FORGING PARTNERSHIPS WITH CHINA’S SILICON VALLEY

KAUST partners with business and academic institutions in Shenzhen to accelerate knowledge and technology exchange

In March 2023, KAUST President Tony Chan and a delegation of 10 university representatives met with leading Chinese business and academic institutions in Shenzhen, China. The aim was to align strengths in research and innovation.

“There is much to learn from Shenzhen on how they created the world’s most effective and efficient innovation ecosystem.

The goal, however, extends beyond just sharpening KAUST’s approach to innovation, but rather to help enable a ‘Shenzhen miracle’ in Saudi Arabia.”

TONY CHAN President of KAUST

The visit helped to foster relationships between the Kingdom and China, and deepen ties by signing eight memoranda of understanding.

Shenzhen, the third-largest city in China, is often referred to as the Silicon Valley of China, and is a major global technology, manufacturing and research hub. The city has grown from a small village into an economic power over the last four decades, ranking fifth for economic competitiveness in the United Nation’s “Global Urban Competitiveness Report 2018-2019.”

Cheng Buyi and Zheng Hongbo, members of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Party Committee who met with President Chan, said that KAUST and Shenzhen have made strides in education, technology and talent, and there is broad space for cooperation. KAUST already has strong connections with China, as 20% of its students, 34% of its postdoctoral researchers, and 9% of its faculty hail from the mainland.

The KAUST visit was aimed at accelerating knowledge sharing and the commercialization of impactful technologies into innovative, market-ready products that can address global challenges. President Chan hoped the meeting would help “to identify mechanisms and platforms to help accelerate innovation at KAUST up to ‘Shenzhen speed’.”

During the trip, President Chan signed agreements with several Chinese partners, including International Digital Economy Academy, Research Institute of Tsinghua University in Shenzhen, Shenzhen Innox Academy, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Shenzhen Research Institute of Big Data, Southern University of Science and Technology, X-Institute and Xbotpark.

The agreements should leverage complementary strengths intended to expand capabilities in industrial innovation and exchange, technology transfer and incubation, knowledge sharing of talent and materials, joint laboratories and research and development platforms, as well as entrepreneurship training.

The partnerships between KAUST and Shenzhen reflect a greater national effort to develop stronger bilateral links. In December 2022, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud met with China’s President Xi Jinping to sign a comprehensive partnership agreement covering hydrogen energy, coordination between Vision 2030 and China’s Belt and Road Initiative, and direct investment opportunities.