A delegation of 26 senior Saudi academics from different academic institutions will travel to the UK this summer to take part in the British Council's 2009 Post Doctoral Summer Research Program (PDSR) which is backed by BAE Systems. The academics will work alongside their UK counterparts in selected areas of specialization. The British Council in Saudi Arabia has developed a research collaboration program which enables Saudi specialists to work alongside their UK counterparts. The program is supported by BAE Systems, the major British company with overall responsibility for the Al-Yamamah program. The level of the BAE Systems contribution to the PDSR Program in 2009 is £155,000. The Post Doctoral Summer Research (PDSR) Program is unique to Saudi Arabia. It was designed to introduce staff at Saudi universities and other research institutions to UK research methods and facilities and to increase the awareness of the range and quality of British Higher Education. The program was started at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in 1989 and BAE Systems began supporting the scheme in 1991. From 1991 to 2008, a total of 390 researchers have gone to the UK as part of the research program. “BAE Systems is proud to support the British Council's Post Doctoral Summer Research Program. The company has been operating in the Kingdom since 1973 and believes that the research program is extremely beneficial to educational development in Saudi Arabia,” said Monther Tayeb, head of Public Relations for BAE Systems in Saudi Arabia. “I am delighted with the continued success of this program which has supported almost 400 scholars since its inception. This program supports Saudi academics to fulfill leading roles in their institutions and to help to develop the international standards of these institutions. This has only been possible thanks to the generous support of BAE Systems,” said Jim Scarth, Country Director of the British Council in Saudi Arabia. Approximately 20 research awards have been made each year since 1991, using funds from BAE Systems and under the administrative management of the British Council. The program for 2009 will include 26 awards, 10 researchers nominated from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, eight researchers nominated from King Saud University, two nominated from King Abdulaziz University, two from King Faisal University, two from Qassim University, one from Umm Al-Qura University and one from Prince Sultan University.
