About Research Chairs

The King Saud University Council, in its session held on 1/4/1428 AH, approved the launch of the "Research Chairs Program." The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is considered one of the leading countries—particularly at the regional level—in adopting the concept of research chairs, in response to the wise leadership’s aspirations to advance scientific research and contribute to achieving sustainable development based on a knowledge-based economy.

Research chairs are distinguished scientific entities established for a specific period, assigned to outstanding scholars to conduct pioneering research that benefits economic and social sectors by enhancing their efficiency and competitiveness. They serve as an important means of complementing scientific research systems in key fields, advancing them, improving their capacity for innovation, and directing their outcomes to serve society. This, in turn, accelerates national development and elevates national capabilities and the standing of communities.

Many countries have worked on establishing research chairs and encouraged their institutions to invest in them. In the year 2000, Canada launched the Research Chairs Program, which supports around 2,285 research chairs with an annual investment of 311 million dollars, aiming to attract distinguished researchers and enhance the quality of scientific research. Japan also adopted a research chairs program in 1987, and in the United States and the European Union, governments have established ambitious programs for research chairs.

The establishment of research chairs aims to create specialized research entities in distinctive fields that align with national and societal needs. These chairs are intended to produce research outputs that contribute to solving contemporary issues while benefiting from global expertise to establish scientific partnerships with various societal sectors. They operate under specific mechanisms that safeguard the rights of both the funder and the university, ensuring the fulfillment of the chair’s objectives—whether it be to address existing challenges, develop or disseminate new ideas, or make new discoveries.

Furthermore, research chairs aim to attract top global researchers and support postgraduate students (master’s and doctoral), thus contributing to the completion of the scientific research system in key scientific fields, enhancing its quality, improving its innovative capacity, and directing its outcomes to serve society.

Research chairs at King Saud University are categorized as follows:

• Chairs funded by the university, which determine their research priorities based on national and societal needs.

• Chairs funded externally, through partnerships between the private sector and the university, operating according to specific mechanisms that preserve the rights of both the funder and the university.

Number and Fields of Research Chairs:

King Saud University hosts 75 research chairs, distributed across four main research fields as follows:

Humanities 11 research chairs

Engineering 11

Medicine 25

Science 28