DHAHRAN: Saudi Arabia will achieve cutting edge technological achievement in many domains ten years from now as a result of the academic development and research programs being undertaken by the Kingdom's universities. Dr. Martin Jischke, former head of the US President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology and former president of Purdue University, made this statement at the conclusion of the three-day visit of the International Advisory Board (IAB) of King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) to various research facilities in Eastern Province. He singled out the achievement of KFUPM in the field of academic education and research. “This university has made substantial strides at all levels, particularly due to the high quality of its faculties, students, academic programs and research,” he said. Jischke, who is the chairman of the IAB which advises KFUPM on its academic and research strategies, said that since the formation of the IAB four years ago, it has significantly contributed to the development of academic performance and research programs of the university. He said KFUPM initiated important strategic partnerships with some of the best universities in the world such as MIT, Stanford University, Caltech, Cambridge and other prestigious and highly regarded universities around the globe, and has further strengthened its relationship with the industrial sector through alliances with giant international companies. The IAB visited a number of Saudi Aramco facilities, including the company's Leadership Center, Ras Tanura Industrial Training Center, and Ras Tanura Refinery and Terminal. Members of the IAB were also briefed on the strategy KFUPM plans to implement and achieve. The IAB is composed of presidents and executives of successful and leading companies and former heads of prestigious universities such as Harvard University, Stanford University, California Institute of Technology, the University of Chicago, Purdue University, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, the Technical University of Munich, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.
