Culture & Education | Thursday 16 April, 2015 7:21 am |

Here is an opportunity for Saudi students and parents to interact directly with foreign universities and educational institutions, said Education Minister Dr Azzam Al-Dakhil on Wednesday.

The minister was speaking after inaugurating the International Exhibition and Conference on Higher Education (IECHE 2015) in the capital.
The four-day event will be open for visitors from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursday and Saturday. On Friday, it will be open from 4:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. A series of lectures, presentations and workshops will be organized on the sidelines of the IECHE at the Riyadh International Convention & Exhibition Center during the next four days.
Al-Dakhil said that the exhibition, organized by the ministry of education, is aimed “at boosting the nationalization of work force and promoting education for sustainable development.”

More than 400 universities and academic institutions from different countries, including the US and Europe, are participating.
Referring to the world-class educational infrastructure of the Kingdom, Al-Dakhil said that the country’s 28 universities are currently offering more than 4,000 programs and courses for undergraduate and graduate students.

Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, vice chancellor of Cambridge, said: “Moreover, the Kingdom has had collaboration with different universities including the University of Cambridge.”
Borysiewicz, who delivered his keynote address after the welcome speech given by Al-Dakhil, said that “the University of Cambridge has had well-established collaboration with Saudi institutions in engineering.” Plans are afoot to expand collaboration with the Kingdom in other fields including manufacturing, he added.
The inaugural ceremony was attended by a large number of Saudi officials, diplomats, educationists and students. US Ambassador Joseph W. Westphal, whose country is represented by a huge contingent of about 100 universities and institutions, was also present.