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ghost · Joined: 30 Jan 2003 Posts: 1693 Location: Saudi Arabia

$26.6 billion dollars was spent on this project (the King Abdullah City Project) with huge investments poured into building a seaport, an educational zone and a financial island, as well as resorts and residential areas.

The city, Saudi media reported, would be 'a world class locatin to work, live and play and a shining example for Saudi Arabia's transformation into a global economic powerhouse and further consolidate its position as the Middle East's largest economy'

In the Education zone, there were great plans for universities, schools and research and development centers.

The project was set to be built in 2005, but I have not heard much news about it, and about teachers teaching there?

Ghost in Korea

007 · Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2007 2:29 pm Post subject:

King Abdallah University of Science and technology (KAUST) will be a research-based university within King Abdallah City project, and is currently establishing academic and research agreements and scholarship programs. The first group of KAUST graduate students will begin their studies in September 2009.
http://www.kaust.edu.sa/

trapezius · Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2007 10:04 am Post subject:

Gulezar · Joined: 19 Jun 2007 Posts: 483

I interviewed with this group over the summer. The prospect seemed promising. However, after my first interview I was told that there had been a "change of leadership". That could be code for any number of issues:
1. Overspending on top notch research staff. "Can't we do this for less?"
2. Open, international staffing and discussion. "Do we really want to listen to overeducated kafirs from the third world or first generation overeducated kafirs from the developed world?"
3. It might just be a polite way to say, "Thanks, but not thanks, Gulezar."

In any case, they have a website and do not respond to inquiries. Is that any surprise, considering it is out of Saudi? Buy all the bells and whistles and everything looks great, but don't provide customer service.

If anyone has a direct contact, I would appreciate the information. You may ask, "Why does she even want to deal with the wasta and frustration of Saudi?" Don't worry. I can deal with the system. One balances the pros and cons in any situation.

trapezius · Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2008 5:11 pm Post subject:

Since the President of KAUST said in his speech last year that it will be as good as MIT by 2020, I am just waiting for 2020 so that I can apply then. I mean really, would you rather work at MIT or at KAUST?

But seriously, KAUST is not for any of us. It will only award graduate degrees. Which means there will be no need for any English (or Math) Lecturers. They will only hire you if you have a Ph.D. in a scientific field.

Take a look at their faculty... some of the best in their fields from around the world:

http://www.kaust.edu.sa/about/faculty-staff.aspx

(I just wonder though, what exactly would make you leave your professorial position at Harvard, Caltech, or Princeton and come to KAUST?)

(BTW, this is the only instance of the words "world-class faculty" on the website of a Saudi university not being a blatant lie)

Look at www.chronicle.com to see some positions advertised.

Here are all the fields of study: (MS and PhD only)

Applied Mathematics and Computational Science (AMCS)
Bioscience (B)
Chemical and Biological Engineering (CBE)
Chemical Science (ChemS)
Computer Science (CS)
Earth Science and Engineering (ErSE)
Electrical Engineering (EE)
Environmental Science and Engineering (EnSE)
Marine Science and Engineering (MarSE)
Materials Science and Engineering (MSE)
Mechanical Engineering (ME)

Gulezar · Joined: 19 Jun 2007 Posts: 483

(I just wonder though, what exactly would make you leave your professorial position at Harvard, Caltech, or Princeton and come to KAUST?)

I'm not among the stellar, but there were some fabulous salaries talked about for those who would come to do research at KAUST.

The position I interviewed for was administrative, not research. The money was great, benefits were excellent and the vision of the future city looked like the emerald city compared to my last experience in Saudi. Perhaps Dorthy is just looking through emerald colored glasses. The original placement would have been in Washington, DC, which would have suited me. The possible chance to return to the beautiful Red Sea was a bonus.