In line with the College of Engineering's initiative to build bridges of communication with the private sector, the college, under the patronage of the Acting Dean, Dr. Raed bin Abdullah Al-Yousef, and in collaboration with Siemens, organized a three-day event titled "Universities of the Future." The event aimed at engaging university students from various disciplines by involving them in proposing solutions for what universities will look like in the future. During the event, students competed to innovate appropriate solutions and presented them to a judging panel.
The event witnessed the participation of more than 35 students. It began on the first day with a speech by Dr. Bandar bin Abdulrahman Al-Zahrani, Vice Dean for Graduate Studies, Development, and Quality, who welcomed the attendees and participants. He emphasized that this event is part of the college's efforts to establish distinguished partnerships at both local and international levels. Then, Mr. Mohamed Batarfi from the Human Resources Department at Siemens gave an introduction about the company, followed by Dr. Mazhar Bary from the Renewable Energy and Electrical Power Department at Siemens, who explained the event's objectives and highlighted the key points for evaluation and the essential elements required in the presentations to the judging panel.
On the second day, students began a workshop in which groups brainstormed ideas to support the concept of "Universities of the Future." This workshop lasted the entire day as the teams developed their proposed ideas and prepared their presentations.
On the third day, the students presented their proposals to the judging panel. Each group was given 10 minutes for their presentation. Afterward, the judging panel deliberated to finalize the results, and a ceremony was held to award the top three winning teams. The Siemens team also provided feedback to the participating students about the event.
The first-place winners were:
- Student: Hammad Al-Jaidi
- Student: Abdulhamid Al-Dosari
- Student: Yousef Al-Anazi
- Student: Moath Al-Damas
- Student: Nasser Al-Dosari
The second-place winners were:
- Student: Abdulaziz Al-Mohsen
- Student: Sultan Al-Ghizwani
- Student: Abdulrahman Haj Omar
- Student: Hamad Al-Makawani
- Student: Mohamed Al-Jumah
The third-place winners were:
- Student: Fahad Al-Khalidi
- Student: Tarek Al-Mutairi
- Student: Abdullah Al-Fifi
- Student: Mohamed Al-Qahtani
- Student: Faisal Al-Masloukh