King Abdullah’s dream and lack of media coverage

A high-ranking official told me of the dream of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah of 25 years to establish a world class university that would lead the world in the service of humanity and humaneness particularly in areas such as energy, nutrition, the environment and sustainable growth. The king hoped its location to be Taif, but the dream materialized many years later with the establishment of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Thuwal. It has been designed to be a world-renowned university for higher research studies with tangible contributions in the area of scientific and technological advancement. The university also looks forward to playing a significant role in the development of the Kingdom.
The university embarks on bold and collaborated research in support of leaders in the field of science and technology, and also to help in the diversification of the Saudi economy in order to undertake relevant challenges regionally and internationally, which will be in the interest of the Kingdom, the region and the world. The university’s basic principles insist on its faculty members to be committed to values such as accomplishment, boldness, inspiration, diversification, open mindedness and honesty. They should hold true to these values in all their dealings, not only as representatives of the university, but also in their personal dealings.
An international advisory council supports and offers advice to the university’s president for comprehensive academic development with the objective of building the status of the university as an internationally recognized university and also to offer weighty contributions in the area of science and technology. It has been set up and equipped with the highest quality standards after allocating a suitable location with sufficient space to achieve its goals.
Furthermore, a section of the sea in the area has been designated for its research goals. It gets help from the most brilliant academic and administrative experts in the world so the king’s dream is achieved to the highest standard. Saudi Aramco with all its potential under the leadership of Ali Al-Naimi, Khalid Al-Falih and Nazmi Al-Nasr, is undertaking implementation of the dream.
An Aramco official issued a statement about the project saying that it has been translated into a concrete reality with the participation of researchers and specialists of both sexes belonging to 60 nationalities covering all continents. He added that its programs are directly linked with all the cities and towns in the Kingdom.
The university adopts gifted students at the age of 16 to develop their skills and to be sent to the best universities in the world so that they return to their country after earning their master or doctoral degrees to conduct research in key areas. The program has started paying off with many of them returning to the university after obtaining their degrees from universities such as Harvard, MIT and Stanford. Two classes of the university graduates have also passed successfully.
Unfortunately, all these achievements are documented while the media is absent from the scene.
I demand and request that the media take the initiative to highlight the university’s achievements so that not only citizens and expatriates but the whole world knows of a reality serving the nation and I hope it motivates young people to align their hopes and dreams with that of the king, particularly when those hardworking people do not readily present themselves in the media. Don't we the citizens of the Kingdom deserve to be delighted and proud of such an academic institution and share in the king's joy in the materialization of his conscientious dream which will glorify him among future generations and the whole of mankind?