King Saud University Holds Research Meeting with Top UK Universities

Under the leadership of Prof. Ahmed Al-Aameri, the Vice Rector for Graduate Studies and Scientific Research, King Saud University held a research meeting with representatives of four top UK universities. The event was organized by the International Cooperation & Scientific Twinning Department (ICSTD) and was held on Wednesday, 16th April 2014. The meeting was titled “Growing Research in two Kingdoms” and the aim of the meeting was to learn research opportunities between UK and KSU and to improve the research culture and overcome challenges. This was part of the ongoing efforts to improve relations between KSU and UK universities.

Dr. Mezyad Alterkawi, Director of ICSTD, started meeting by welcoming the guests which included Prof. Ahmed Al-Aameri, the UK representatives and the top officials from KSU including College Deans and Department Heads.

This was followed by the panel discussion “Growing Research Culture; what are the major ways in which research culture can be grown and facilitated?”  The panel was chaired by Prof. Stephen Flint, Professor of Petroleum Geosciences and Associate Dean for Internationalization, University of Manchester. The members of the panel included Prof. Ahmed Al-Aameri, Vice Rector for Graduate Studies & Scientific Research, Prof. Khalid Alhumaizi, Dean of College of Engineering, Prof. Alastair Mullis, Head of School of Law, Leeds University and Prof. Farouk Shakib, Assistant Pro-Vice-Chancellor & Professor of Experimental Allergy, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, Nottingham University. The session was interactive and informative and the panel addressed questions by the audience.

The next session was a workshop on the topic, “Global Challenges; what are the key new global research challenges and how can both kingdoms address them?” The workshop was chaired by Prof. Farouk Shakib and had presentations by Dr. Lakjaya Buluwela, Reader in Cancer Medicine, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College, Dr. Abdullah Aldahmash, Associate Professor, Department of Anatomy, College of Medicine, KSU, Prof. Stephen Flint and Dr. Mezyad Alterkawi.

After lunch, the afternoon session was a roundtable discussion between the UK delegation and important KSU decision makers headed by Dr. Ahmed Al-Aameri. The discussions were focused on facilitating ways for research collaborations and partnerships between UK and KSU. At the end of the meeting, Dr. Al-Aameri thanked the UK Delegation for their support and was hopeful much more can be achieved in the coming days.