King Abdulaziz University has announced the winning of 42 research proposals out of a total of 230 proposals submitted during the last period as a part of the University Rector’s initiative for outstanding research on the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).
The research committees focused on proposals that provide creative solutions and support community participation in four areas, including medical, social, economic, infrastructure, technology, and environmental fields, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
The Undersecretary for Graduate Studies and Scientific Research Dr. Yousef bin Abdulaziz Al-Turki said that the initiative was launched last month to encourage and motivate researchers to conduct distinguished studies to deal with this pandemic, provide a view to scientific prediction of what can happen in the short and long term, analyze the available data, review theses, publications and scientific articles of the pandemic, develop fast and effective methods for diagnosing the disease, work to develop treatment options to confront the global epidemic and limit its spread, and propose solutions to the economic and social problems of the virus.
King Abdulaziz University carries the name of the founder of Saudi Arabia, King Faisal Bin Abdulaziz, and was established in 1967 as a national university for spreading higher education in the Western Region of the Kingdom.
The University started its first year in 1968 by inaugurating the preparation study program with a few number of students (68 male students and 30 female students). In 1969, the University inaugurated its first College (the College of Economics and Management), then in the following year the College of Arts and Human Sciences was established.
After the honored resolution of the Council of Ministers was issued in 1974 by including the university in the government, the national university was changed into a government university and another decision was issued at the same time by including the College of Shareah and the College of Higher Education that were already established in 1369h-1949g in Mekka in King Abdulaziz University. These two Colleges followed Omm AL-Qora University after it was established.
The adoption of the government to this young University and the continuous support had a great effect on changing King Abdulaziz University to a modern university with a number of students that now amounts to 77,095 male and female students. The University also occupies a distinguished place among higher education institutions in the Kingdom.
King Abdulaziz University includes two separate campuses according to Islamic regulations one for males and another for females. Each of these campuses is provided with all cultural, recreational and athletic facilities, in addition to a big library equipped the most up to date technology to serve students and the teaching staff. Within four decades, the university has become one of the outstanding higher education institutions on the local and international level.
The University has largely developed in terms of the number of students, the number of scientific and theoretical fields of study and the exclusiveness of certain specializations such as Seas Sciences, Geology, Nuclear Engineering, Medical Engineering, Meteorology and Aviation and Mineralization.
The Minister of Higher Education presides over the University Council which includes in its membership HE the Director of the University, The Deputies of the University, the Deans of Colleges and the independent deanships.
