Saudi king to inaugurate region's most advanced university

Updated on: Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Thuwal: Shaking off its conservative image, the Saudi kingdom's largest and most advanced science research and technology university would be inaugurated today by King Abdullah ibn Abdul Aziz here at this Red Sea resort city.

The USD 10-billion co-ed institute, the biggest such scientific research centre in the West Asian region, would be thrown open in the presence of galaxy of world leaders including Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Bahrain's King Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifah, Philippino President Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo and Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir.

Initially, the new university will have 400 students including 20 from India and will also boast of world class professors and scientists.

A dream child of the forward looking Saudi monarch, the research institute, coming up for the first time in a conservative country, would break centuries-old barrier to allow girl students to attend classes without veils and to mix freely with male students inside the campus.

The students of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), would be breaking another barrier as girls would be allowed to drive to the research centre.

The inauguration of the university is being held amids tight security in view of the recent terror attack on Prince Muhammad bin Naif in nearby Jeddah. Hours before the inauguration police and security personnel carried out an intense vigil using sniffer dogs.

Saudi king to inaugurate region's most advanced university

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