The British Council's annual Post-Doctoral Summer Research (PDSR) Program for 2009 announced at a press conference in Riyadh Wednesday included the largest ever number of female Saudi academics. Of the 26 Saudi academics representing various universities in the Kingdom, 10 are female candidates, who will soon travel to the UK to take part in the British Council's 2009 PDSR program. The Saudi academics will work alongside their UK counterparts in selected areas of specialization, Jim Scarth, Director of British Council Saudi Arabia, said. Tim Dearden, 1st Secretary, British Embassy and Monther Tayeb, Head of Public Relations and Communications, BAE Systems, the sponsor of the PDSR program, and the Saudi academics were also present at the press conference. Some of the Saudi academics said they faced long delays in receiving UK visas from the British Embassy while others highlighted the high living expenses in the UK and urged the British Council to look for some more sponsors for the program. Dearden invited suggestions from the Saudi academics that could help the embassy improve visa procedures. He said the British Embassy has outsourced the visa application processing for Saudis. The British Council in Saudi Arabia started the PDSR Program in 1989 with King Fahd University for Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) in order to develop a research collaboration program aimed at providing an opportunity for Saudi specialists to work alongside their UK counterparts. However, since 1991 the British Council has been nominating around 20 Saudi academics annually to take part in its PDSR program, sponsored by BAE Systems. A total of 390 Saudi researchers including 10 females between 1991 and 2008 have gone to the UK under the PDSR program to be attached to a UK institution for eight to 12 weeks' duration from June to September. The PDSR program is unique to Saudi Arabia since it is designed to introduce staff at Saudi universities and other research institutions to UK research methods and facilities and to increase the awareness of the range and quality of the British Higher Education system. The Ministry of Higher Education has approved the names of 26 Saudi academics including 10 nominated by KFUPM, eight researchers from King Saud University, two each from King Abdulaziz University, King Faisal University, Qassim University, one each from Umm Al-Qura University and Prince Sultan University. A Saudi researcher nominated to receive an award under the PDSR Program will make contact with an appropriate center for research in the UK. The role of the British Council is to advise the candidate in identifying institutions and individuals with relevant research interests. In almost every case, results from the research collaboration are published in relevant specialist journals. Other outcomes have been joint working-groups, seminars and staff exchanges - some of which have been granted separate financial support from the British Council and other funding agencies. In general, the PDSR demonstrates an excellent partnership between advanced research capacity at UK institutions and the specialist interests and requirements of Saudi researchers. SG __
