Tariq Abdulaziz Alhamad – Vice Dean Al Qassim University

Published 04/10/2017

With Saudi Arabia and King Salman’s Vision 2030 aiming to solidify the country as an economic and and cultural powerhouse in the Middle East, The PIE News talked to Tariq Abdulaziz Alhamad, the vice dean and clinical director at Al Quassim University, about what role higher education plays in the new vision.

The PIE: How are you trying to improve the academic delivery at private universities in Saudi Arabia?

TAA: This is actually quite a big challenge just to do because if we just compare the private universities in Saudi Arabia with some newly developed countries, we find there is quite a significant difference between them. So now our team plan is just to increase this development of this university, to be similar to the government [institutions], or maybe much better than them.

So the challenge nowadays is that we have to evaluate all the structure, all the materials, everything outcome from this university.

You can just evaluate each university or each college either by closing them or just give them the green light and the licence to continue. So I think we have quite a big challenge for the next couple of months or years, especially if we are looking for our vision 2030 which is built by King Salman and the crown prince Muhammed, so we are looking how to specialise this university, how to improve it,a and how to make sure the outcome and the quality is of a high standard.

The PIE: And how many private Universities are there in Saudi Arabia?

TAA: It’s a lot, we have 10s of universities and colleges, hopefully by the end of this year we are hoping to include all the private universities and we can just say a number. Because some of them need to be closed but this time we will just evaluate, hopefully some of them are going to be closed, [but] not a big number.

The PIE: So tell me about your aim here at Study World?

TAA: Well actually I’m just thinking now just to improve this kind of private university, just new universities and colleges. I’m thinking about two main things.

First thing, how to have a good collaboration with some top universities in the United Kingdom, they can collaborate with a private university, to supervise their structure and some material so we can make sure that the outcome of this private university is going to be good. Because British universities will not collaborate with any university or college if they are bad, so this is one our aims.

The second thing I am trying to discuss with experts here, is how they can develop these kind of universities. If they have any suggestion or any ideas how I may discuss it with my team, with the minister of education, so we can just improve the group of private universities.

“Hopefully by next year we might have again some scholarship programs and I’m hoping it’s going to consolidating some important areas”

The PIE: And tell me about the vision for the education in Saudi Arabia?

TAA: Yeah actually its quite an amazing and difficult vision, so we have to work hard just to achieve it. Actually previously we had just a couple of universities and it’s a government university. It’s free, [but] there is nothing. Because of that reason some of the students, not all, just some, do not care about the studying, about the outcome, about the university. Some of them just join university because they would like to join the university, without any aims, but with our new vision none of the universities will allow any student if they are not qualified to graduate.

The other thing is they would like to force the university just to have really good programs, which could help the industrial field in our country just to increase and to develop. So hopefully this vision will mean the outcome of the universities, even the programs in our universities, are going to be improved.

The PIE: Are you up to speed with the latest of the King Abdullah Scholarship Program?

TAA: Yes actually, I mean as you know it just stopped last year, and thankfully by next year we are going to open that scholarship again.

I think our government now is thinking about how to reopen it again, so hopefully by next year we might have again some scholarship programs and I’m hoping it’s going to consolidating some important areas that really need to develop to achieve our Vision 2030.

The PIE: So the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, is that a public University or private?

TAA: It’s private actually but it’s under our government responsibility.

The PIE: Because I was hearing it’s an amazing campus on an Island, I didn’t know that.

TAA:That’s right, well actually I’ve been there once and also I was amazed about everything over there.

It’s one of the best universities to be honestI have to admit, I know somebody who works there and I was amazed by what they were telling me.

The PIE: So is that the jewel of the crown, one of the best Universities in Saudi Arabia?

TAA: I cannot say the best but it’s one of the best, because also we have Princess Nourah University – it’s the biggest female university in the world, and it’s the most beautiful campus you will ever see. I’ve been to hundreds of universities around the world and I have never seen a university like it in my life. Some of my colleagues from the United Kingdom, from the United States, from Australia, they are visiting me for some meetings and research, and they are surprised about this university. So I think nowadays in Saudi Arabia we are developing rapidly and hopefully in the next 5 or 10 years we are going to start something amazing in terms of even the outcome of the university.

The PIE: Will Saudi Arabia develop strategy to attract international students more determinedly once the quality is more level? Do you think that would ever become a situation where you are trying to develop as an education hub?

TAA: I think 100% it’s going to be, especially for the people who are living in the Middle East. Because nowadays in our government and university, we are finding some students from GCC, so if we just develop the education as we just expect it and as we suggest it and as our government suggest it actually, I think we are going to attract people from different countries around the world. Hopefully from Western countries as well.

The post Tariq Abdulaziz Alhamad – Vice Dean Al Qassim University appeared first on The PIE News.