THUWAL, Jeddah: Breathtaking, spectacular and just amazing. That is how Wednesday's inauguration ceremony of the multibillion-dollar King Abdullah University of Science and Technology was described by a large section of the nearly 3,000 guests that included prominent Saudis, foreign leaders, Nobel laureates, researchers, scientists and journalists.
The assembled guests were clearly overwhelmed with the magnificence of the building and presentation. “It is fantastic, it reminds me of the images one sees of the inside of some futuristic space station — quite incredible,” said well-known journalist Hadi Fakeeh.
Women guests in the audience carried along by the heady atmosphere of excitement and expectation spontaneously broke into traditional ululation, a sign of joy and good will.
Following the official ceremony the crowds that were enthralled by a magnificent fireworks display that filled the sky with sound and light for half an hour or more.
The king’s speech was preceded with a film that elicited the views of Saudi citizens who gave their support and congratulations to King Abdullah and commenting on the high points in his reign. This was followed by a recitation by young Saudis of a touching poem by the renowned Saudi poet Dr. Saad Atiya Al-Ghamdi, much to the delight of the audience, judging by the emotional response and applause during and after the performance.
Mutlaq Alanazi, managing editor at Al-Yaum newspaper, was delighted with what he saw. Touched by king's message he was convinced it would increase the popularity of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.
“This university is something that will change the face of Saudi Arabia and has the potential to change the way education is imparted in this country,” said Alanazi. He said he was very happy and proud that today he was witnessing history in the making.
Manal Al-Sharif, a journalist with Okaz newspaper, said that as a woman she could say without fear of any contradiction that the university would create a new momentum for education in Saudi Arabia.
“This will provide a new impetus to all Saudi society to get their children better and more quality education. It will encourage them to make their children try to work at school and achieve good marks in the lower levels and also at the graduate levels for them to qualify to get to a university where the standard is high and enable them to compete with people from around the globe.”
Mohammed Wajihuddin, special correspondent of The Times of India, who flew in from Mumbai to cover the inauguration ceremony, said: “Here is tangible proof of what we have been hearing in media for some years now: that Saudi Arabia is changing. It indeed is. KAUST is the best example of the giant steps that the Kingdom is taking in its quest to march along with the First World.”
Steve Sechrist, senior analyst at the Connecticut-based Insight Media, was very impressed with the inauguration ceremony. “It was meticulously done and perfectly executed. It was breathtaking,” he said. “To those who have been repeatedly asking about how many Saudis will actually get into this prestigious university, I have a question: How many Americans can get into Harvard and MIT? Very few. American universities are full of students from all over the world. They get into those universities based on their qualifications.”
