Saudi Arabia has for several years used the proceeds of bumper oil production to build new universities, upgrade existing institutions and send thousands of students abroad on generous scholarships.
Many of its peers in the Gulf, meanwhile, have chosen to open branches of western universities, such as Georgetown in Qatar and the Sorbonne in Abu Dhabi. In contrast, Saudi Arabia has invested in the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, a research-orientated graduate school backed by an endowment of $10bn.
Now the kingdom looks set to emulate its neighbours. Last week, the country’s General Investment Authority (Sagia) signed a letter of intent with Georgia Institute of Technology of the US to build a centre to provide applied research degrees. The institute aims to be the first to offer foreign-accredited, postgraduate research degrees inside the kingdom.
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