JEDDAH: King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) announced yesterday that Boeing and IBM had become members of the KAUST Industrial Collaboration Program (KICP).
“Companies and universities need to be innovative if they are to remain globally competitive,” according to KAUST’s Interim Vice President of Economic Development, Ahmad Al-Khowaiter. KICP membership provides KAUST’s collaborators with recruiting and outreach support, offers both employment and funding prospects to students, and also offers challenging and meaningful research and industrial collaboration with our network of partners around the globe,” he said.
KICP is designed to maximize the chances of effective industrial collaboration within the Kingdom and internationally by engaging key partners, all with a keen interest in the translation of knowledge into economic growth and job creation, he said adding that KAUST is acting as a significant investor by developing infrastructure and providing substantial leverage potential to industry.
Boeing Saudi Arabia’s President, Ahmed Jazzar said that the Company believes that working with KAUST’s professors and students on innovative technology research will help Boeing assimilate new ideas and innovative processes into their products and programs.
He added: “This also is good for Saudi Arabia because it will help create the capabilities of the Saudi research and development and scientific community to meet emerging technological needs within the Kingdom.
“In today’s business climate, it is important to innovate, and to work in a different way, by interconnecting existing data and information, and by forging smarter ways of collaboration, said Takreem El-Tohamy, General Manager of IBM Middle East and North Africa.
“This agreement, which is an excellent bridge between academia and the business community, is an important step to start innovative collaboration within the Kingdom, and with our researchers globally. I am looking forward to our continued joint cooperation with KAUST.”
KICP funds are used to finance KICP initiatives to support educational outreach to the University community, and also to support strategic studies and collaboration with other academic resources in Saudi Arabia.
There are three categories within KICP: Founder Supporter and Small Business.
