King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, laid the foundation stone of King Saud University for Health Sciences (KSUHS), King Abdullah International Research Center, and Pediatric Hospital on main campus in Riyadh on Tuesday. On arriving at the venue King Abdullah was received by Prince Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, Emir of Riyadh, Lt General Prince Metib Bin Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz, Assistnat Deputy Commander of the National Guard for Military Affairs, Dr Khaled Bin Faisal Bin Turki Al-Saud, Deputy Commander of National Guard for Eastern Sector, Dr Khaled Al-Anqari, Minister of Higher Education and Dr Abdullah Al-Rabeah, Executive Director for Health Services at the National Guard and President of King Saud University for Health Sciences. In his speech on the occasion, Lt Gen. Prince Metib said the emergence of the project would provide a tangible evidence of the King's vision for the future in combining military advancement and development. Recalling the King's words, he said, “This great event reminds me of your constant directions that the National Guard should not only confine itself to military tasks of defending the soil and maintaining its stability along with the different branches of the Armed Forces but it should also be involved in the country's development and reinforcement of the its national unity and progress.” He said this progressive cultural thought and farsightedness have yielded several remarkable developmental projects and tangible progress in all fields including the phenomenal achievements and breakthroughs made by the National Guard in the medical field especially in the separation of the conjoined twins. Saudi Arabia has recently reclaimed the destiny of its higher education amid growing global economic, industrial, and social competitions by setting up more universities across the nation, the last of which was King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). Last Oct., King Abdullah inaugurated KAUST to be a leading world class and well-endowed research university, representing a paradigm shift with an intellectual, and organizational innovation to inspire . Now comes King Abdullah to break new ground for KSUHS to continue the cluster of his decades-long vision to build top-notch universities in the Kingdom. The construction project of the KSUHS three campuses in Riyadh, Jeddah, Ahsa and a hospital in Madina will be completed in three years. KSUHS main campus in Riyadh alone stretches over an area of 5,000,000 sq m. Bin Laden Group has been contracted to carry out the construction project. KSUHS has reportedly sealed deals with 11 renowned international medical institutions to consolidate its academic excellence for competing with top-notch international medical schools. The beginning The Health Affairs at the National Guard announced the foundation of the university on March 16, 2005. Contributing to the boom of higher education in the Kingdom, King Abdullah then granted a 5,000,000 sq.m land to the university adjacent to King Abdul Aziz Medical City in Riyadh. KSUHS stands out as the first ever exclusive medical university in the Middle East and the third in the world. With its two branch campuses in Ahsa and Jeddah meeting the highest international academic standards of quality medical education, the university is expected to quickly pick up steam to establish itself as a world class university of medical majors. The mission The university has taken on a social commitment emphasizing the importance of combining a strong basic foundation in the medical sciences by highly qualified manpower with extensive clinical training in patient care to cultivate the best of tomorrow's leaders in the field of medicine. The university is ambitiously looking to be an authority in the field of health sciences not only at the level of the Kingdom but also at the international level. With Suadization in mind, the university has reportedly said it would set a national strategy and community service to achieve through the localization of the medical and health jobs in the Kingdom to meet the requirements of the labor market in the field. Main campus Spreading over an area of 1,600,000 sq m, the main campus, envisioned to be a cultural edifice, will house higher administration complex, health colleges, and deanship of graduate studies. A sophisticated transportation network will link campus facilities together for easier movement. The university is designed with Islamic and Saudi architecture in mind to grace it with a distinguished artistic identity, with separate buildings for each college and deanship. In addition, the main campus has an 18,480 sq m conference hall of a capacity of 2000 people, planned to be constructed on an 18,480 sq m area next to the higher administration complex. Initially the university main campus in Riyadh will admit 10,000 students into different colleges. College of Medicine The college of medicine is designed to accommodate 1,400 students built on a 23,000 sq m area. It offers research centers and a wide range of medical majors taught through well-defined courses and latest medical technology. College of Nursing Built on an area of 11,955 sq m, nursing college is planned to accommodate 700 students with all the necessary clinical training facilities. It includes neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU), outpatient clinics, modern library, and other support services. Designed for male students, the college aims to effectively help in overcoming the drastic shortage of Saudi male nurses. Women's College of Medicine With an increasing need for female Saudi physicians, the university has included a medical college for women. The college is spread over an area of 17,000 sq m. It comprises an auditorium, English language center, computer commons, laboratories, clinical training facilities, anatomy hall, medical museum, information technology center, and much more campus facilities. Dentistry College Constructed on an area of 21,000 sq m, the college will offer oral dentistry and dentistry hygiene majors. It is designed to effectively combat the shortage of Saudi dentists. It will also include clinics covering all dental specialties, dentures labs, X-ray rooms, in addition to other educational facilities. College of Medical Applied Sciences It is spread over an area of 21,000 sq m to accommodate 1400 students. It offers courses on clinical laboratories, psychiatry, physiotherapy and emergency medicine. College of Pharmacy It is designed to accommodate 1000 students a year empowered with research facilities, pharmacology labs, basic sciences labs and herbal museum. Public Health College Thought to be one of the new colleges in terms of its teaching concepts, it will offer courses in educational medicine and public health. It is spread over an area measuring 15,000 sq m. Basic Health Sciences College The college teaches preliminary and basic courses in science, including physics, chemistry and biology labs. It accommodates 2,800 students and will be constructed on an area of 42,000 sq m. Deanship of Graduate Studies Spreading over an area of 9000 sq m, the deanship will offer Master's and Ph.D degrees in experimental medicine to over 300 students a year. Training center The 19,800 sq m center focuses on developing clinical skills in a hospital-like environment at which medical students can practice their skills before going to their actual jobs. King Abdullah International Research Center Constructed over a vast land of 35,000 sq m, the center supports faculty research through a wide range of facilities. Housing units It is the biggest construction project on main campus stretching over an area of 170,871 sq m. The housing complex includes 150 villas and 500 apartments for teaching staff and apartment buildings for 2000 students. Shopping and entertainment centers and 16 motels will be constructed on campus, in addition to outpatient clinics. West campus in Jeddah Situated on the Jeddah-Makkah old road, the campus stretches over an area of 475,000 sq m, with an initial admission capacity of 4,000 students. The campus includes colleges of medicine, applied medicines, pharmacy, and deanship of graduate studies, clinical training center, King Abdullah medical research center, and a housing complex. East campus in Ahsa Covering an area of 642,000 sq m, the campus includes colleges of applied medicine, pharmacy, deanship of graduate studies, conference hall, and King Abdullah medical research center, and a housing complex of 25 villas and apartment building to accommodate 1000 students. __
