Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) and the National University of Singapore (NUS) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to work together to foster world-class programs that will advance scientific research, graduate education and technological development in fundamental and applied chemical sciences for the benefit of their respective countries and the world.
The agreement was signed on June 13, 2007, by Nadhmi A. Al-Nasr, interim president of KAUST, and Professor Shih Choon Fong, president of NUS, as a pledge to establish a solid base of research that will be internationally competitive across a broad range of disciplines and in many multidisciplinary areas.
KAUST and NUS agreed to establish jointly planned and executed projects or programs. The principal areas of research and collaboration to be developed and supported include chemical and energy sciences and engineering, materials sciences and engineering, research in biosciences and the environment, and applied mathematics and computational sciences.
"The quality of the scholarship NUS is known for will be a tremendous asset to KAUST as we continue to construct our own world-class research infrastructure," said Al-Nasr. "It will also enable us to tap the best minds from Southeast Asia."
President Shih of NUS said, "KAUST represents a bold vision on the part of Saudi Arabia to transform the higher education and research landscape of the Kingdom and beyond. This agreement lays the foundation for a bridge spanning continents, cultures and disciplines, which leverages our complementary strengths to create synergies in research and education between KAUST and NUS."
KAUST and NUS pledged to: collaborate on the design, construction and initial operation of research centers and laboratory facilities; to cooperate on research projects conducted by either NUS, KAUST, or both; to hold scientific and/or technical meetings on topics of mutual interest; to exchange personnel (scientific, technical and administrative staff) for varying periods of time; to make use of each respective organization's facilities and instruments to be defined precisely by contracts; to exchange information on research and engineering in energy sciences; and to undertake other cooperative activities as mutually agreed.
The two research institutions will also consult with each other on graduate and other educational programs and curricula in engineering, science, the environment, and computational sciences at KAUST. Both parties will also collaborate on exchange of students, postdoctoral fellows and junior faculty for varying periods of time.
About KAUST
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. 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 www.kaust.edu.sa.
About NUS
The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a multi-campus university of global standing, with distinctive strengths in education and research and an entrepreneurial dimension. Its diverse and cosmopolitan community of 23,500 undergraduate and 9,000 graduate students from 88 countries contribute to a rich learning and living environment across three state-of-the-art campuses - its principal 150-hectare Kent Ridge campus, Bukit Timah campus and its Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore in Outram.