Doing Business in Saudi Arabia - International Franchise Association

auto mechanics, offering young Saudis the opportunity to learn skills that are in high demand,
and courses specifically tailored to meet the needs of unemployed Saudis.
Another important institution, designed to address the country’s shortage of administrative
personnel, is the Institute for Public Administration, established in Riyadh in 1961 as a semiindependent
public agency. The institute provides basic as well as in-service training for civil
servants carries out research and assists government agencies in administration,
communication and computer sciences. Today, it has branches in Dammam and Jeddah, and a
special branch in Riyadh for training women. It offers students courses in administration, law,
accounting, computer science, maintenance, personnel management, secretarial skills and
management planning.
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King Abdullah Educational Development Program (Tatweer Project)
The Saudi Government has allocated around SAR9 billion (US$2.4 billion) for the Tatweer
project and is planning to take education to new horizons to cope with transformations around
the world. Teachers, students’ advisors and school principals take different courses that can
enable them to deal with their students from different angles to help them succeed at all levels.
The project consists of four pillars: developing teachers’ skills, developing curricula, enhancing
school activities, and improving school environment. The Kingdom is trying to develop education
and is employing the latest possible technology to help build Saudi citizens at all levels.
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)
KAUST’s core campus, located on the Red Sea at Thuwal, is sited on more than 36 km 2
(14 sq. Mi.), encompassing a marine sanctuary and research facility. KAUST is the first mixedsex
university campus in Saudi Arabia. Within KAUST, female drivers will facilitate student and
community life by driving. Saudi authorities hope the mixed-sex center will help modernize the
kingdom’s deeply conservative society. The religious police does not operate on-site. Women
will be allowed to mix freely with men and drive on campus, nor are they required to wear veils
in the coeducational classes.
KAUST will pursue its research agenda through four strategic research thrusts that focus on
areas of science and technology that are important to Saudi Arabia, the region, and the world:
• Resources, energy, and the environment,
• Biosciences and bioengineering,
• Materials science and engineering, and
• Applied mathematics and computer science.
Riyadh Women University
Riyadh Women’s University will have 13 colleges, including facilities for medicine, dentistry,
nursing, naturopathy and pharmacology and a 700-bed hospital. The new university and
campus, which will accommodate up to 40,000 students, aims to be the focal point for
promoting education among women in the kingdom. The university also plans to focus on
educational programmes that are essential to meet Saudi’s job market requirement.