Bridging Horizons
EU Cooperation for Mobility and Collaboration in Science, Innovation, and Beyond
Offered by the Office of the Provost and the PSE Division in cooperation with the EU Embassy to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
May 22. EU Info Day Engagement Opportunities
Join us for a day of insight, connection, and opportunity.
In line with Vision 2030 and the new KAUST strategy to accelerate innovation and develop strategic partnerships, the Bridging Horizons event, organized by the KAUST Strategy Office of the Office of the Provost and the Physical Science and Engineering (PSE) Division, brings together leading voices from the European Union and KAUST to explore mobility opportunities and new frontiers in science, innovation, and talent development.
Open to all students, researchers, and post-docs, the event offers a unique chance to learn EU engagement opportunities for mobility and science collaborations, and discover pathways for career advancement and startup support.
Whether you want to grow your research collaborations, expand your career in Europe, or explore mobility and funding opportunities — this is your gateway.
📅 May 22, 2025
📍 MOSTI Room Building 19
Let’s build bridges—across disciplines, across borders.
10:00 AM – Keynote Session
Speaker: Mr. Christophe Farnaud - EU Ambassador
Topic: EU Mobility and Collaboration Opportunities in Health, Climate, Energy, and Digital (including Space) across EU funding programs
EU Ambassador will highlight opportunities for students and researchers' mobility and further EU engagement opportunities relevant to KAUST.
Moderator: Luca Polizzi
11:00 AM – Career Development Talk
Panelists:
This session explores European career pathways with firsthand insights from KAUST faculty and EU experts. Learn how to tap into international networks and boost your professional growth.
Moderator: Francesca Serra
KAUST was well represented at the event and got high visibility (about 100 people attended the event):
Luca Polizzi chaired the session “Pioneering Technology through Fundamental Science: insights from Quantum and High-performance Computing”. The session was very well attended; it was highly interactive, with remarkable engagement from the public.
Panelists:
Takeaway messages:
Invest in Talent & Infrastructure to Build a Quantum Ecosystem
Saudi Arabia must develop quantum expertise by funding research, establishing national quantum centres, and forming global partnerships with top institutions. This includes training local talent, attracting world-class scientists, and integrating quantum into STEM education and R&D programs. A national quantum strategy should align with Vision 2030, focusing on applications in energy, cybersecurity, AI, and finance.
Leverage Strategic Funding & Industry Applications
Saudi Arabia should mobilize government and private sector funding (PIF, Aramco, NEOM) to invest in quantum hardware, software, and real-world applications. The focus should be on quantum-safe encryption, AI optimization, hydrogen energy, and financial modelling—sectors where quantum computing can provide a strategic edge. A Saudi Quantum Investment Fund and incentives for startups and enterprises will accelerate national progress.
The bottom line is that the Kingdom must act now to secure a leadership position in the quantum race before global powers cement their dominance.
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In
line with Vision 2030 and the new KAUST strategy to accelerate
innovation and develop strategic partnerships, discover what the EU is
doing in science and technology. EU priorities and flagship initiatives
will be presented to unlock engagement opportunities for mobility and
research funding.
The event is structured in two sessions:
Postponed: May 15. Meet His Excellency Christophe Farnaud, the EU Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Presentation
of EU science and technology opportunities to engage with Europe,
focusing on energy, sustainability, space, and AI. EU mobility and
research funding programs like Horizon Europe, the Space Program
Copernicus, Erasmus+, and internship schemes will also be presented.
Agenda (May 15 – KSA time)
11:00 EU Ambassador Christophe Farnaud lecture on engagement opportunities with Europe
12:00 Buffet Lunch
Location: Fellowship Hall, Building 18, 4th floor, KAUST Campus
Confirmed: May 21. Meet EU Officials from Brussels and KAUST Experts
Presentation of Horizon Europe, ERC, Marie S. Curie Action, and Erasmus+ opportunities. Learn how to engage and what support is offered at KAUST. A KAUST ERC Awardee will share his experience through his journey to Europe.
Agenda (May 21 – KSA time)
11:00 Welcome by Prof. Suzan Nunes | KAUST Vice-Provost
11:15 Horizon Europe | Luca Polizzi | Manager Strategic Planning | KAUST Office of the Provost
12:00 ERC | Alejandro Martin Hobdey | Head of Unit | European Commission ERCEA
12:30 Marie S. Curie Mobility Actions | Sohail Luka | Policy Officer | European Commission DG EAC
13:00 Lunch
14:00 KAUST ERC awardee lessons learned | Erkan Aydin | KAUST PSE
15:00 Erasmus+ | Christos Aivaliotis | Policy Officer at DG EAC | International Cooperation Unit
15:30 CERN | Martin Gastal | Adviser for MENA region | CERN
16:00 Q&A
Location: Between Building 2 and 3 - Auditorium 0215, KAUST Campus
This event is organized by the Office of the Provost Strategic Planning and the Office of the VPR, in collaboration with the PSE Division and Student Affairs.
Organizing Committee: Luca Polizzi, Aeisha Salem, Francesca Serra, Balqees Al-Ramahi, Ghada Alkaraki and Ameena Nishad.
Since August 2022, KAUST is an associated member of the CMS experiment at CERN and can:
CERN has 23 Member States (from the EU) and 10 Associated Member States. 3 countries have observer status: Japan, USA, and Russia (suspended since March 2022). 3 organizations also have observer status: the European Commission, UNESCO, and JINR (discontinued).
Only countries can be members of CERN, while organizations like KAUST can be members of experiments, such as CMS, the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS), which is a general-purpose detector at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, near Geneva.
Saudi Arabia is officially a non-member state. KACST started collaborating with an experiment called LINAC4 in 2006-2008 through an international cooperation agreement.
KAUST-CERN Cooperation Agreement Team Lead: Thibaut Lery | Deputy Team Lead: Luca Polizzi
KAUST is a member of the PURE Community worldwide. PURE is a Research Information Management System (RIMS) facilitating evidence-based strategy design and implementation, leading to more international collaborations and greater research visibility.
PURE enables KAUST to consolidate information on a single platform - with KAUST data all in one place - to efficiently run advanced reports covering insights, trends, and strengths to support decision-making.
With PURE, KAUST makes its researchers, expertise, and specialized equipment more discoverable - internally and externally. Making researchers’ and Divisions’ profiles searchable helps KAUST build stronger collaborative networks on campus and with other institutions in the Kingdom, in the region and globally.
PURE community gather more than 300 members around the world, including Princeton, New York, Northwestern, and Minnesota University among 43 USA members; Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Glasgow, LSE, Bath, Saint Andrews, and Birmingham University (48 UK members); TU Dresden, Hamburg, Kiel, Leibniz University in Germany (17 members); Amsterdam, Utrecht, Rotterdam Maastricht University in The Netherlands (24 members); Aalborg, Copenhagen, University, and TUD in Denmark (27 members).
In Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center and King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals are also members of PURE.
