The University of Cambridge and the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), Riyadh, are pleased to announce the formation of a collaborative research centre based in Cambridge.

The centre will form the platform for cooperation in scientific research, the transfer of technology and the training of postgraduate students and post-docs within the two institutions.

The centre, which has been funded by KACST, will focus primarily on research and emerging technologies relevant to long-term Saudi development strategy. The initial three-year phase of the centre will target the four key research areas of biotechnology for high valued healthcare products, bulk superconductors for flywheel energy storage and other high field applications, inkjet research and the development of oxide materials for commercial LED and photovoltaic technologies. The centre will include three University Departments (Engineering, Physics and Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology) and will be directed by Professor David Cardwell (Department of Engineering, Cambridge) and Professor Ibrahim S Al-Mssallem (KACST).

It is anticipated that funding for the centre will be extended by up to ten years on completion of the initial phase, and that it will be expanded to include up to a further six areas of research after the first annual review.

The formal agreement for the centre was signed by His Highness Prince Dr Turki bin Saud bin Mohammed AlSaud, Vice President of KACST, and the Cambridge University Vice-Chancellor in November, 2011.