Northrop Grumman Saudi Arabia has launched its first educational tour in Saudi Arabia as part of its ongoing commitment to develop young students, increase awareness among students looking to major in scientific fields and transfer knowledge to society. The first tour took place at King Saud University, followed at a later stage in other universities such as King Faisal University, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals and Prince Mohammad bin Fahd University. Walid Abukhaled, chief executive officer, Northrop Grumman Middle East, said "we are delighted to be part of this nationally important activity which will contribute to the academic development of local talents. We are keen to take the opportunity to help direct youth into the fields and majors that help serve society and further develop and sustain our economy and community." Led by Carl Williamson, business development director, Northrop Grumman Saudi Arabia, the first educational tour featured cyber awareness highlighting the importance of sound cyber security processes and practices to protect networks, computers, programs and personal data. Williamson said "we now live in a world that is more connected than ever before. The internet touches almost all aspects of everyone's daily life, whether we realize it or not. It is important that students are well briefed and informed about cyber threats. Simply stated, cyber security is very real – especially in our widely connected world – and it requires education and training at all levels to properly address cyber threats." Eng. Amr AlOtaishan added "the educational tour aims to stimulate the interest of Saudi students in a variety of specialized career fields, such as cyber security and autonomous systems. Our speakers are specialists in their fields who will share on-ground experience and highlight its relevance to the region's security.'' Northrop Grumman works with a number of Saudi entities to transfer the knowledge and know-how, and develop Saudi skilled talents to be the technology business leaders. In addition to universities, Northrop Grumman works closely and collaborates with a number of Saudi institutions on advance research. The company's efforts are aimed at diversifying the Saudi business sector and creating quality jobs for future generations. Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in autonomous systems, cyber, C4ISR, strike, and logistics and modernization to government and commercial customers worldwide.
