The Knowledge Economic City (KEC) in Madina signed a memorandum of understanding on Saturday in Jeddah with a consortium of Canadian educational institutions, to study the investment opportunities in KEC, in the presence of Canadian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia David Chatterson and Chairman of the Knowledge Economic City Ibrahim bin Mohammed Al-Essa. Eng. Tahir Bawazir, chief executive officer of KEC; Dr. Ken Macleod, chairman of LearnCorp International Ltd (LCI) and Dr. Magdy Elkady, chairman of CanWell Educational Consultants sealed the agreement between KEC, CanWell – located in Egypt and Canada and specializes in conducting studies for the establishment, development and management of International Educational Institutes and Programs, and LCI – located in Canada and specializes in international educational partnerships for Canadian Educational Institutes. LCI leads a consortium of three Canadian universities: Cape Breton University, based in Sydney, Nova Scotia; University of Windsor, based in Windsor, Ontario; and University of Ottawa, based in Ottawa, Ontario. Representatives of the three universities witnessed the signing. The accord calls for the establishment of a framework of cooperation and information exchange with the intent of developing an investment prospectus that defines a business model for various aspects of the educational solutions for the Knowledge Cluster component of KEC. The MoU is aimed at identifying investment opportunities in education services and introduce modern methods of teaching as well as attracting investors to the project. KEC Chairman Ibrahim bin Mohammed Al-Issa said: “Partnership with Canadian universities is essential in the development of the educational cluster of the project that would enable it to become a model of learning solutions and produce talents needed for the various sectors of the job market that would eventually contribute to the future economic development of the country.” Al-Essa further said the memorandum of understanding will identify appropriate areas in education and also come up with a study on the administrative structure as well as applicable financial model for the smart city project. “The partnership between KEC, LearnCorp International and CanWell Educational Consultants is critical in the development of KEC as a smart city. The report will be prepared and submitted to us by LearnCorp and will serve as the backbone and the parameter in implementing the Knowledge Cluster component of KEC project,” he said. Macleod said the Memorandum of Understanding focuses on the principles of practical teaching and methodologies that link business and industry as integral part of the city's system. He added that the feasibility studies prepared by the consortium will be the cornerstone of the project's investment mechanisms. Elkady said “CanWell, as one of the leading companies in consulting services for international educational institutions in Egypt and the Middle East, will play an active role in initiating contacts in the Middle East to serve the project.” He added that the memorandum of understanding focuses on providing services in four areas, namely design and implementation of e-learning solutions, operation and development of educational programs, supervision and coordination of implementation of the educational process and finally, ensure high
