King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Honorary President of the Council of Trustees of King Abdullah University for Sciences and Technology (KAUST), chaired here Saturday the first meeting of the Council of Trustees of the University. Members of the Council began their work as independent commission supervising the administration of this new international research university, which is scheduled to open its campus on September 5 this year. Addressing the gathering the King said: “For the past 25 years, I have been looking forward to realizing my dream of establishing this university. Today, this dream has come true, reflected in its goals which encompass all different thoughts and cultures with a vision compatible with the spirit of the time and a message emanating from our religion.”? The King said that the goal behind establishing KAUST was to build a knowledge-based economy to diversify the Kingdom's economic resources. The university is also intended to be a bridge for interaction between civilizations, King Abdullah said. “All this requires us to exert a lot of efforts to achieve our goal of qualifying generations capable of serving their societies and the world for the benefit of humanity,” the Monarch said.? “Brother and sister members, there is no doubt that you are a distinguished elite on whom we depend after Almighty Allah for planning, advice and implementation for this university to be a beacon of light to enlighten a better future for the people of this homeland, the region and everywhere, Allah willing.” Beginning this September, KAUST will offer the M.S. degree, which can be a terminal graduate degree or may serve as a gateway to the Ph.D. program. The M.S. degree will take 18 months to complete, and will be offered to both traditional full-time students and part-time students. The Ph.D. program will have a three- to four-year post-master's degree. It involves original research in one of the KAUST Research Centers, culminating in a research dissertation. All courses at KAUST will be in English. The Council of Trustees of the university who are founding members are: Engineer Ali Bin Ibrahim Al-Naimi President of the Council of Trustees Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources; Prince Khalid Bin Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz, Prince Abdulaziz Bin Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz, Prince Mansour Bin Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz, Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali, President of the Islamic Development Bank, John G.. Brennan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vanguard Group, Khalid Al-Faleh, President and Chief Executive Officer, Saudi Aramco, Andrew Gold, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of Schlumberger Limited Co., Professor Rolf, Dieter Hoyer Appointed Director-General, European Organization for Nuclear Research, Mohamed Abdul Latif Jameel, President of Abdul Latif Jameel Group, Ms. Lubna Al-Olayan, Senior of Chief Executive Officers and Chairman of Board of Directors of Olayan Group for Finance, Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, Minister Of Health, Professor Frank H.T. Rhodes Honorary President of Cornell University, Mrs. Mary Robinson, Chairman of Team of Rights Works the Ethical Globalization Initiative, Former President of the Republic Of Ireland, Professor Chun-Fung Shih, KAUST president, Dr. Khalid Al-Sultan, Director of King Fahd University For Petroleum and Minerals, Dr. Shirley M. Tilghman, President of Princeton University, Dr. Tony Tan, Chairman of the Board Of Directors of National Research Foundation In Singapore, Dr. Elias Zerhouni, former Director of National Institutes of Health in the United States, Professor Ji Zhang, President of Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
