His Highness confirms: Saudi Arabia will be one of the pioneers of innovation in the world

His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, #Crown Prince and Prime Minister and chairman of the board of Trustees of King Abdullah University of Science and technology - may God protect him-today launched the new strategy of the University, which aims to transform science and research into innovations with economic returns by focusing on the national priorities of research, development and innovation, namely human health, environmental sustainability, renewable energy, and future economies, in addition to strengthening fruitful international and local partnerships, and partnership with the private sector, which contributes to achieving the goals of Saudi Vision 2030.
His Highness said: “since the establishment of #Quest, it has been distinguished in its research, innovations and talents, and has become one of the leading research universities in the world, and the new strategy represents a new era for the university, to consolidate its scientific and academic position that it has reached, to be a beacon of knowledge, a source of inspiration and innovation, in line with the ambitions of the kingdom's Vision 2030 for a better future for the Kingdom and the world".
His Highness stressed in a tweet on his (X) account, "Saudi Arabia will be one of the pioneers of innovation in the world".
As His Highness wrote in a tweet on his account at (X), "since the establishment of KAUST, it has been distinguished in its research, innovations and talents, and has become one of the leading research universities in the world, and the new strategy represents a new era for the university, to consolidate its scientific and academic position that it has reached, to be a beacon of knowledge, a source of inspiration and innovation, in line with the ambitions of the kingdom's Vision 2030 for a better future for the Kingdom and the world".
The launch announcement, published on His Highness The Crown Prince's (X) account, stated, " the new strategy focuses on increasing the opportunities to transform research into innovations with economic returns; this includes three major initiatives, namely: the launch of the National Transformation Institute for Applied Research (NTI), the reorganization of research institutes at the University in line with national priorities for research, development and innovation, and the establishment of the deep technical innovation fund (DTIF) with a budget estimated at 750 million riyals, the fund aims at early investment in local and international companies specialized in high-tech, in order to enhance economic diversity and contribute to the generation of technical jobs quality.
The strategy also aims to provide quality opportunities for researchers, faculty members and students, and enable them to apply science and research, to create a sustainable global impact through the strengthening of international and local partnerships, and one of the most important initiatives resulting from these partnerships; "KAUST initiative to revive coral reefs in partnership with Neom, to work on the cultivation and restoration of hundreds of thousands of coral reefs on an area of 100 hectares, on Shousha island in the Red Sea, in addition to continuing cooperation with major companies in the Kingdom and the world such as: Aramco, SABIC, Aqua Power, IBM, and and Dow, and Boeing.
The most prominent initiatives of the strategy include strengthening international partnerships and developing cooperation frameworks with leading academic institutions and technology pioneers in the world, such as concluding strategic cooperation agreements with leading companies in Shenzhen, China, to work on Applied Research in advanced fields such as space, robotics and microelectronics.
Through these initiatives and partnerships, "KAUST" will contribute to the development of the higher education system and scientific research leaders in the kingdom, the commercialization of research and the exchange of global innovation, and stimulate the growth of startups based on advanced technology, enhancing the competitiveness of the kingdom's economy and its global leadership in innovation.
The strategy is based on the legacy of KAUST and its global academic status, where the University ranked first globally in terms of "citations per faculty member", according to the QS ranking for 2021, while ensuring the research production of the University in the top 25% of the highest-rated scientific journals in the world, and a larger share of its peers from prestigious universities, and there are graduates of KAUST today in a group of major international companies, scientific institutions and research centers, as CEOs and researchers, such as #NASA, MIT, Neom, and others".