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Does a documentary or any in-depth information exist for the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology? I found the details of this university fascina

Does a documentary or any in-depth information exist for the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology? I found the details of this university fascinating. FTA: Heavily armed guards on land and at sea protect the facility, where unveiled women study and work side by side with men, undisturbed by the religious police who patrol Saudi cities. Research there is aimed at scientific and commercial breakthroughs using those things Saudi Arabia has in abundance, such as sun, sand, and saltwater.

berkut 12y ago
Not sure, but I know of people at top-10 universities in the UK who were offered stupid amounts of money to move over there.
- avn2109 12y ago
  Yup, I was pretty aggressively recruited to do a PhD there from an American school, too.
seivan 12y ago
The irony, when necessary, islamic laws don't apply because you need to do scientific break throughs.
- josefresco 12y ago
  I love how science exists on a plane seemingly above religion and money. It seems that most leaders when behind closed doors, understand the value of education, science and the benefits it has to society long term. Even those flush with money, understand that sustainability long-term is dependent on attracting and fostering the top minds from around the world and within their own borders.
- ldonley 12y ago
  It's sad isn't it? The Islamic world was the pinnacle of scientific discover for the past millennium.
- iwwr 12y ago
  The bigger headache is keeping those educated people in SA, a country unlikely to reform socially very much to accomodate them, let alone the competition for skilled people in general. The social exclusion of women alone is a great drag on productivity.
  - mark_l_watson 12y ago
    You might be underestimating the happiness factor of the SA middle class. A few years ago two SA college professors hired me to remotely tutor their daughter in computer science. She seemed very content with the status quo and her prospects for a happy life. I have to admit to some surprise about her attitudes, and I realize this is only one data point.
    - pakled_engineer 12y ago
      The Saudi regime now offers fully paid foreign school and a comfortable living allowance, thousands of them are in my city going to university. They are all total hedonists here but told me they want to go back home after and enjoy their privileged status there. None of them want to stay overseas that I've met.
- simonh 12y ago
  It's not that the law doesn't apply, they just categorise it as a private rather than public space. Most education facilities for girls are the same even if some of the staff are men. I've actualy been there a while back, it's a fantastic facility.
deleted 12y ago
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jrock08 12y ago
I recently attended a conference at KAUST. It's a microcosm, and a very interesting one. They have absolutely world class facilities for science. The campus amenities are very nice. Housing is provided, and is probably 2x what you would get yourself. The hotel room (if you can call it that) that I stayed in was a 1300 sq.ft. two bedroom, two bath. The campus is a designed town, so everything is walkable and there are lots of greenways. There is schooling for elementary through high school, though I was told there are very few high school aged kids. However, there were many elementary aged children, and they seemed to lead a free-er life than their US contemporaries. I suppose there is no need to be a helicopter parent when you are in such a community. They have two recreational facilities which rival large state schools facilities in size and rival large private schools in quality. They pay their grad students, postdocs, and faculty on about a 2-3x multiplier. However, the campus is small, it's circumference is only ~5 miles, after a week, I was feeling content, but somewhat trapped. I feel it would be a very good place to do work for a few years, but life would be difficult to compare to a "normal" US lifestyle.

berkut 12y ago

Not sure, but I know of people at top-10 universities in the UK who were offered stupid amounts of money to move over there.

avn2109 12y ago
Yup, I was pretty aggressively recruited to do a PhD there from an American school, too.

seivan 12y ago

The irony, when necessary, islamic laws don't apply because you need to do scientific break throughs.

josefresco 12y ago
I love how science exists on a plane seemingly above religion and money. It seems that most leaders when behind closed doors, understand the value of education, science and the benefits it has to society long term. Even those flush with money, understand that sustainability long-term is dependent on attracting and fostering the top minds from around the world and within their own borders.
ldonley 12y ago
It's sad isn't it? The Islamic world was the pinnacle of scientific discover for the past millennium.
iwwr 12y ago
The bigger headache is keeping those educated people in SA, a country unlikely to reform socially very much to accomodate them, let alone the competition for skilled people in general. The social exclusion of women alone is a great drag on productivity.
- mark_l_watson 12y ago
  You might be underestimating the happiness factor of the SA middle class. A few years ago two SA college professors hired me to remotely tutor their daughter in computer science. She seemed very content with the status quo and her prospects for a happy life. I have to admit to some surprise about her attitudes, and I realize this is only one data point.
  - pakled_engineer 12y ago
    The Saudi regime now offers fully paid foreign school and a comfortable living allowance, thousands of them are in my city going to university. They are all total hedonists here but told me they want to go back home after and enjoy their privileged status there. None of them want to stay overseas that I've met.
simonh 12y ago
It's not that the law doesn't apply, they just categorise it as a private rather than public space. Most education facilities for girls are the same even if some of the staff are men. I've actualy been there a while back, it's a fantastic facility.

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

jrock08 12y ago

I recently attended a conference at KAUST. It's a microcosm, and a very interesting one. They have absolutely world class facilities for science. The campus amenities are very nice. Housing is provided, and is probably 2x what you would get yourself. The hotel room (if you can call it that) that I stayed in was a 1300 sq.ft. two bedroom, two bath. The campus is a designed town, so everything is walkable and there are lots of greenways. There is schooling for elementary through high school, though I was told there are very few high school aged kids. However, there were many elementary aged children, and they seemed to lead a free-er life than their US contemporaries. I suppose there is no need to be a helicopter parent when you are in such a community. They have two recreational facilities which rival large state schools facilities in size and rival large private schools in quality. They pay their grad students, postdocs, and faculty on about a 2-3x multiplier. However, the campus is small, it's circumference is only ~5 miles, after a week, I was feeling content, but somewhat trapped. I feel it would be a very good place to do work for a few years, but life would be difficult to compare to a "normal" US lifestyle.