RIYADH: King Saud University signed Monday a memorandum of understanding with the Free University of Berlin, Germany, for joint cooperation in a range of academic and scientific fields. The agreement was signed by Klaus Wowereit, Mayor of Berlin. The cooperation covers scientific research, teaching staff exchange, visits of researchers and professors, academic and scientific consultation, consultation between governmental, private and industrial sectors, student supervision, training and lecture programs, and post-doctoral research. The Free University of Berlin, which was founded in 1948 and has as its principal fields of study the humanities, social sciences, health sciences and the natural sciences, has over 1,600 members of teaching staff specialized in a wide range of areas. One notable feature of the university is its Faculty of Islamic Societies and Cultures which houses the Center of Middle East Cultural and Social History. Abdullah Al-Othman, head of King Saud University, said the university has managed to introduce the “most up-to-date teachings methods” having learned from “incorporation with over 83 foreign universities”. “They include German universities, which we are proud of cooperating with, such as the Max Planck Institute, and through Professor Theodor H?nsch, a Nobel Prize winner, who works in the development of the fields of physics and lasers which are now regarded as one of the most important sciences in the world for the multiple fields that use lasers,” Al-Othman said. “We also have cooperation with notable universities in other countries.” He said that the King Saud University sought “development in all fields” but that its principal aim was to “stand out in the fields of medicine and scientific research”. “The target of the university is to improve the performance of the teaching process in the university and attain the highest classifications available internationally,” he said. “We want to develop our teaching programs up to the highest standard. The university has a lot of scholarship students placed at some of the best universities in the world.” Following the signing, the Mayor of Berlin and accompanying officials took a tour of projects and facilities at King Saud University, including its Faculty of Engineering, Riyadh Technology Valley and King Abdullah Institute for Nanotechnology.
