RIYADH, 6 December 2007 — The Seventh Saudi Engineering Conference concluded here yesterday with a call for upgrading the quality of engineering education, English-language skills and enhancing the academic research program.
These were some of the major recommendations of the conference, which was inaugurated on behalf of Crown Prince Sultan by Interior Minister Prince Naif at King Saud University.
Abdul Aziz Alhamid, dean of the Engineering College and chairman of the organizing committee, presided over the concluding session. He said the conference stressed the importance of enhancing scientific research in the engineering field.
In this context, he called on the private sector, especially big companies, to invest in engineering education and King Saud University’s R&D program. He proposed expanding engineering education facilities in different parts of the Kingdom to enable young Saudi engineers to benefit from the current economic boom.
Saudi engineers constitute 20 percent of the 110,000 engineers currently employed by the private sector, while the market requirement stands at 240,000 engineers with the multibillion-riyal mega projects on the anvil.
As for the R&D program, Alhamid said KSU’s budget, which used to stand at SR1 million annually in the past, has shot up to SR25 million within three months and was projected to stand at SR200 million as part of the future plan. There will be greater cooperation between the academia and the private sector in R&D in addition to the ongoing cooperation with King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology in this sector.
The conference recommended that the Saudi Engineering Council, engineering colleges in the universities and relevant associations should upgrade their training programs so as to bring about a qualitative change in Saudi engineers.
