Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH — Academic experts from different parts of the world emphasized partnership among education institutions to achieve their strategic goals in terms of development and need to fill the gap between MENA region and rest of the world; they expressed these views during the opening of a prestigious summit of higher education here.

The three-day summit titled “Fulfilling our potential: Developing the knowledge economy for Middle East and North America Region” kicked off at King Abdulaziz University here under aegis of Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense.

All high ranking officials of universities in Kingdom, besides 159 experts from 30 countries across the globe are attending the summit, which is being organized by THE (Times Higher Education).

Abdul Rahman Bin Mohammed Al Asimi, deputy education minister, who inaugurated the summit, said that universities in the region need to make further efforts to fulfill the aspirations of people and also to move along with other parts of the world.

The deputy minister said that there is gap between this part of the world with the rest in terms of knowledge based on performance indicators. He said that the gap needs to be filled.

Asimi said that the summit would provide an ideal platform for exchange of expertise and formulate strategies to shift education system towards knowledge-based society, where innovation is main theme.

Abdul Rahman Al Youbi, rector of King Abdulaziz University, expressed his thanks to Crown Prince Mohammed for sponsoring the summit.

Terming the Vision 2030 of Kingdom as future of the globe, he commented that Arab countries intending to transform their economies with diversification where knowledge-based education an important.

He said that learning institutions adopting to impart multiple subjects to students that ensure them to sustain in a volatile job market and equip them to embrace emerging challenges in knowledge-based economies.

Al Youbi said that King Abdulaziz University stood top in the Kingdom in terms of research and excellence at international level.

Phil Baty, director of global rankings of THE (Times Higher Education), other experts from Europe and Middle East also spoke on different topics.