Bringing the world to Saudi Arabia is one of the expected outcomes of one of the most ambitious and unique projects Saudi Aramco has ever undertaken, Nadhmi A. Al-Nasr, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) interim president, told recently a capacity crowd at the EXPEC auditorium. In a two-hour presentation and exchange, also streamed to employees' desktops, Al-Nasr briefed attendees on the mission, vision and development of the university, set to open for graduate students in September 2009. Saudi Aramco was tasked in July 2006 with developing KAUST, said Al-Nasr, by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdul-Aziz, who envisions the institute and its scientific base as the foundation of technological advancement that will contribute to the prosperity and development of Saudi Arabia, the region and the world. “The challenge Saudi Aramco had in its hand from day one was not only to develop a university, but to learn about everything that goes into it,” said Al-Nasr. “This is a challenge that a company like Saudi Aramco clearly should be proud of. You all understand the trust the nation's leaders have in this company and the pride we should all take in being entrusted to do it.” KAUST is intended to be a tool for transforming Saudi Arabia into a knowledge-based economy, he said. “We in Saudi Arabia should not, will not and must not continue with an economy based on one commodity, which is oil. A knowledge-based economy is the future of Saudi Arabia,” he was quoted as saying in a report carried by Saudi Aramco's web-site. --MORE
