THUWAL: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah made an inspection tour to the campus of King Abdullah University for Science and Technology (KAUST) under construction in Thuwal, a coastal village outside Jeddah, the Saudi Press Agency reported yesterday.
Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Chief of General Intelligence Prince Muqrin and Minister of Education Prince Faisal bin Abdullah bin Muhammad were also among those who accompanied the king.
The university will be officially opened on Sept. 23, the Kingdom’s 79th National Day; the classes will begin before that, on Sept. 5.
Initially 400 students have been enrolled at the university. More than 75 faculty members have been selected from leading universities and institutes of higher learning across the world. There will be 10 science specializations and 10 research centers in the beginning.
The current facilities in the campus cover an area of 700,000 square meters, which include buildings for faculties of science and engineering, research center for applied mathematics, library and conference hall with a capacity of 1,000 people in addition to four huge buildings for various research centers equipped with solar cells. Khalid Al-Falih, president and CEO of Saudi Aramco, and university officials received the king at the university headquarters.
