EDDAH: Siemens Energy announced Wednesday the founding of a specialist facility to be based in the King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM) in Dhahran, one of the leading research and teaching institutions in the Middle East. The center will provide collaborative R&D support for energy related topics, knowledge-sharing, as well as training for local students and for the Kingdom at large. The founding is a further milestone in a long series of Siemens achievements in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The facility will be established in the Dhahran Techno Valley (DTV), and will offer investment into certain projects related to R&D, including energy efficient concepts for oil & gas, fuel flexibility concepts for gaseous and liquid fuels, gas turbine technology, renewable energy, advanced water treatment and green technologies. Research will be conducted by Siemens in collaboration with customers such as SABIC and Saudi Aramco, as well as various educational/research such as KFUPM and King Abdullah University of Science & Technology (KAUST). Siemens will sponsor two facility professors for Power Generation (including Renewable) at KFUPM, as well as absorbing 10 of its graduates per year. Wolfgang Dehen, CEO of Energy Sector, Siemens, said: "The initiative with KFUPM is further step in building Siemens' overall commitment in Saudi Arabia. We place great importance in growing the skills of its people, through training, support and vocational opportunities, and will strive to add extra value to the world class programs already being implemented by the university. Siemens is a global technology leader with strong local roots in the region and a has high interest in identifying and utilizing local talents for all fields of business and R&D we operate in." Anwar Aleitani, Vice President of Siemens Saudi Arabia Oil and Gas Division, said: "Through the establishment of an R&D center in DTV, Siemens is dedicated to the development of local talent and infrastructure in the Kingdom through training and technology transfer. Educational institutions offering advanced research opportunities on key engineering topics will be ideally suited for the future of the Kingdom as a center of academic excellence." Dr. Khaled Al-Sultan, Rector and CEO of KFUPM, said: "Siemens' DTV initiative aims to provide a platform for the development of new technologies in the Kingdom through research in one city, Dhahran. The new manufacturing and service facility Siemens plans to build, is also located in the Eastern province, it will also be a centre of excellence and will play an important role in technology transfer among the local workforce." Al-Sultan added that the establishment of the center in DTV is in line with the vision of KFUPM, which aims at building strong ties with world renowned companies. "This Center, which will be built on an approximate area of 7,623 square meters, speaks for the University's commitment to intensify its relationship with the industrial sector." He also highlighted the prominent role the Dhahran Techno Valley is playing to build relationship with industry and encourage innovative ideas for the application and effective use of technology in vital areas of importance for the Kingdom, such as petroleum, gas, water and information technology. Dr. Faleh Al-Sulaiman, Vice Rector for Technology Development and Industrial Relations, said that the University, in partnership with Saudi Aramco, is utilizing the opportunity to invite world renowned companies to join DTV, thereby paving way for technology transfer from West to East. He further added that the University is tirelessly working towards achieving its ambitious objectives to excel in all areas of scientific research through Dhahran Techno Valley Company.
