During a visit to Saudi Aramco offices, a team from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) explained to company officials the academic programs offered by the university and outlined the areas of cooperation the university would like to develop with Aramco.
Cooperation is required since both institutions are engaged in the same kind of activity. The university’s main focus remains the development of training and employment programs that will guarantee its graduate students moving into the job market without difficulty.
The approach adopted by KFUPM is one followed by many academic institutions in Western countries. Big companies need new areas of specialization to further their business. These areas may not be available at universities, thus prompting the two groups to cooperate and introduce the required areas of study.
Companies may also request universities to conduct for them study and research covering specific areas of study. The company usually bears the cost. Not only that, students attending college will know in advance the kind of job that awaits them after graduation since they are specially trained to do the kind of work sought by big companies.
KFUPM’s efforts in this regard and its attempts to foster close ties and build strong cooperation with major businesses should be widely commended. The question is: Why don’t we see the same thing done by other universities in the country?
The continued lack of coordination and cooperation between our universities and businesses has produced a situation in which the universities live in isolation from the actual requirements of the job market. This is not an empty claim but a reality. It is well-established by the fact that 44,000 university graduates applied for 18,000 teaching jobs, including 9,000 held by expatriates which include jobs in the areas of English language, mathematics, computer technology and physics.
The large number of applicants looking for teaching jobs is an indication of a discrepancy in a system. In some specialties, there are too many graduates while in others, there is not enough. No wonder that large numbers of graduates find themselves without work at a time when the Ministry of Civil Service is looking for graduates who majored in certain areas to fill vacant positions.
It is time all Saudi universities adopted the kind of scientific and practical approach pursued by KFUPM. Only then will we be able to end the state of confusion and lack of planning that continues to plague our higher educational institutions.
