Culture & Education | Thursday 31 March, 2016 3:11 am |

Prince Faisal Bin Bandar, emir of Riyadh, opened on Tuesday evening a competition titled “Aspirations of the King for the future of the nation” and an exhibition at King Saud University (KSU) campus in Riyadh. Girl students of universities from all parts of the Kingdom are participating in the four-day event on successful experiments of innovation, organized by the University Agency for Higher Studies and Scientific Research.

Speaking on the occasion, Prince Faisal said the administration and academic faculties of KSU are capable of realizing the aspirations of the King with regard to the title of the competition and the exhibition. “The successes scored by the girls of the nation are a matter of pride for all. The innovative models exhibited by university girl students showed that they can play a great role in the nation-building process with preserving their religion and traditions,” he said while praising the top quality and standard of the innovative projects showcased by the girl students.

Prince Faisal also lauded the outstanding standard and remarkable achievements being made by the Saudi universities, especially KSU. “This enabled the girl students of universities to display their superb talent and innovations, which are an ample proof of their ability to contribute immensely to the nation-building process,” he said. The emir also toured the pavilions of the exhibition.

KSU President Badran Al-Omar and other university officials attended the function. Al-Omar highlighted the university’s policy of bringing closer the public and private sectors and deepening ties between the industrial sector and the university. “KSU targets opening up employment horizons and supporting the strategic plan for national transformation.”

Ahmed Al-Amri, undersecretary of the agency, said that girls represent 52 percent of the higher education students in the Kingdom. “KSU has so far published 7,800 scientific research papers in addition to registering 232 patents at the local and regional levels.”

In her speech, Ibtisam Al-Olayan, assistant undersecretary of the Agency for Higher Studies and Scientific Research, said that girl students from universities from all over the Kingdom are participating in the competition and exhibition with display of their successful innovative experiments and models. Several workshops and lecture sessions aimed at enhancing the capabilities for research and innovation are being held on the sidelines of the exhibition.

The winners of first position in the competition were announced on the occasion.