Cross-cultural diversity and knowledge are the keys to the future, Saudi Aramco President and CEO Abdallah S. Jum‘ah told alumni of American University of Beirut (AUB) during a reunion event held recently in Beirut. The audience contained the alumni of 11 classes from 1953-2003, and Jum‘ah delivered the keynote speech for the three-day event. He said that quality higher education is particularly important in view of the global challenges society faces today. “A nation's prosperity and potential for progress are directly tied to the quality of its educational system, including of course its universities and other institutions of higher learning. These academic institutions are incubators for new ideas and concepts in many different fields, and occupy the leading edge of the quest for a greater understanding of the world around us, of our societies, and indeed of ourselves,” he said. Jum‘ah noted these are exactly the ideals being used to plan the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), which is being constructed near the Red Sea port of Rabigh. “When it opens its doors in September of 2009, KAUST will be a graduate flagship university focused on scientific and technical research and development, but like AUB, it will attract students and faculty from all over the globe and will be a microcosm of our planet's people,” he said. --MORE
