His Excellency the University President Prof. Falleh bin raja Allah AL-Sulami, congratulated on behalf of the University, His Majesty the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and his trustworthy Crown Prince His Royal Highness Prince Muhammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, may Allah protect them. He also congratulated all Saudis on the 90th National Day.

Al-Sulami explained we celebrate this occasion with prosperity and glory. Our Kingdom is making world record in economical and social development, it also has a leading international presence in different fields.

Al-Sulami, confirmed this precious celebration brings back to our memory the sacrifices and efforts of our founder King Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman Al Saud, Allah’s mercy be upon him, in unifying this country, spreading safety and caring for its development. It also reminds us with the our loyal Kings who built this country on strong foundations, prioritizing its citizens. Our country continued to walk this path of glory during the era of King Salman, may Allah Protect him, following an ambitious Vision and strategic plans.

Al-Sulami added our Wise Leadership supported all sectors, pointing to the special care payed to the sector of Education. The rapid development of this sector embodies the leadership’s belief that adequate and modern education and qualified human competencies are the keys to progress.

Al-Sulami viewed aspects of the support paid to University, confirming that Asir region enjoyed the privileges of higher education since 1396 HA. It started when a royal decree of establishing branches of King Saud University and Imam Mohammad Bin Saud Islamic University in Abha was issued. The branches played their role in qualifying students in Sharia, Medicine, Education, Humanities and Languages, and contributed to social development. Al-Sulami added: in 1419 HA a new phase began with constructing a new university; to start the journey of education and budding opportunities. When the Custodian of the Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud -may he rest in peace- was the Crown Prince, he announced the construction of King Khalid University. The royal decree was issued on the 11th of Rabi I 1419 AH to merge the two branches and work on a new mechanism. He explained, KKU now has over 60 thousand students, and around 7 thousand faculty and University members. It also has Seven Agencies: the University Agency, Academic Affaires Agency, Post Graduate Studies Agency, Quality and Development Agency, Business and Knowledge Economy Agency, Projects Agency and Female Student Affairs Agency. The University has twenty-nine collages, nine support Deanships, an Institute for Research and Consulting Studies and a number of administrations, centers and scientific and administrative bodies. Now, the University offers more than 211 academic programs in different majors and degrees. The University collages and branches are distributed all over the region including: Tuhama and its provinces, Khamis Mushayt provinces, Ahad Rafidah, Sarat Abidah, Dhahran Al Janoub and Tanuma. Al-Sulami pointed due to the continuous support the University got the full institutional accreditation for 7 years from the National Center for Academic Accreditation and Assessment in 2017. The center and other international evaluation and accreditation bodies gave accreditation to a number of University programs. The University developed its strategic plan to go with the ambitious 2030 Vision, and worked to implement it through different programs, to be among the top 200 university by 2030. The University made a progress international rankings, the most recent of which being ranked fourth locally and 501 globally in the Times rankings.

On the Scientific and Academic achievements Al-Sulami explained, the University shows an interest in scientific publishing, it increased 302% in less than three years. There were 447 research back in 2017, then it increased to 1544 classified papers on the Web of Science by 2019. The Agency of post-graduate studies and scientific research and the Deanship of scientific research are currently working on rising the efficiency of research infrastructure and establishing a central laboratory at the university. It also works on developing a number of specialized research centers to fulfill the Kingdom’s 2030 Vision. The University received recently institutional support from the Ministry of Education; to initiate research centers and units with the help of researchers and under the supervision of the University Agency for Postgraduate Studies and Scientific Research. These Units follow the latest research and scientific interests, and meet the national needs, including research centers, energy units, water resources, advanced materials, cybersecurity, an artificial intelligence center, and other. The University President pointed the University paid spacial attention to Community partnerships, international conferences, seminars, forums and workshops in various fields. So, it organized an educational annul program in one of Asir’s provinces, it lasts for more than a month and benefits thousands of citizens and residents. He confirmed the University is interested in endowments so it established a specialised authority for their development. The University held more than 25 agreements with the most prestigious international scientific institutions. It was distinguished in E-learning and Information Technology, and won prizes on these fields. Most recently, the 2020 WSIS capacity building award which was given to “GoGeek”. The University has also taken care of international students and established therefor the General Administration of Scholarship Students, and the Unit of Teaching Arabic to Speakers of Other Languages. More than 1100 international students from 55 different nationalities are studying at the University, and aims to increase this number and attract and more international students.

The President of King Khalid University explained, the University worked on restructuring the colleges and majors according to the requirements of the national development and Saudi Vision. He stressed on providing majors with the requirements which will qualify the students with the needed skills for the labor market. He also pointed to the University’s contribution with many initiatives, programs, events and activities, like “Mobaderon” which was held during the summer and benefited over 100,000 people. He shed light on the University role in many community development programs at the level of the Kingdom. He added learning outcomes is a very important pillar which the University focuses on, pointing to the steps and mechanisms the university follows, and what the Center of Measurement and Evaluation provides. He confirmed the University provides its students with important necessary skills, and was eager to offer diverse programs, for example, the Summer International Program in which students are training in USA, UK, and a number of countries and important academic institutions. The program is funded by the University Higher Education Fund, and 9 colleges have benefited from it so far. Al-Sulami added due to the unlimited support, the University started 96 postgraduate programs in higher diplomas, masters and doctoral degrees. The University focuses on what meets the needs of the people, adding the University’s studies conducted by the Institute for Research and Consulting Studies and a number of research centers and research units, and postgraduate students papers shed light on many national social and economic issues.

The University City of King Khalid University branch in Al-fara’a is one of the greatest national achievements, it is a clear evidence to caring for the university environment. It has an area of eight million square meters, and it consists of the administrative and honorary areas, the university administration building, conference and celebration halls, a museum. It also has a number of facilities: the academic area, the buildings of Humanity and Scientific Colleges, the classroom building, common laboratories, commercial services, the English Language Center, the central library, support deanships, and cultural and entertainment facilities. The university city also includes a medical city and medical colleges, classes and common halls, a restaurant, the central medical library, the city includes the university hospital with a capacity of 400 beds, including all medical specialties. As well as, sport areas, a stadium with a capacity of 22,000 people, services area, housing, research and educational centers, and many academic and administrative facilities. Al-Sulami concluded with pointing to the great support of His Majesty the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz, his trustworthy Crown Prince His Royal Highness Prince Muhammad bin Salman - may Allah protect them. As well as the support of His Royal Highness Prince Turki bin Talal bin Abdulaziz, the Prince of Asir region, His Excellency the Minister of Education, Prof. Hamad bin Muhammad Al Sheikh.