King Abdullah University of Science and Technology: Location, Campus, and Academic Landscape

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) is a public research university located in Thuwal, Saudi Arabia. Founded in 2009, KAUST provides research and graduate training programs with English as the official language of instruction. The university is named after King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, the ruler of Saudi Arabia from 2005 until 2015.

Genesis and Planning

In 2006, Ali Al-Naimi chaired a Saudi Aramco team to undertake the building and planning of the academics. Nadhmi Al-Nasr was chosen to lead the project. They employed the Washington Advisory Group's Frank H. T. Rhodes and Frank Press to design the academic structure, SRI International to develop the four research institutes, and the architectural firm of HOK for the campus master plan, which included wind towers and solar panels. The location of the campus at Thuwal included 16.4 sq km on land and 19.6 sq km of marine sanctuary offshore.

Inauguration and Vision

The inauguration ceremony of KAUST was held on September 23, 2009, during which King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud stated that places like the university that "embrace all people are the first line of defence against extremists". The university initially received a $10 billion endowment. Upon opening, the university admitted 400 students from over 60 countries and 70 faculty.

A Unique Campus in Saudi Arabia

KAUST is the first mixed-gender university campus in Saudi Arabia. Saudi authorities hope the mixed-gender center will help modernize the Kingdom's deeply conservative society. The religious police do not operate on-site.

Research Focus and Academic Disciplines

Curiosity driven and goal-oriented research is conducted by students, faculty, scientists and engineers to address the world’s pressing scientific and technological challenges related to food, water, energy and the environment. KAUST organizes its research teams across three academic disciplines, 12 research centers and individual faculty labs.

Centers of Excellence

In July 2024, KAUST implemented four new Centers of Excellence (CoEs) aimed at driving research, development and innovation (RDI) to address Saudi Arabia's four RDI priorities: Health and Wellness, Sustainable Environment, Energy and Industrial Leadership, and Economies of the Future.

Health and Wellness: This center develops and deploys digital and AI-driven technologies aimed at transforming healthcare delivery in Saudi Arabia through precision medicine, promoting innovation, education and entrepreneurship.
Sustainable Environment: This center develops agricultural technologies to enhance resource efficiency, crop improvement and sustainable biosystems, aimed at strengthening both Saudi and global food security. KAUST Professor Mark Tester, Plant Science, is CoE chair.
Energy and Industrial Leadership: This center develops and deploys renewable energy and storage technologies, supporting Saudi Arabia's sustainable energy transition by prototyping and commercializing innovations that enhance industrial competitiveness.
Economies of the Future: This center develops innovative general-purpose AI models tailored to meet the unique demands of Saudi Arabia's RDI priorities, pursuing Generative AI research and driving advancements across multiple sectors.

Academic Programs

KAUST offers a range of graduate programs, including Master of Science (M.S.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and a combined M.S./Ph.D. program.

Master of Science (M.S.) Program

The Master of Science (M.S.) program at KAUST can be taken in one of the 16 available disciplines.

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) Program

The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) program at KAUST can be taken in one of the 16 available disciplines. It typically takes three to four years to complete.

M.S. / Ph.D. Program

The M.S./Ph.D. program allows students to apply for the Ph.D. program after completing a bachelor's degree.

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Postgraduate Diploma

KAUST offers a one-year Postgraduate Diploma in Digital Industrial Design, Physical Science and Engineering, and Bioscience.

Visiting Student Programs

KAUST provides opportunities for undergraduate and master's students to engage in research through various visiting student programs.

Visiting Student Research Program (VSRP): The VSRP is a three to six-month internship program available for 3rd/4th year undergraduate or master's students. During the program, students will work under the guidance of KAUST faculty mentors on a current research project.
Visiting Student Program (VS): The Visiting Student Program (VS) is a flexible program allowing 3rd/4th year undergraduate or master's students to work directly with KAUST faculty members. Its length can range from a few days to several months. While there is no minimum academic entry requirement, those admitted typically have strong grade profiles and clear research interests.

KAUST Fellowship

Every student who is admitted receives the KAUST Fellowship.

Campus Design and Sustainability

Integrated into the architecture of the local environment, KAUST’s 27 buildings include 5.5 million square feet of space and were designed and constructed in just under 30 months. The campus includes two million square feet of labs spread across four interconnected, 500,000-sq.-ft. The team designed the campus as a singular meta-building with all spaces interconnected and served from a common base. Making the campus as compact as possible addresses the intense sun and formidable climate while improving proximities among researchers, academics and students. With a compact arrangement, traditional boundaries between buildings begin to dissolve.

A critical role of buildings in this part of the world is to protect people from the intense sun. At KAUST, shade is provided in a monumental way and the act of shading is celebrated. The Arabic Bedouin tent inspired designers to create a monumental roof system that spans across building masses to block sun on building facades and into the pedestrian spine, to facilitate natural ventilation and to filter light. Solar panels covering the surface capture the sun’s energy. Passive ventilation strategies of the traditional Arabic house influenced the design of iconic, solar-powered wind towers that harness energy from the sun and wind to passively create air flow in pedestrian walkways.

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Despite the challenges of building the campus in Saudi Arabia’s desert climate, KAUST became the world’s largest LEED Platinum project at the time of its certification. HOK’s mechanical, electrical, plumbing and structural engineers led multiple design teams following parallel paths to support the construction of high-performance space across 27 buildings. The harsh climatic conditions along the Red Sea made the landscape architecture strategies for KAUST extremely important. The buildings manifest themselves with a similar dynamism. HOK’s lighting design supported KAUST’S ambitious sustainability goals by achieving every LEED credit possible.

Location and Accessibility

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) is an international graduate-level research university located on the shores of the Red Sea, an hour away from Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. The university's campus is located in Thuwal Center, which is eighty km north of Jeddah City.

Campus Life and Facilities

On campus, students will find a comprehensive library, modern laboratories and 10 multidisciplinary research centres. The university also offers food and retail spaces, health and fitness facilities and a variety of recreational activities for students to enjoy university life away from the classroom. KAUST has established relationships with universities around the world, carrying out academic exchanges, scientific research cooperation and the opportunity for students to study abroad.

KAUST needed a unified and user-friendly portal solution available on the web and mobile. KAUST’s homepage “Campus Connect” was built to meet KAUST’s needs specifically. Photos and buttons are changed based on the time of year and what’s happening on campus. KAUST’s campus app does all the day-to-day stuff for students. The activity feed, chat, events management tools, and career center are go-to features. The dedicated Commencement and Orientation apps also enhance the student experience, as does gamification. CG has automated key processes, with data feeding into an analytics and reporting dashboard in real time.

Museum of Science and Technology in Islam

King Abdullah University houses the Museum of Science and Technology in Islam, which showcases the achievements of Muslim scientists during the golden age between the seventh and seventeenth centuries, such as: Jabir Ibn Hayyan, Abbas Ibn Firnas, al-Kindi, al-Razi, al-Jazari, and Taqi al-Din. King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz considered it a civilizational heritage that inspired him to establish this edifice as a new House of Wisdom.

New Strategy for Innovation

His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the crown prince, prime minister, and chairman of the Board of Trustees of KAUST, launched on August 20, 2023, the new strategy for the university, focusing on increasing opportunities to convert research into economically profitable innovations. This includes three main initiatives: the launch of the National Transformation Institute for Applied Research (NTI), the reorganization of the university's research institutes to align with the national priorities of research, development, and innovation, and the establishment of the Deep Tech Innovation Fund (DTIF) with a budget estimated at SAR750 million.

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