Global Collaborative Research Programs

Three start-up programs—the Global Research Partnership (GRP), the Special Academic Partnerships (SP), and the Academic Excellence Alliance (AEA)—were designed and implemented in 2007 to lay the foundation for KAUST’s launch and ramp up as a university with the power to transform. Each of these programs was initiated aggressively to accomplish specific goals before the university opened, with an explicit plan to continue into the early years of KAUST’s operation to assure that certain core functions and values were deeply embedded in KAUST.

In early 2009, in anticipation of the next phase of KAUST development, these three programs were merged together under one management umbrella, called Global Collaborative Research (GCR). Through the alignment and operational integration of these three programs, KAUST is creating and supporting a diverse community of scholars from top academic institutions around the world. This network will continue to empower graduate students, faculty, and researchers at KAUST and its partners to work together to solve challenging scientific and technological problems facing Saudi Arabia, the region, and the world.

The Global Research Partnership (GRP) was launched in August 2007 with a broad solicitation for research proposals going to the world’s best science and technology universities. The GRP has three purposes:

Rapidly initiate, or expand, world-class, university-based research in areas of science and engineering central to KAUST’s mission of contribution to the Kingdom, the region and the world

Establish close working relationships between KAUST and leading institutions and university-based researchers and educators in science and engineering worldwide

Support the development of KAUST campus-based research activities –investigators, centers, graduate students, and on-campus facilities – as a full participant in the world's university-based research enterprise

The proposal review and selection process for the GRP followed international standards of competitive peer review, establishing a standard of excellence for KAUST and ensuring the selection of the highest-quality proposals of direct relevance to KAUST’s mission.

The GRP solicitation called for proposals – with awards subsequently made – under three sub-programs: KAUST Centers and Centers-in-Development, KAUST Investigators, and KAUST Research Fellows.

GRP Centers

The KAUST Centers program provides support for multiple Investigators working on an interdisciplinary research program of global importance. In addition to the contributions they make to research, these Centers were selected to support KAUST’s immediate and long-term development needs. It is often the case that key Investigators working with a Center come from more than one university, and contribution from the private sector is common.

GRP Centers-in-Development

KAUST Centers-in-Development awards offer research support for smaller groups of investigators or, similarly, research teams who may be pursuing a topic at an early stage of its development in a promising and important field. These Centers-in-Development may evolve into full Centers, but the significant benefits of the partnership come through the early engagement with KAUST Faculty, scientists, and students.

GRP Investigators

The KAUST Investigators program provides research support for exceedingly skilled individual scientists and engineers who are dedicated to globally significant research topics that are particularly important to Saudi Arabia and the region. Each Investigator directs a leading-edge research project supported by KAUST, and spends time each year on the KAUST campus participating in the research and academic life of the institution.

GRP Research Fellows

The KAUST Research Fellows program offers support for exceptional postdoctoral researchers in the process of launching their research and teaching careers, but not yet in permanent faculty positions at institutions. Fellows were selected from world-class institutions based on previous outstanding scholarship, as well as demonstrated exceptional potential for career-long engagement in their fields and the broader academic world.

The Special Academic Partnerships Program (SP) was designed to rapidly develop the laboratories and facilities on campus, and to quickly initiate world-class research and related graduate education in those facilities. The SP Partners were chosen based on their unique experience and expertise in fields of special importance to KAUST, as envisioned in advance of KAUST’s opening. These complementary research programs were a powerful accelerator, joining KAUST with world-class universities and enabling the targeted and immediate development of significant laboratory facilities.

The Special Academic Partnerships have a substantial collaborative research component, with a number of projects designed and funded to be undertaken at KAUST by Principal Investigators based at the SP institution. These programs were intended as a resource for KAUST Faculty to seed and develop their own research and graduate education endeavor at KAUST.

The Special Partners have also assisted in the recruitment of postdoctoral researchers to work in both the partner institute and at KAUST. KAUST Faculty play an integral part in the selection and supervision of these postdoctoral researchers, as their research programs guide or influence the work of the postdoctoral researchers (in consultation with advisors at the SP institution), and the post-docs are assessed as potential members of the KAUST research group or lab.

In 2008, KAUST established strategic partnerships with academic departments at world‐renowned universities. The Academic Excellence Alliance (AEA) partnerships have been set up to assist in the recruitment of KAUST founding faculty and in the development of the academic curriculum.

Furthermore, as the KAUST faculty comes on board, the AEA partners have been committed to the initiation of a wide variety of multi‐year, collaborative research projects. To assist KAUST in meeting its critical start‐up needs, each AEA partner:

Assists in the recruitment of a minimum of 10 founding KAUST faculty
Provides visiting fellowships at the partner university for recruited KAUST faculty members prior to their arrival at KAUST.
Advises and assists in developing the KAUST curriculum and evaluates the academic program on an ongoing basis
Consults and provides expertise in facility design, lab equipment requirements, and various other operational support activities.

The collaborative research component of the AEA partnerships involves faculty members from both KAUST and AEA partner institutions. KAUST grants support collaborative research projects that are jointly designed, supervised, and conducted on both campuses.

Alongside the Global Research Partnership and the Special Academic Partnerships, the AEA represents another opportunity for KAUST to participate in strategically relevant research with world‐class collaborators at the earliest stages of its development.

Consequently, the innovation and intellectual rigor that KAUST faculty members bring on their own, coupled with these initiatives, has become the foundation of the KAUST tradition of excellence in conducting collaborative scientific research.

Academic Partnership Program (APP)

The Academic Partnership Program (APP) is one of KAUST GCR’s research initiatives established in 2009 to accelerate the development of KAUST as a world-class university. The APP presents a unique framework for high quality, peer-reviewed, collaborative research projects that engage KAUST faculty with their counterparts at world-class research institutions in specific research fields. Since the submission and approval of competitive proposals in 2010, research activities have been underway at KAUST and campuses across the globe.