Tony Chan

KAUST aims to develop the men and women who will continue to transform the Saudi economy.

KAUST recently organized a workshop for women in engineering, science, and research. What is KAUST’s approach to attract female students and enable them to join the labor market after university?

KAUST thrives on the diversity of talent that it admits, and from the outset recognized its role in promoting gender equality. KAUST was the first university in the Kingdom to have a mixed-gender campus in Saudia Arabia. Female students are trained and challenged in the same ways as male students, preparing them with excellence in scientific training that makes them competitive anywhere they go in the world. The healthy interactions, discussions, and collaborations between female and male students are fundamental to preparing them for the labor market. We were also the first to offer graduation in a broad portfolio of engineering programs in Saudi Arabia since 2009. The university is proud of the achievements of its female students, researchers, and staff. Women at KAUST are included in decision-making at various levels of university leadership, serving as program chairs, center associate directors, and vice provost and vice president, among other positions. Last year women comprised 41% of our intake, which is high for a university focused on STEM provision. We have been successful in attracting 24 women out of a total of 180 faculty members, and are committed to increasing these numbers. Attracting the best scholars is a challenge, with the additional challenge of demonstrating that the stereotypes linked to Saudi Arabia do not correspond to reality at KAUST and to the country, in general, as it is developing today. The best way to succeed is to bring women scientists to KAUST through workshops and invited lectures. Mentorship and coaching programs for women and men started this year. We recently concluded a two-day Women in Science International Workshop (WISER) event advocating their advancement and celebrating their impact, and women speakers from different fields regularly present at our scientific seminars. We continue to leverage opportunities to boost the international visibility of our female faculty and students.

What is KAUST’s approach regarding international partnerships and fostering student exchanges abroad?

The university is an international institution, with more than 60% of its students drawn from overseas, living and learning in a vibrant community in which 120 nationalities are represented. Partnership is in our institutional DNA; our faculty have reputations built upon international collaborations—vital to the success of any cutting-edge S&T university—and our student body is enriched through pathway programs, internships, and dual awards that give Saudi Arabian students a taste of the world, and international students a taste of KAUST. The issues we face today are global ones, and universities must work across borders to share their expertise if they are to meet that challenge. International collaborators are attracted to KAUST for the caliber of faculty expertise, labs, equipment and working conditions, exceptional stipends, and quality of life.

Sustainability is a core component of KAUST’s model. How does KAUST incorporate sustainability on a daily basis?

Sustainability is at the core of our education, research, innovation, and operation. With the focal research areas of KAUST water, energy, environment, food, health, and, most recently, the digital pillar, all our post-graduate programs present students with critical applied knowledge on sustainable development topics. These span food and water security, environmental conservation and enhancement, cleaner and renewable energy sources, personalized medicine technologies, and digital transformation, cybersecurity, and dependability. From an operations perspective, our campus was the largest LEED Platinum (BD+C) certified project upon its inauguration and was designed using responsibly sourced materials, operating under optimized energy and water efficiency standards. To ensure continuous optimization, we run an Integrated Automation System (IKAS), which monitors in real time several operational aspects such as energy consumption, ventilation, and the resulting carbon emissions of our campus. In addition, most daily office operations happen in the digital realm thanks to our advanced IT infrastructure.