JEDDAH — Dar Al-Hekma University has signed a memorandum of understanding with an American university to promote bilateral ties. The agreement was signed here on Monday by President of Boston's Northeastern University Dr. Joseph E. Aoun and Dar Al-Hekma President Dr. Suhair Hassan Al-Qurashi. The two academics expressed their hope that this would be the beginning of a fruitful partnership, which will lead to a long-term, mutually-rewarding affiliation. “Dar Al-Hekma University has signed MoUs with major educational institutions from around the world and we are particularly delighted with this new beginning of a relationship with Northeastern University, which is one of the high-profile universities in the United States and indeed we anticipate that both universities will benefit from this collaboration,” Al-Qurashi said after the signing ceremony. One of Dar Al-Hekma University's Board of Trustees, Yahya Binladin, is a Northeastern alumnus. The university is a private research institution founded in 1851 and located in the heart of Boston. Northeastern is a leader in interdisciplinary research, urban engagement and the integration of classroom learning with real-world experience. The university's distinctive cooperative education program, where students alternate semesters of full-time study with semesters of paid work in fields relevant to their professional interests and major, is one of the largest and most innovative in the world. Northeastern offers a comprehensive range of undergraduate and graduate programs leading to degrees through the doctorate in six undergraduate colleges, eight graduate schools, and two additional campuses in Chicago and Doha, Qatar. — SG
