Oxford links with the Middle East and North Africa extend far beyond the
academic study of the region. The University is increasingly forming
key partnerships and collaborating with institutions in the region, and
in recent years has opened up important new scientific and public policy
collaborations with the Arab World.
• Oxford’s Mathematics department was chosen to be a partner in one of four Research Centres funded by the Global Research Partnership of Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). The award provides a remarkable $25 million over 5 years to create and fund the Oxford Centre for Collaborative Applied Mathematics (OCCAM). In its first two years, the new centre launched more than 40 research projects, published more than 100 papers, and enhanced Oxford’s image as a leading research centre in applied mathematics.
OCCAM and KAUST personnel are also working together closely to help the new university realise its world-class aspirations. One of the innovative activities coordinated by OCCAM is a series of global study groups which bring together mathematicians from across the world in week-long workshops to work on real applied mathematics problems encountered by industry leaders.
• Rachael McDonnell, a Senior Research Fellow at Oxford, is heavily involved in strategic water issues in collaboration with the International Centre for Biosaline Agriculture in Dubai. She helped to write the Abu Dhabi water master plan, a policy framework adopted by the government in 2009. Many recent important changes in water policy and management have emanated from the plan. She is also working with various national governments within the region to develop strategic policy frameworks for managing saline water and soil systems. Most recently, Dr McDonnell has been involved in writing a World Bank report on Climate Change Adaptation in the MENA region.
In a new project that has recently begun, Dr McDonnell is co-leading a joint programme with NASA to develop a regional hub for a modelling system which generates data on groundwater and surface flow for the Middle East and North Africa which will provide valuable insight to local decision-makers.
• With support from the King Abdulaziz City of Science and Technology (KACST), a research funding agency in Riyadh, Professor Pete Edwards and Dr Tiancun Xiao in Chemistry have created the KACST-Oxford Petrochemical Research Collaboration (KOPRC). The partnership both provides funding for joint research projects and visiting researchers, and creates a physical research centre in Oxford’s chemistry department. The partnership has seen considerable early successes, particularly in the area of energy catalysis. As such the KOPRC agreement has now been extended and expanded to include 3 sub-research projects.
• The Executive Education team of Saïd Business School has also developed extensive links with the Middle East and North Africa. The School has developed a number of custom programmes for many different countries in the region for delivery to a wide range of audiences including top civil servants and senior business executives. Tailor-made courses have been developed for leading business leaders and public officials in Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia and Dubai.
• Generations for Peace is an international NGO established by HRH Prince Feisal Al Hussein of Jordan, and it is dedicated to the innovative and sustainable use of sport for peace building and development. In 2012 it established a new DPhil scholarship at Oxford, the King Abdullah II of Jordan Generations for Peace Scholarship, focused on research into “sport and conflict resolution”.
• The Reuters Institute for Journalism, in collaboration with the Saïd Foundation and the Asfari Foundation, is offering a unique opportunity to journalists from Lebanon, Palestine and Syria through the Saïd-Asfari Fellowship scheme. Each year, one journalist from the Levant region is brought to Oxford to study with a group of journalists from all over the world. The fellows attend seminars and occasional special lectures on journalism, and make visits to several major media organisations such as Thomson Reuters and the BBC. The objectives of the fellowship programme are to strengthen journalism in the Levant and to improve the skill set and networks of journalists working in the region.
Oxford’s Mathematics department was chosen to be a partner in one of four Research Centres funded by the Global Research Partnership of Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). The award provides a remarkable $25 million over 5 years to create and fund the Oxford Centre for Collaborative Applied Mathematics (OCCAM). In its first two years, the new centre launched more than 40 research projects, published more than 100 papers, and enhanced Oxford’s image as a leading research centre in applied mathematics.
The Reuters Institute for Journalism, in collaboration with the Saïd Foundation and the Asfari Foundation, is offering a unique opportunity to journalists from Lebanon, Palestine and Syria through the Saïd-Asfari Fellowship scheme. Each year, one journalist from the Levant region is brought to Oxford to study with a group of journalists from all over the world. The fellows attend seminars and occasional special lectures on journalism, and make visits to several major media organisations such as Thomson Reuters and the BBC. The objectives of the fellowship programme are to strengthen journalism in the Levant and to improve the skill set and networks of journalists working in the region.