The December Blog

17 December 2020
Huge congratulations to the KAUST Class of 2020!  Our 244 graduates include the first two students from our host town of Thuwal – Motaz Modaishea Aljahdali who graduates as a Master of Science in Bioengineering, and Hamza Ahmad Alzanbaqi, Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering.  Although KAUST is neigbors with Thuwal, Hamza and Motaz’s academic journey took them a long way from home with the KAUST Gifted Students Program and completion of their undergraduate studies in the United States.

This year, of course, the Commencement Ceremony has been adapted for COVID-19 – you can watch the event here on Friday 18 December, from 4.00pm-5.20pm (Arabian Standard Time, GMT+3)  [24 December 2020: KAUST Commencement 2020: celebrating resilience and transformation on the KAUST website]

  

KGSP Thuwal Graduate 2020 Hamza Alzanbaki

And read more about Motaz and Hamza’s KGSP experiences in the March 2019 issue of The Beacon, pp26-27. 

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10 December 2020
Do you know all 17 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals? And what they hope to achieve?  And how?  And why?

                

The SDGs are a call to action for the people of the planet in areas that are critically important to a successful and sustainable future for all.  Adopted by all UN Member States in 2015, they evolved out of years of working partnerships by countries and the UN.

The UN recognizes that Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 demonstrates a ‘strong commitment to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda’, incorporating a range of actions that align the Vision with the Agenda. 

Over the next few weeks, the SR Blog will explore what these goals are aiming for, the facts and figures that make achieving them essential, how Vision 2030 links in with all of them and, most importantly, what YOU can do to contribute.  Don’t underestimate the value of the actions of the individual!

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7 December 2020
The United Nations has dedicated 7 December as International Civil Aviation Day, to help raise awareness of the importance of international civil aviation to every country’s social and economic development, and viewing “international flight as a fundamental enabler of global peace and prosperity’. 

In Social Responsibility, our Young Learners Development Program hopes to encourage and inspire our young scientists on myriad scientific pathways – perhaps some may be intrigued by a path that looks to solve the challenges facing aviation, either through our PSE or CEMSE divisions. With the UN setting the theme of 'Advancing Innovation for Global Aviation Development' and Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 objectives including continuing the development of the country's aviation sector, studies and careers in this sector continue to be relevant and exciting.

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1 December 2020
In 1970, Earth Overshoot Day was 1 December - in 2020 it was 22 August. Earth Overshoot Day is when humanity's demands on Earth's ecological resources is more than what the planet can regenerate in that year.  Each year we go further into deficit, depleting more of the Earth's resources but we can change that.  
Reduce, reuse, recycle
Reduce what you buy - reuse what you have - recycle what you no longer need.  Averda, KAUST's waste management partner on campus, has produced a handy reminder of how we can incorporate practicing the Rs into daily living.