Up Coming Research Event at King Saud University

Under the patronage of the governor of Riyadh Region, Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud,  The Deanship of Scientific Research of King Saud University prepares to stage the 4th edition of its annual Scientific Excellence Award on Monday, 16th  May, 2016, hence all hands are on deck to make the event a momentous and successful one. Undoubtedly, King Saud University, through the Deanship of Scientific Research has become a leading hub of research where scientific inquiry is pushed forward, and discoveries verified.
The Deanship has acknowledged the linkage between research and economic prosperity of a nation.  It has also realized that new knowledge created through good research is the key to building the knowledge-based economy and innovation. A country can quantify the outcomes of its investment in research by the number of patents, business start-ups, employment generation and number of citations in reputable academic journals.
As King Saud University inches towards becoming a research-intensive university as enunciated in KSU2030, several research –excellence related initiatives have been instituted to facilitate the attainment of that goal. One such of crucial initiatives spearheaded by the deanship is the   annual King Saud University Award for Scientific Excellence.
The award is essentially aimed at promoting high standards in scientific research. It also paves the way for fostering a distinguished and innovative scientific research environment. Given the centrality of research in a modern university setting, the initiation of this award ceremony by the university could serve as a catalyst for research excellence.
The awards are in   seven categories namely: (i) Lifetime Scientific Achievement Award, (ii) Research Quality Award, (iii) Research Productivity Award, (iv) Discovery, Innovations and Technology Licensing Award, (v) Excellence in Obtaining External Funding for Research Award (vi) the Best Authored Book Award, and (vii) the Student Research Excellence Award.
Prior to the announcement of the prospective winners, an evaluation committee had scrutinized submissions made by applicants to ensure that they measure up to the rigorous standards required to win the award.
It is indeed worthy to note that this years’ award is coming at a time the university is recording successes in its pursuit of producing excellent research. In 2015 alone, a total number of 3, 478  academic papers were published in journals indexed in the Web of Science (ISI), while at the same period, the researchers of the university filed 137 patents of innovation with different bodies. From all indications, this year’s award ceremony could further solidify the march of the university towards spectacular research-excellence position in the region.