(NEWS) Cooperation Program Established with King Abdulaziz University Faculty of Maritime Studies, Saudi Arabia

March

2015

Cooperation Program Established with King Abdulaziz University Faculty of Maritime Studies, Saudi Arabia

On 15 March, an agreement on academic cooperation was established with King Abdulaziz University Faculty of Maritime Studies (KAU-FMS) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. KAU Acting President, Professor Abdulrahman O. Al-Youbi, and WMU Acting President, Professor Neil Bellefontaine, signed the Agreement that will enable cooperation in the field of marine and maritime affairs, broadly defined to include maritime safety, security, education and marine environmental management.

Specific areas of cooperation include research, exchange of faculty members, academic and information exchange, and the potential for WMU to offer short and long term courses in Saudi Arabia. Beginning with the fall of 2015 intake, KAU-FMS will fund at least three students in the Malmö M.Sc. or Ph.D. program.

While at KAU, Acting President Bellefontaine had the opportunity to meet with several WMU alumni who are currently staff members at KAU including Capt. Tarek Gamel (MET 2008); Eng. Hussain Ahmed (MET 2007); Capt. Altafur Rehman (MET 2007); and Capt. Mohamed Ashour (MET 2006). While in Saudi Arabia, the Acting President was also pleased to learn that WMU alumnus, Maj. Gen. Awad bin Eid Al-Balawi (GMA1 1988), had been appointed acting director-general of the Border Guard for Saudi Arabia as of August 2014.

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