Royal approval has been issued to allocate SR10.3 billion for completion of a number of strategic projects at King Saud University (KSU) including the university city for female students, expansion of the medical city, and completion of colleges for boys. Dr. Abdullah Al-Othman, the university's rector, said the city for female students aims at establishing an integrated unified academic complex at the university in various specializations. He said the university city will include faculties of medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, medical applied sciences, nursing sciences, food and agriculture, computer and information, arts, administrative sciences, languages and translation, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said. Dr. Al-Othman noted that the capacity of the existing medical city at the university will be increased and said the King Fahd Center for Diseases and Heart Surgery, the National Center for Diabetes, and a family medicine center will also be established. “Moreover, the faculties of medicine and dentistry will be expanded to meet the increasing number of students,” he added. Dr. Al-Othman said these new projects will positively contribute to the development of the university and enable it to play a pioneering role in the international arena. Also the university will be able to enroll more students, especially females. KAU to establish 3 research centers King Abdulaziz University (KAU) has recently launched an initiative to establish three research centers including one specializing in the technology of water desalination. Dr. Osama Tayyeb, rector of the university, said the Center of Water Desalination will extend scientific and financial consultation to government authorities concerned with water and its supplies. He said there will be a center in the field of osteopsathyrosis with the aim of making it a distinguished international cooperative center in the field. The center will undertake development of training and vocational programs, he said. The third center will be in the field of hereditary diseases. It will study the causes of and make recommendations regarding the spread of hereditary diseases in the Kingdom. __
