This is a five year deal which requires UC Berkeley faculty to design the mechanical engineering department at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. Secondly, UC Berkeley faculty and research students will collaborate with the King Abdullah University on projects related to mechanical engineering and science research.
UC Berkeley was named the best public university in the nation for 2008 by U.S. News & World Report. Being the most liberal of all universities, I was little surprised at this news considering the discriminatory practices in Saudi Arabia. I know the economy is in the tank and money is hard to come by but money should not replace the ideas promoted by UC Berkeley.
Not just UC Berkeley, Stanford University, which is a private university and can do whatever it likes, has also partnered with King Abdullah University for this joint research project. I wasn’t able to get any information on the internet as to how much money they are getting.
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, or KAUST, is located in the small town of Thuwal, about an hour’s drive north of Jeddah, near the Red Sea; far away from Makkah and Medina where non-Muslims are not allowed.
To sum up, Saudis are now paying for YOUR college education because Uncle Sam is currently broke. God bless this Saudi partnership!
