King Abdullah University To Get Help From Cal, Stanford
On Tuesday UC Berkeley announced a wide-ranging partnership with a Saudi Arabian university that hasn't even begun classes yet.
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) and UC Berkeley have started a partnership that would include joint research, collaboration on curriculum and nomination of faculty members in mechanical engineering.
Cal officials confirmed to NBC11 that the Saudis would give Berkeley a $10 million gift for the help. The two universities would work together with a separate $15 million sum for the work together, according to a Cal spokesperson who spoke to NBC11 by phone from Saudi Arabia.
Stanford University has also cut its own, separate deal with KAUST. The details of that arrangement have not been released, NBC11's Ethan Harp reported.
KAUST is an international, graduate-level institution opening in Saudi Arabia in 2009. It is located near Mecca.
According to a UC Berkeley statement, "the innovative new approach to institutional partnership and faculty nomination will enable KAUST to build its academic foundation during the University's first several years of operation, and it will expand UC Berkeley's capacity to carry out basic research and develop innovations that can benefit the people and economy of California."
"UC Berkeley has a sterling reputation for world-class research and academic development," said KAUST's President-designate Professor Choon Fong Shih. "Partnering with UC Berkeley will help to establish a strong relationship between KAUST and similar departments and institutions around the world."
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1 comment:
Smart move as the Saudis have moved on from the Bush Administration.
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