Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University (PNU), the largest all-female university in the world, has signed two Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) with GE with two overarching goals that will see GE moving its Saudi headquarters to the PNU Academic Complex in Riyadh, and the two entities undertaking joint work in Healthcare skills development and clinical simulations at King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz University Hospital (KAAUH). The MoUs were signed at a ceremony at PNU by Dr Ahmed Mohammed Abuabah, CEO of KAAUH; Eng. Ahmed Nasser Albedaie, CEO PNU Endowment Company; and Hisham Al Bahkali, GE President & CEO, for Saudi Arabia & Bahrain. The ceremony took place in the presence of Dr. Hoda bint Mohamed Al-Ameel, Rector of PNU; Dr Saleh Abdullah Almezel, Vice Rector of PNU; and John Rice, GE Vice Chairman, along with other senior officials of PNU, KAAUH and GE. As per the first MoU with PNU, GE will move all its operations in Riyadh to its new Saudi headquarters in PNU Academic Complex in 2018. A new state-of-the-art office will be designed to the highest standards of sustainability to accommodate all GE operations under one roof. The offices will have collaborative spaces that will promote a spirit of innovation and collaboration and help GE better serve its customers and partners in the Kingdom. The second MoU between KAAUH and GE will lead to the creation of a vibrant research hub for Health Sciences. Clinical simulation tests will be conducted by PNU faculty and researchers along with GE Healthcare professionals utilizing the facilities of KAAUH, which is an integral part of the PNU Academic Complex. In addition to focusing on strengthening the competencies of Saudi healthcare professionals, the joint research will explore solutions for the Kingdom's healthcare challenges including the rising incidence of lifestyle diseases. Dr. Hoda bint Mohamed Al-Ameel, Rector of PNU, said: "The Memoradums of Understanding with GE will establish Princess Nourah University as a vibrant hub for healthcare research and skills development, underlining our commitment to support the goals of the Saudi Vision 2030 and the National Transformation Plan. The relocation of GE's headquarters in the Kingdom to PNU Academic Complex will further establish the credentials of PNU in attracting the best in businesses, especially those focused on research and development to create an innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem." Hisham Albahkali added: "As one of the world's preeminent all-female universities, Princess Nourah University has set an impressive milestone in shaping and nurturing the future generation of Saudi professionals. By locating our Saudi Headquarters to the PNU Academic Complex and focusing on collaborative research and innovation, we are fostering stronger industry-academic linkages that will ensure tangible support for Saudi Vision 2030. This is a strong testament to our long-term commitment to the Kingdom and will enable closer ties to the academic community driving transformational project and research." GE has over eight decades of partnership in the Kingdom. It has a 2,000-strong workforce, with 50 per cent of its talent in highly skilled engineering and technology roles, and a Saudization rate of 70 percent. Through its local investments, GE has a supplier base of Saudi SMEs with the goal of increasing that number to 300 by 2020. GE also aims to double leadership, technical and engineering training across sectors to over 10,000 Saudi professionals through local and global programs. — SG
