees in nine fields of study. Of the 2009 inaugural class, 44 students will pursue doctoral degrees and 330 will pursue master’s degrees.
* The top fields chosen by students who are enrolled to attend KAUST in 2009 include:

o Computer Science (21%)
o Chemical and Biological Engineering (13.1%)
o Electrical Engineering (12.5%)
o Mechanical Engineering (10.4%)

* The median grade point average (GPA) of the incoming KAUST class is 3.61 on a 4.00 scale.

____________________________________________
* Such data should be taken with a grain or two of salt, not because of KAUST's home country but because administrative and academic departments at schools sometimes don't talk to each other. Or, as a small college's CFO asked me, "Where did you get these numbers?" Er..."Sir, I got them from the person you told me to get them from." (No, my voice didn't actually crack-- regardless of what others may allege. I was just caught between sips of Coca Cola.)

[Sigaba]

FWIW, KAUST's website now has a map that shows the school's "global footprint." The source is here.