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Diversifying Faculty to Empower Saudi Nationals and Women
SUZANA NUNES Vice Provost
THE IBN RUSHD PROGRAM IS PIONEERING IN MANY WAYS. BEYOND ITS EXTENSIVE TRAINING AND GLOBAL OPPORTUNITIES, WE WANT TO INSPIRE A CULTURE OF INNOVATION WHEN IT COMES TO TALENT DEVELOPMENT. WE WANT PROSPECTIVE FACULTY TO SEE THE UNIQUE PATHWAYS THAT OPEN TO THEM WITH KAUST’S SUPPORT.
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KAUST continues to make progress in diversifying faculty. As the university closes in on the goal of 225 faculty members, the group includes more women and Saudi nationals than in years past, with eight female professors and one Saudi added to the group since the 2018/19 academic year. The new Ibn Rushd programs are set to further boost these figures.
Diversification is central to KAUST’s strategic plan and was a major objective of President Tony Chan when he joined KAUST in September 2018. At the outset of that year KAUST’s faculty stood at 148, with 15 women and five Saudi nationals. The number of faculty members has grown to 183, including 23 women and six Saudis. The newest arrival is Assistant Professor of Material Science and Engineering Dana Al-Sulaiman, who joined KAUST after earning a PhD in bioengineering from Imperial College London and completing a post-doctorate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “Coming from world-leading institutions and fueled with a need to give back to my community and the world, my career path naturally led me to KAUST. The university’s
KAUST is moving toward its strategic objective of a full faculty roster featuring more female and Saudi scholars
vision for innovation is undeniable,” she said. The university has already seen progress in other areas of gender diversity, highlighted by the fact that 36% of engineering graduates are female. This compares to about 20% in the US, 15% in the UK and 30% in India.
To help KAUST’s overall goal of doubling the current representation for Saudis when the number of faculty reaches 225, the university introduced the Ibn Rushd Fellowship and Ibn Rushd Professorship. The Ibn Rushd Fellowship is for young Saudi scholars who have completed their PhD within two years, or are on track to do so, and plan to pursue academic careers. The fellowship provides an annual stipend for up to three years to assist these individuals in pursuing postdoctoral studies at globally recognized host institutions. An annual research fund is also available for collaboration on research with a KAUST faculty member. Additional benefits include access to KAUST facilities when visiting Saudi Arabia, access to leadership skills development programs and invitations to relevant KAUST workshops. The Ibn Rushd Professorship is open to Saudi faculty candidates considered rising stars in their fields. In addition to the privileges of faculty status, additional benefits include half the teaching load in the first three years and access to discretionary funding.
NEW FACULTY RECRUIT TO KAUST
Dana Al-Sulaiman, Assistant Professor of Material Science and Engineering
