JEDDAH: The Riyadh Women’s University, which is designed to become the world’s largest institution of higher learning exclusively for women, will have 13 colleges, including those for medicine, dentistry, nursing, naturopathy and pharmacology and a 700-bed hospital. The project will be completed by 2010.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah will lay the foundation stone today for the university’s new campus.
“After we received instructions from higher authorities to establish a full-fledged university, we have consulted international engineering houses for the purpose of designing a world-class campus that can accommodate 40,000 students,” said Finance Minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf. “It will be the largest specialized campus for women in the world,” he added.
“King Abdullah has shown special interest in the project and has been following up every development related to this university,” the minister said. “The buildings of the campus will be completed within the next two years,” he said.
He said the university would play a big role in promoting women’s education in the Kingdom. “The project also aims at improving the condition of Saudi women and enabling them to participate in the country’s development process efficiently.”
Princess Al-Jowhara bint Fahd, president of the university, praised King Abdullah and Crown Prince Sultan for their tremendous support to Riyadh Women’s University, which she said will usher in a new era in higher education for women in Saudi Arabia. “We want to make it a leading international institution,” she said.
She disclosed plans about tie-ups with prominent universities inside and outside the Kingdom to promote research. The Women’s University, along with its affiliated colleges, has so far enrolled 17,000 students, she added.
Al-Jowhara spoke about the university’s plan to focus on educational programs that are essential to meet the Kingdom’s job market requirements. “We have devised its educational programs after consulting different ministries, including the ministries of labor, commerce and industry, and economy and planning,” she said.
Speaking about the new campus, Al-Jowhara said it would be spread over an area of eight million square meters along Airport Road in northern Riyadh. The new campus will double the university’s capacity. King Abdullah has instructed the university’s officials to do their best to improve the condition of women.
“The new colleges will accommodate 1,500 students this year,” the princess said, adding that existing colleges would be restructured in line with job market needs. The university and its affiliated colleges have given admission to 61 percent of secondary school graduates in the Riyadh province.
-- Arab News
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