Saudis studying in the United Kingdom met with decision-maker businessmen and scholars at the second Saudi International Innovation Conference (SIIC) at Leeds University. Saudi Ambassador to the UK and Northern Ireland, Prince Mohammad Bin Nawaf inaugurated the conference sponsored by King Saud University and Saudi Aramco. Students sponsored by Saudi Aramco met with Saudi researchers to discuss ideas for innovation and how they could contribute to technological changes in the Kingdom. The conference held two debates, “Innovation in Saudi Arabia, facts and hopes,” and “The role of universities in creating a sustainable knowledge-based economy,” and several workshops and 56 presentations by Saudi researchers from around the world, according to the Saudi Aramco web site. Out of more than 200 abstracts of papers received since Dec. 2007, 80 papers were published at the conference. Saudi Aramco sponsors more than 1,750 undergraduate and graduate students in universities around the world.
