ALKHOBAR, 1 January 2006 — Saudi Arabia’s International Chemical Sciences (SAICS) — a chapter of the American Chemical Society - met for its Annual meeting in Alkhobar recently.

Addressing a gathering of around 100 delegates, mostly experts in chemistry from Aramco, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) and the local industry, Abdullah Al-Dhuwaihi, the chairman of the outgoing team, highlighted the major achievements of the society during the year.

Talking to Arab News, Al-Dhuwaihi said, “Apart from the many technical seminars presented during the year, the high point came when the society was able to reach out to Saudi students. We felt that it was important that if we want to do anything for them, it is best to “catch ‘em young”, at a stage when decisions regarding careers are still being made. It was indeed very satisfying when we saw the reaction of the students. We not only educated them on the various aspects of chemistry, but also showed them the application of the subject. We took them to the Aramco laboratory for an on-the-job feel. Chemistry is a fast growing field that has great applications, more so for us in the Eastern Province due to the refineries.” It may be noted that perhaps this is one of the very few chapters that tries to reach out to such a wide spectrum - the students on one side and members of profession on the other. Nahid Siddiqui of KFUPM will be the new chairman for the year 2006. “We will not only carry forward the good work done by Abdullah and his team, but we will also try to expand our horizon a bit. We hope to make substantial contribution to the industry by soliciting presentations which have a direct impact on an industry, for example, the construction industry”, said Siddiqui.

The society currently has over 200 registered members and they offer a technical presentation at least once a month.

Dr. Faleh A. Al-Sulaiman

The Kingdom is embarking on a new development phase by setting up its first science park. The prestigious King Abdullah Science Park (KASP) is being set up in Dhahran, the first such park in the Arab world.

A science park is defined as a development of an industrial nature suited to accommodate high technology, with supporting amenities, which is associated on site with or is close to a higher educational research establishment to provide cross-fertilization of ideas between entrepreneurs and researchers for the purpose of enabling academic knowledge to be applied to effective commercial use.

“Through the park we hope to create an ambience of knowledge and bring together forces which produce great synergy that are vital tools in the process of regional development,” said Dr. Faleh A. Al-Sulaiman, the supervisor of the Dhahran Technology Valley in King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM), Dhahran, which houses the science park.

Although highly popular and sought after in the US, China and Japan, it is still a new idea in the Middle East. A “science park” or a “technology park” or a “technopole”, is a concept still alien to people in this part of the world.

Science park is the place where the team provides value added service, organizing the transfer of knowledge and technology from its resources to companies and to the market place through incubation and other spin off processes.

Dr. Sulaiman said: “They are now a reality everywhere and are fast emerging as key to economic and national competitiveness, with countries allocating higher percentage of their GDP on Research & Development. For example, Japan spends around 3.5 percent, the US about 2.9 percent and Korea allocates almost 2.7 percent in developing these parks.”

“It may come as a surprise to many that over 70 percent of the science parks are associated with universities. As a matter of fact, the first science park, the Silicon Valley, was originally the “Stanford University Science Park,” added Dr. Sulaiman.

The Dhahran Technology Valley (DTV) is a major undertaking initiated by KFUPM. With the help and support of major national companies, it is envisioned to be Middle East’s most prestigious research and development (R&D) and technology nucleus. The DTV is being set up to provide infrastructure for R&D to flourish in the Kingdom.

It mainly consists of three entities, namely: King Abdullah Science Park (KASP); Technical and Business Incubator and Innovation Office.

Its design is similar to the leading international facilities at Singapore, Hong Kong, Cambridge, Oxford, Aston, Warwick, Sheffield, Aberdeen, New York, North Carolina and Silicon Valley. Major corporations such as Schlumberger, Intel Corp., CIBA and JCCP presently share such mutually beneficial relationships with DTV. Academia support from KFUPM will serve as a catalyst in this R&D beehive. Other leading technological and scientific institutions in the area can also be fully utilized.

KASP is going to house an impressive collection of national and international research centers in one location. Schlumberger Oil & Gas Research Center has already been built in KASP and the center was inaugurated recently by Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali Al-Naimi. The location of Schlumberger Center in KASP and closeness to Saudi Aramco and its oilfields will have a significant contribution to the deployment of the developed or to be developed state-of-the-art technologies.

“The DTV will house firms involved in the petrochemical industries, water resources and IT sector. The primary goals of the DTV are to forge a strong collaboration between the university and industry in the areas of research and development, to promote small technology-specific businesses and start-up enterprises through an incubator program and to direct significant technology-driven foreign investment and presence in the Eastern Province,” said Dr. Sulaiman.

Dr. Sulaiman said there are multiple reasons for commercial companies to come to the park, the main being availability of additional R&D laboratory and office space for expansion of R&D activities not covered in existing company facilities. They can direct the research activities to what is critical and important to the national interests. This can be done through (a) selecting the tenants of the valley who are more relevant to the nation, (b) streamlining faculty and graduate students research activities and interest to strategic areas, and (c) sponsoring new research areas and establish such capabilities in the university and/or motivate faculty to work in such areas.

They can also utilize the available DTV avenues (innovation center and incubator) to realize potentially useful ideas to actual practice, in addition to having the opportunity to have staff members of various companies at DTV to interact with the other related or non-related industry personnel.

