King Saud University Strategic Plan

By Prof. Dr. Abdullah Al-Uthman

KSU rector

The higher education in Saudi Arabia has gone through varied phases, throughout of which universities have adopted interim strategies targeting meeting the community needs and providing university education to high school graduates. Therefore, admissions were amongst the universities’ priorities. The concern was no more than providing seats for the admitted students and recruiting qualified faculties.

Now, there are 23 public and private and universities and a scholarship program launched by King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. The universities have the chance to think twice to chalk out strategies leading them to towards the top.

The new de facto situation of higher education in Saudi Arabia causes the KSU to adopt a prospective strategy thru which it could achieve its aspirations.

Believing in the significance of strategic planning, KSU launched the strategic planning project to chalk out a roadmap driving it to international pioneering. This project will turn the university into an international university adopting the knowledge-based economies building up community and international partnerships leading to creativity and excellence.

The strategic plan should put into account the overall potentials of the university: infrastructure, budget and highly-qualified experts. It should chalk out a strategy that makes it go for the national and international competitions; have a financial stability; and offer distinctive programs that lure students, faculties and researchers.  It should make the university a hub for work and study; should turn it into a digital university playing a pivotal role throughout the coming twenty years, and the graduates of which should create job opportunities beefing the national economy up.

The university expects that the strategic plan would improve the efficiency of the university, provides best deliverables, creates an environment luring the distinguished, fulfills the academic accreditation and assessment requirements and fosters the partnerships between the university and various community sectors.

I call upon the faculties, personnel, students, alumni and the think-tank to cooperate and communicate with the strategic plan team to give their opinions to map out the future strategy.