King Abdullah University of Science and Technology Launches Worldwide Scholarship Program

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology Launches Worldwide Scholarship Program

September 07, 2007

Discovery Scholarship Recipients Will Receive Full
Financial Support for Current First Degree Programs and for
KAUST Graduate Programs


    DHAHRAN, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Sept. 7
/Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- King Abdullah University of Science
and Technology (KAUST), a new world-class graduate research
university under development in Saudi Arabia, today launched
its scholarship program.  Recruitment for qualified students
is now underway around the world.   

    The KAUST Discovery Scholarship will provide full
tuition, a living stipend, book and computer allowances,
and summer and career enrichment programs to qualified
science and technology students at their home institutions
prior to the University's opening in September 2009. Upon
graduation, these students will enter KAUST as master's
degree students in September 2009 and 2010 and complete
their studies on a fully funded scholarship.

    "The launch of the KAUST Discovery Scholarship
program is another important step in turning King
Abdullah's vision of a world-class research university in
Saudi Arabia into reality," said Nadhmi Al-Nasr,
interim president of KAUST. "We are looking for
exceptionally talented and motivated students -- led by an
equally extraordinary roster of faculty -- who have a
thirst for knowledge and an adventurous and creative
spirit."

    Mr. Al-Nasr also explained that the scholarship program
is one part of a three-pronged strategy to build the
University's intellectual capital. A second cornerstone
KAUST initiative includes its Global Research Partnership,
a new program that will provide a significant source of
support to and collaboration with leading scientific
research centers and individual scientists around the
globe, along with research and educational collaborations
with leading institutions. So far, KAUST has entered into
formal partnerships with Woods Hole Oceanographic
Institution (WHOI), Institut Francais du Petrole in France,
the National University of Singapore, the Indian Institute
of Technology, Bombay (IITB) and, most recently, the
American University in Cairo.

    The third part of the recruitment strategy is the
Academic Excellence Alliances, an arrangement in which
KAUST will bring faculty to its campus by offering them
contracts through other leading research universities 

    When at KAUST, scholarship recipients will be able to
focus on any of four main areas of research: resources,
energy and environment; biosciences and engineering;
materials science and engineering; and applied mathematics
and computational science. The first cohort of between 250
and 350 students will grow to no more than 2,000 students
at the University's maturity.  

    "KAUST students will become the next generation of
scientists who will work to solve the world's increasingly
complex needs," continued Mr. Al-Nasr. "And they
will set a firm foundation for what we believe will be one
of the most important centers of learning and
discovery."  

    Students may apply for a KAUST Discovery Scholarship
directly, or they may be nominated by a professor or
administrator at their institution. All applicants must
complete their online application and send or attach all
required documents by November 9, 2007. Applications,
scholarship criteria and additional information can be
found on the KAUST Web site: http://www.kaust.edu.sa.  

    About KAUST

    The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
(KAUST) is being built in Saudi Arabia as an international,
graduate-level research university dedicated to inspiring a
new age of scientific achievement in the Kingdom, the
region and around the globe.  As an independent,
merit-based institution, KAUST will employ many of the best
practices from leading research universities and enable top
researchers from around the globe and across all cultures
to work together to solve challenging scientific and
technological issues.  The KAUST global research and
education network will support diverse talents, both on its
campus and at other premier universities and research
institutions, through collaborative research agreements,
grants, and student scholarship programs.  The core campus,
located on more than 36 million square meters on the Red Sea
near Rabigh, is set to open in September 2009.  For more
information about KAUST, visit http://www.kaust.edu.sa . 


    For more information, please contact:

     Jamil F. Al-Dandany
     King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]

     Jeff Weintraub
     King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]

     David Hart
     King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]