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evaluated annually, and an extension to their mandate depends solely on their
corresponding sponsors, based on their performance and the availability of funds.
The research outcomes of these chairs contribute significantly to university research.
For example, at King Saud University, there are 112 research chairs, 17 in engineer-
ing, 26 in humanities, 27 in basic science and 42 in medical and health sciences.
One other characteristic of Saudi higher education is that almost all universities
enrol male and female students, but they are taught in segregated classes or cam-
puses. The only all-male universities are King Fahd University of Petroleum and
Minerals and the Islamic University of Madinah, and the only all-female university
is Princess Nora bint Abdul Rahman University (PNU). In recent years, King
Abdullah University for Science and Technology (KAUST), founded in 2006 and
located near Jeddah, has been developed as a state-of-the-art graduate research
institution.
Pavan ( 2013 ) briefly summarised the impact of the Saudi government and the
foresight of the planners and decision makers to invest a generous portion of the
government budget in education and training. She stated that the development of
higher education in Saudi Arabia through changes in different stages has provoked
heated debate among Saudi academics. Now, a lot of effort has been directed into
building a Saudi Arabian knowledge society to diversify state resources and enhance
the country’s international competitiveness. Academics from other countries have
been invited to learn about higher education in Saudi Arabia through various pro-
grammes, such as the former annual International Exhibition and Conference on
Higher Education (IECHE), held in the second quarter of every Gregorian year.
Many international universities exhibited their programmes and recruited students,
and Saudi universities likewise exhibited their programmes and their achievements
to the many local and international visitors. International and Saudi experts at this
conference delivered many lectures. The last sixth IECHE was held on 13–18 April
- The fate of the next conference is not yet clear, after higher education became
the responsibility of the Ministry of Education, after 40 years of it being a separate
department.
Many researchers have investigated KASP; see Pavan ( 2013 ), Hilal and Denman
( 2013 , 2015 ) and Abouammoh et al. (2014b). The impact of KASP programme on
international peace and its impact on the development of the socio-economic and
socio-structural of Saudi Arabia has been investigated and shown to imply various
positive aspects.
It is worth noting that the establishment of the Centre for Higher Education
Research and Studies (CHERS) in 2000 has expressed the Saudi higher education
awareness of the importance of research in higher education. At CHERS higher
education, policy and decision makers have placed almost every new policy or aris-
ing challenge to academic investigation, discussion and research. CHERS has
formed the think-tank and the research main arm for Saudi higher education system.
The role of CHERS has boosted research and studies and other academic activities
for higher education as a research discipline.
Also, the Saudi Journal of Higher Education (SJHE) is introducing in its bian-
nual issues very many aspects of academic research in Saudi higher education. The
A.M. Abouammoh