Higher Education Minister Khaled Al-Anqari has reiterated Saudi Arabia’s commitment to become a knowledge-based economy. “It’s a choice that no country wanting to make progress can ignore,” he said.
Spelling out other measures taken by the government in this direction, Al-Anqari said: “We have increased the number of public and private universities, focused on scientific research and established new research centers and technological parks.”
The research chairs focused on social, economic, medical and industrial topics in order to produce scientific solutions to the various problems facing the country, an analytical report said.
There are such chairs in most of the Kingdom’s 24 government universities, supervised by well-known researchers and scientists. They are expected to play a leading role to bring about sustainable development in the country.
King Saud University in Riyadh has the largest number of 110 research chairs, followed by King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Dhahran 26, Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University in Riyadh 22, and King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah 21.
Developed countries, including the US, Japan, France, Germany, Britain and Italy, have given utmost importance to such research programs to achieve scientific and technological progress. According to the report, Canada allocated $900 million in 2000 to establish 2,000 chairs at its universities in 10 years.
Before introducing such chairs in the Kingdom, Saudi Arabia set up the King Abdul Aziz Chair in the University of California in 1984, the King Abdul Aziz Chair in Bologna University in Italy in 1997, the King Fahd Islamic Studies Chair at University of London in 1994, the King Fahd Chair at Harvard in 1992, the Prince Sultan Islamic and Arabic Studies Chair at the University of California, and the Prince Naif Chair for Arabic Language and Islamic Studies at the University of Moscow in 1995.
The system was introduced in the Kingdom in recent years. Academics have emphasized the importance of research chairs, saying they will not only promote scientific research but also strengthen partnership between universities and social institutions.
“Each chair presents a work plan for four years or more in accordance with its type and are managed by scientists from within the Kingdom and abroad,” the report said.
Research topics are either selected by the university or supporting organizations.
The present chairs at Saudi universities focus on water, energy, petroleum, gas, minerals, finance, investment, real estate development, computer science, information technology, telecom and Islamic studies, intellectual security and social responsibility. “Some studies focus on contagious diseases in the country in order to know the reasons for the spread of such ailments,” the report said.
Some chairs are financed by the university, some by private agencies while some others by individuals. Endowment funds, donations and grants also used to finance them. Total expenses reach between SR5 million to SR10 million and the money is used for conducting research, holding seminars, conferences and workshops.