They will also have the opportunity to come into direct contact with, and to evaluate, students who are potential new company employees after graduating from KFUPM, who can be interns and part-time employees at the DTV prior to graduation.

“We in the Kingdom need to further move from consumer-oriented society to the society that cares more toward quality education and R&D culture to tackle issues related to water, energy and environment. We need to encourage local small-scale industry to be more competitive in an international competitive environment especially after becoming a member in the WTO. We need to create a sense of responsibility in our future generation. They need to develop professionally to meet the emerging challenges of our society,” said Dr. Sulaiman.

The ambitious and creative project and is envisaged as a One Stop Shop which can provide all facilities under one roof. It is expected to breed a culture of effective research and development for the region by optimizing the use of all resources like specialized laboratories and specially trained manpower.

DAMMAM, 13 November 2006 — The tiny tots of the KG section stole all hearts as they danced enthusiastically to lilting Arab music in the 24th Foundation Day celebrations of the International Indian School, Dammam on Saturday night. Color and gaiety were splashed all around as 2,000 parents and invited guests were held spellbound. “It brought a new vigor in our life. The energy of the performers has rubbed on us too. It was a great show,” said Parvez, an excited parent.

“I am simply spellbound and have no words to describe the talents of our students. They showed great confidence and conquered our hearts,” said Anil Madan, a very senior Indian in the province.

M.O.H. Farooq, the ambassador of India, announced that after sustained efforts, he was able to convince the authorities in India to announce Saudi Arabia as a center for competitive exams. “As of now our children appearing in architectural and engineering exams, the AIEE, can give them from Riyadh,” he said.

Dr. Mumtaz Ali, the managing committee chairman, said the school has made great strides in the recent past. “We have a short-term plan and a long-term vision for the school and we are working on the motivation of our best assets — the teachers,” he said.

Principal E.K. Mohammad Shafe recalled the humble beginnings of the school and how today the school enrollment stands at a staggering 12,500 mark. He highlighted the outstanding CBSE results.

In his vote of thanks, Dr. Anwer Batcha, the vice principal, said it was the hard work and dedication of all concerned that resulted in the successful foundation day program.

DAMMAM, 21 November 2006 — Ali Ashraf Fatmi, India’s minister of Human Resource Development, emphasized in a speech yesterday the role of education and how every Muslim has a role to play in alleviating the current situation of Muslims in India.

Around 300 Aligarh Muslim University alumni listened to the speech where Fatmi highlighted how his ministry was involved in modernizing the madrasas by including English, mathematics and computer science in the curriculum and providing economic help to minorities.

Fatmi spoke about the efforts to get Kendriya Vidyalayas to Saudi Arabia so that the heavy load on the CBSE-affiliated schools could be reduced.

The Sir Syed Day Program started with a speech competition titled, “Current Education System: Need for Change” where women students not only outnumbered the men but also bagged all prizes. Sanaa Iqbal and Daphne Clidus were the best speakers in the senior and the junior sections respectively.

DAMMAM, 2 December 2006 — “A Muslim laborer’s son will also be a laborer all his life,” lamented Dr. Merajuddin Ahmed, former irrigation minister of UP while addressing the audience at the Sir Syed Day celebrations in Jubail.

“The irony is that Muslims in India lost track of the movement launched by the great reformer Sir Syed Ahmed Khan. And now today we have a situation where illiteracy and poverty are very high among Muslims.

This became the reason why there are hardly any Muslims in the civil services or even the private sector. Muslim uplift is possible only if education is given a higher priority,” said Dr. Meraj.

In his opinion, Muslims never put any demand before the political parties, and hence were almost always the losers. He referred to the Gujarat riots where Muslims were massacred brutally.

Dr. Abul Hasan Siddiqui, former PVC, AMU and Mukarram Ali Khan also spoke.

Anis Bux introduced the guests while Asif Siddiqui gave a vote of thanks. Syed Baqar Ali conducted the show.

DAMMAM, 10 December 2006 — What should be served on the flight from Dammam to Hyderabad? Surely the Hyderabadi Biryani! This may sound simple but to reach this conclusion Air-India has to undertake a very rigorous research program to develop the fliers food profile.

Destination pays a big role in deciding the menu. Also, to avoid a mundane menu, there is one for the summer and another for the winter.

By making the menu season based, the airline is also able to incorporate the season’s vegetables which adds to the taste of the food served.

Air-India recently made a presentation of the winter inflight menu to a select group of frequent fliers, members of the travel trade and prominent community members.  

“Quailty control and quality assurance are  major issues with Air-India,” said Deepak Anand, Air-India’s manager for Eastern Region.

“Great care and precision is needed to ensure that the food served is good in taste as well as hygienic. Hence Air-India selects the best of the caterers. Our efforts do not stop here.

“We have a continuous inflight monitoring system which ensures that the meals served conform to the specifications. We are committed to serve clean, healthy and wholesome food to our passengers”, said Anand.

All Air-India outbound flights have food prepared by Saudi Arabian Airlines Catering, the winner of many an award in the catering industry.

“Saudi Arabian Airlines Catering uses state-of-the-art technology in preparing the meals and exercises strict vigil in preparing over 5,000 meals served daily on almost all the flights out of King Fahd International Airport”, said Sugandh Kulkarni, Air-India’s marketing manager.