Saudi Telecom Company (STC), King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), and Ericsson have launched the center of excellence in January to educate and prepare new Saudi graduates for careers in telecommunications.

Students will reap the benefits of Ericsson’s leading technologies and learning evolution until the culmination of the program in June.

Ericsson’s Centre of Excellence offers students who are passionate about innovation within information and communications technologies (ICT), the training and tools to develop a deep, specialized knowledge in their area of interest and support them in the senior project.

It will evaluate test and transfer knowledge of emerging telecommunications technologies to students. The organizations aligned strategically to identify key job roles, as well as bridging theoretical and practical gap.

KFUPM students will benefit from Ericsson’s (R&D) graduate program and new technology trends; selected Saudi students will partake in R&D mentorship. This will empower Saudi graduates with a cutting edge information and communications technology education.

Moreover, they will derive immense benefits by being involved in R&D processes and participating in new technology trends.

Khaled Hussain Biyari, STC Group CEO, said: “This strategic partnership enables us to prepare our graduates for careers in telecommunications. Collaborating with KFUPM and Ericsson enables us to make a positive contribution to the development of the youth in our great nation from a grassroots level.”

Sahel N. Abduljauwad, vice rector for research, KFUPM, said: “Together with STC and Ericsson, we are offering our students a competitive advantage when they enter the workplace.”

Ali Eid, head of Ericsson, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, said: “Ericsson supports STC and KFUPM in their efforts to contribute to a knowledge economy in KSA. Our combined knowledge and understanding of education and the information and communications technology industry will propel education in telecommunications to new dimensions.”