KAUST King Abdullah University of Science and Technology

Why choose KAUST King Abdullah University of Science and Technology?

KAUST is an international graduate-level research university located on the shores of the Red Sea. The University’s new facilities and state-of-the-art technology offer an ideal setting to study and conduct high impact research. Home to world-class faculty, scientists, engineers, and students from around the globe, our research focuses on finding solutions to problems related to water, food, energy and the environment. Students work closely with our eminent faculty and have ready access to our state-of-the-art labs. Why not join our diverse community of scholars and make KAUST your destination for Research and Science?

Website

studentopportunities.kaust.edu.sa

Founded

2009

Connect with us

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Community Photos

View All Photos

Reviews

When I arrived to KAUST, I didn't know what to expect. Now I am surprised because my experience here was much better than anything I could imagine. KAUST is the perfect place to study, learn a lot and make friends or colleagues, here I discover the best part of myself willing to do research in a very preparate team. The opportunity to be an collaborate in a place like this is unique in all the world. I would recommend this experience to anyone willing to pursue a path in research or Academia, this was my life changing experience.

If you did this all over again, what's one thing you would change?

I would tried to apply for more time on KAUST!

Pros

Perfect environment for study
Lots of different nationalities represented
Good friends, food and experiences

Cons

Difficult to make friends the first days
Language hard to learn
Can be a little lonely

The Visiting Student Research Program is like no other internship I have attended before, I got the experience to work in a fascinating project of my interest while developing in an international environment. King Abdullah University of Science and Technology(KAUST) is a great university that facilitates the stay to many international students so they can only focus in their research and not worry about anything else. This program has allowed me to adquire new skills that will help me develop as a scientist in the near future.

To be honest this was one of the best experiences of my life so far, I met amazing people from different backgrounds, is a very well educated environment and you can learn so much from everyone and every interaction. In my personal experience, I had some issues with my Principal investigator, she didnt have a plan for me and wouldn't communicate either so it was difficult. But I had a direct supervisor who did everything in his power to help me learn as much as I could while I was there. KAUST provides the best environment for learning, and experiencing new things, is the safest place I've ever been and facilitates everything for personal and academic growth like laboratories and state of the art facilities to different courses and spaces to learn like language courses, art spaces and sport centers. I highly recommend this experience, I would encourage people to go, my only advice is to carefully look for a project you're interested in and try to contact someone from the laboratory before going so you have more information before arriving.

What was the most nerve-racking moment and how did you overcome it?

This was my first time leaving my country which came with many new challenges that I thought would be easy beforehand, so when I first arrived I felt really alone, lost, didn't know hoe things worked, and got really overwhelmed by the change and the new things. If this is your case, I would tell you to be patient with you and take your time to adapt, things will get better, you will make friends and understand how the new things work, take your time and enjoy the process. Meanwhile try to stay connected to people from your friends and family, be open to invitations and explore, KAUST is a very safe place so you can walk around and explore and nothing will happen to you.

Pros

People
New cultures
Safety

Cons

It depends on your lab
the amex card given to VSRP has a lot of limitations, and often fails or is not accepted even at campus

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology is a unique place! I had an internship there and it was awesome! There were a lot of people from over the world and I became friends with many of them. It was a great opportunity to learn culture of other countries.

I also had a great time doing my research project. My research advisor was excellent and I have gained a lot of experience during the internship. My colleagues were friendly and ready to help.

Every computer science project requires a lot of computing resources. KAUST has an impressive number of these resources so it was not a problem for me to do my project.

The VSR program was nothing short of essential for getting used to the workflow and way of life in KAUST. There is nothing peculiar about either, but it can be jarring for someone travelling for the first time, for example me. It was an absolutely fantastic experience in which I got to know the laboratory I am currently working in, grow immensely as academic, and get ready for the postgraduate life in KAUST. My sincere thanks to everyone involved in this program for organising it. Definitely recommend!

View All Reviews