GE signs MoU with King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals

Press release

Published October 30th, 2011 - 12:41 GMT

Walid Abukhaled, GE’s President & Chief Executive Officer for Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, signed the MoU with Dr Khaled S. Al Sultan, Rector of KFUPM, at a ceremony held in Dhahran

Underlining its commitment to promote Saudi Arabian talent, GE has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM), to extend educational scholarships to 30 students of the university over the next three years – a first of its kind initiative by the company across the world.

Marking a total investment commitment of about SAR 12 million, the educational scholarships will be provided to the brightest students, chosen by KFUPM internally. Apart from promoting their educational goals, GE also underscored its commitment to hire the students following their graduation for rewarding professional careers at GE’s facilities in the Kingdom.

Walid Abukhaled, GE’s President & Chief Executive Officer for Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, signed the MoU with Dr Khaled S. Al Sultan, Rector of KFUPM, at a ceremony held in Dhahran.

Dr Al Sultan said: “King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals is at the forefront of driving cutting edge research and development, especially with a focus on sustainable energy management and enhancing energy use efficiency. We already work with GE through the GE Energy Fuel Research Center that explores the field of alternative fuels. The new educational scholarship by GE is a strong testament to the success of public private partnerships in promoting technical education in the Kingdom.”

Abukhaled said: “With over eight decades of active public and private partnerships in the Kingdom, GE is aligned with the development goals of Saudi Arabia. Today, supporting the professional education of young Saudis and empowering them to undertake rewarding career opportunities is a key priority for the Kingdom. GE is reiterating our commitment to nurturing Saudi talent through the educational scholarship for KFUPM students. This further builds on our educational initiatives in the Kingdom, including professional training programs and support on research & development initiatives.”

Continuing GE’s over 130-year history of successful development in human capital around the globe, GE has steadily expanded its knowledge-sharing initiatives in Saudi. The company has developed several successful co-op programs with leading Saudi institutions such as the King Abdullah University of Science & Technology, Prince Mohammed Bin Fahd University as well technical colleges under the Technical & Vocation Training Corporation (TVTC) such as al Hasa, al Ahsa and Dammam College of Technology.

Over 100 Saudi students have already participated in the GE Co-operative programs. Recently, GE extended its highly successful Graduate Management Program (GMP) to the Kingdom. To date, there are 20 GMPs within GE Energy.

GE has also signed a MoU with Saudi Arabia’s TVTC to expand the GE joint technical program (GE JTP). It builds on the success of the first GE-JTP class which graduated in May 2011. The expanded GE JTP aims to annually train up to 100 students, selected from leading technical colleges across the Kingdom.

Today, GE supports the generation of half the Kingdom’s electricity with over 500 GE turbines installed around at various sites around Saudi Arabia. GE has three offices and seven energy facilities, and over 800 employees in Saudi Arabia.

Background Information

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Company Profile

King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals

King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM) was officially established by Royal Decree on 23 September 1963. The first students were admitted a year later, on 23 September 1964, when 67 young men enrolled in what was then the College of Petroleum and Minerals (CPM). Since that time, the University enrollment has grown to more than 8,000 students (including those in the PREP program).