Many people are familiar with the King Abdullah University for Science and Technology (KAUST) and it’s glittering $20 billion endowment. Founded in 2009 and sited north of Jeddah on the Red Sea, KAUST intends to be a global caliber research university as well as an educational and social bellwether that allows co-ed education. The KAUST project is headed by Saudi Aramco.
In the East near Dammam, Saudi Aramco is spearheading another educational and social experiment with the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture. It’s first class of 20 young Saudi men and women are deep into a study program that emphasizes innovation, creativity and cross-cultural awareness. Like KAUST it is another Saudi Aramco-supervised educational and social initiative worth watching.
“The significance of the Keystone program within the Saudi context is not to be underestimated. Within the country’s borders, an idea-translation program backed by a corporate giant such as Saudi Aramco is a novel and commendable concept. With more than 8 million Saudi boys and girls under the age of 14 throughout the kingdom, almost a third of the total population, the need for knowledge and training programs cannot be overstated, especially when traditional alternatives are not adopting new technologies quickly.
The rising number of young adults that hope to pursue a path of entrepreneurship and self-determination critically need these programs to learn how to establish a business successfully; after all, an idea is worthless without the tools and skills to enact it.”
Read the full item by clicking here.
