Culture & Education | Sunday 14 February, 2016 7:39 am |

The 9th Saudi Student Conference which is being held on Feb. 13-14 is sponsored by Umm Al-Qura University and hosted by the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom. It was organized by the Scientific Society for Saudi Students in the UK (SSSSUK) with the collaboration of the Saudi Arabian Cultural Bureau in London for students funded under the King Abdullah Foreign Scholarship Program.
Faisal Abalkhail, cultural attaché at the Saudi Embassy in London, said that the event aimed to provide scientific and cultural benefits for participants and those attending in addition to highlighting the groundbreaking work and accomplishments of Saudi students at all levels of study in universities throughout the UK.
Abalkhail said: “The flagship two-day forum showcases research achievements in various disciplines and fields and is accompanied by a number of parallel activities and workshops to encourage and stimulate communication, scientific cooperation, and partnership among students, as well as raising awareness of the best practices in various fields and disciplines.”
Regarding the cooperation of British universities with Saudi student activities, Abalkhail said that the conference is being hosted by a different UK university each year. He said, “The cooperation with universities in the United Kingdom is growing and evolving positively as the participations of Saudi students and the research becomes highly credible in those institutions.”
The event, supported by Saudi Ambassador to the UK Prince Muhammad bin Nawwaf and the country’s minister of education, allows students to illustrate their creativity and publish their research, promote scientific research standards and contribute to research and academia both locally and globally.
Embracing international standards of excellence, the scientific committees of the conference received about 600 scientific participations, including 96 papers and 499 posters, which represent some of the most innovative work currently being done in medicine, engineering and computer science, management, humanities and social sciences, the media and arts.
In terms of academic relations, the conference also provides many opportunities for exchanges between Saudi universities and their counterparts in the United Kingdom in order to develop joint research and educational projects.
The SSSSUK was founded under the patronage of the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia Cultural Bureau in London. It was officially inaugurated on 29 March 2014 and its aim is to provide a distinctive scientific and research environment for Saudi students in the UK, besides improving and refining their scientific and research skills and creating opportunities for Saudi students and researchers in the UK to communicate and exchange their experiences in the most efficient manner.