Becoming a World-class University ― The Case of King Abdulaziz University

This book written by international experts in the field of educational innovation is a guide for universities to become world-class universities. It contributes to the current international intellectual debate on the future of higher education. It also tells the story of King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) and its effort to become a world-class university. The book discusses excellence in different aspects such as education, research, community services, strategic planning, knowledge economy and international cooperation.

Professor Osama Tayeb

Professor Osama Tayeb served as President of King Abdulaziz University (KAU), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from 2003 to 2015. He is a KAU Professor of Pharmacology. During his KAU presidency, Professor Tayeb also served as acting president of various newly-established Saudi universities, including Taiba University, Jazan University, and the Northern Borders University. As KAU President, Professor Tayeb spearheaded and presided over the major transformation that KAU underwent in order to achieve its current internationally recognized world-class university status. During this process, the majority of KAU’s academic programs were awarded accreditation from international accreditation agencies. KAU has consequently achieved its rightful ranking among the World’s top 400 universities in the international ranking lists of Shanghai, QS, and the Times. Professor Tayeb was the founder of the KAU International Advisory Board (IAB) and served as the IAB Chairman.

Professor Adnan Zahed

Professor Adnan Zahed has been the Vice-President for Graduate Studies and Scientific Research at King Abdulaziz University (KAU) since 2009. He is a KAU Professor of Chemical Engineering. As Vice-President for Graduate Studies and Scientific Research, Professor Zahed has maintained a high profile and has played a proactive role in the transformation of KAU into a university that is currently ranked as being of world-class status.

Professor Zahed’s tenure has witnessed a huge increase in the numbers of KAU academic staff’s scholarly publications featured in ISI-ranked journals, which increased from 260 in 2009, up to 3,600 in 2014. Various incentive programs, initiated and implemented under Professor Zahed’s supervision and guidance, have resulted in notable increases in citation numbers, which also increased from 1,100 in 2009 up to 21,000 in 2014. Professor Zahed is the Secretary-General of the KAU IAB.

Professor Jozef Ritzen

Professor Jozef Ritzen, a Dutch national, has been an honorary Professor at Maastricht University since 2011 (Chair: the International Economics of Higher Education, Science and Technology). Professor Ritzen was President of Maastricht University from February 2003 to January 2011 and Special Adviser and Vice-President of the World Bank from 1998 to 2003. He served as Minister of Education, Culture, and Science of the Netherlands from 1989 to 1999. Professor Ritzen has academic appointments at Nijmegen University, Erasmus University in the Netherlands, the University of California-Berkeley and the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the US. Professor Ritzen is a member of the KAU IAB.