The Red Sea Development Company signs MOU with King Abdulaziz University
The agreement marks the start of a collaborative partnership intended to facilitate a series of initiatives across learning and development, research and development, and CSR projects.
Thursday, 8 October 2020 — The Red Sea Development Company (TRSDC), the developer behind the world’s most ambitious regenerative tourism project, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with King Abdulaziz University (KAU) in Jeddah.
Signed by TRSDC CEO John Pagano and KAU President Professor Abdulrahman Obaid Al-Youbi, the MoU establishes a cooperation framework to support both organization’s goals and the wider aspirations of Saudi Arabia and its Vision 2030.
“We are honored to sign this MoU with one of the most esteemed universities in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East. This partnership will enrich professional and scientific aspects of our business and will allow us to exchange expertise and know-how in order to achieve our mutual goals,” said Mr. Pagano.
The agreement opens new opportunities across numerous areas of marine research and monitoring with KAU’s Faculty of Marine Sciences in addition to a number of joint research and development (R&D) initiatives.
“At KAU, we pride ourselves on providing a vast repository of resources that facilitates access to knowledge. This collaboration with TRSDC enables discussion and consultation on key areas such as the conservation and enhancement of marine environments,” said Professor Al-Youbi.
TRSDC will advise KAU on the academic disciplines required for students to find work in the Saudi development, tourism and hospitality industries and specifically at TRSDC. In addition, TRSDC will conduct educational research and surveys in collaboration with KAU to develop future academic and training programs for both parties.
His Excellency, the Deputy Minister of Education for Universities, Research and Innovation, Dr. Muhammad bin Ahmed Al-Sudair noted: “The Ministry of Education recognizes that progress cannot be made without learning from the experiences of others which is why partnerships such as this one are key to the delivery of Vision 2030. This MoU showcases the current efforts and future plans of TRSDC, geared towards creating new environmental sustainability standards, a core focus of the company.”
Established by TRSDC, The Red Sea Project is underpinned by a commitment to regenerative tourism in construction and operations and aims to deliver a net positive conservation benefit of up to 30 percent by 2040. Under the MoU, KAU will provide expertise, guidance and access to scientific references with a focus on region-related encyclopedias and scientific publications that will support this ambition, as well as sharing social research projects and studies relevant to the Project.
TRSDC is committed to creating learning and development opportunities for young Saudis, such as the recently launched Ecotecture initiative. This design competition invites Saudi Arabia’s brightest architecture students to submit designs for a state-of-the-art community center to be located at The Red Sea Project’s exclusive Coastal Village. The competition winners will be selected in October 2020 and the winning designer will have the opportunity to play a part in the creation of Saudi Arabia’s world-leading tourism destination.