Deans of the Saudi consulting institutes held the 8th round of their annual meeting at Umm Al-Qura University (UQU) on Monday, Zul-Hijjah 5, to discuss consultative roles, visions and participation in the knowledge-based economy.

The meeting was attended by President of the University Dr. Bakri Bin M'atoog Bin Bakri Assas, Vice-President for Business & Innovation Dr. Nabil bin Abdul Qader Koshak and Dr. Sahel N. Abduljauwad, the Vice Rector for Graduate Studies & Scientific Research at King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM).

Dean of Institute of Consulting Research and Studies Ali bin Mohamed Al Shaeri opened the meeting after listening to few verses of the Holy Quran.

He reiterated importance of the meeting as a venue for exchanging expertise and discussing ways to activate the institutes' role for studies, consultations and visions. He said the presented visions may be used in development of its mission and programs in addition to the activation of constructive participation to the knowledge-based economy as well as the sustainable development.

Addressing the deans, he shed light on the meeting's agenda wishing its recommendations would be used to boost the institutes' consultative roles and to achieve the preset goals to serve people and homeland. He thanked Dr. Assas for sponsoring the meeting and on his keen care to the Institute of Consulting Research and Studies. Also, he hailed Dr. Koshak for his efforts exerted to follow up the institute activities and programs.

In the same context, Dr. Koshak said the field of the consulting studies is vital and important for universities that depend on its academic staff to provide scientific and knowledge outputs. He supported his speech with examples on some international universities that maximized benefits of the consulting studies by incorporating a number of affiliated companies that made revenues and profits in vial and specialized fields.

He asserted the consulting services would help academic staff members who were urged to move their experience out the walls of the university to serve the community, public and private sectors. According to Dr. Koshak, they would gain different training skills that help academics get enough experience.

For his part, Dr. Assas welcomed the deans and asserted the kingdom's endless efforts would continue to build its economy on knowledge through a number of strategies and programs. The universities were assigned to develop these strategies which are meant to serve the nation through a number of research institutes and effective national and international partnerships to this end.

He praised leadership of the kingdom and expressed grateful for support given to the UQU's Deanship of Business & Innovation that managed to play a role in this regard. Dr. Assas said the Institute of Consulting Research and Studies was a right hand to the deanship as it accomplished a number of missions which completed an integrated plan for skilled staff through which they would compete in local and foreign markets of consulting or any other industry to boost knowledge-based economy and national sustainable development.

The UQU President saluted King Salman over supporting the university and highlighted efforts exerted by Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Naif and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to support education. Dr. Assas expressed thanks as well to Advisor to the King and Governor of Makkah and the Minister of Education for backing the university in accomplishing its scientific and educational programs.

During the first session, the attendees discussed three working papers presented by Dr. Mubarak Al Harbi (Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University), Dr. Moaz Nagdedy (Taibah University) and Dr. Hussein Dagriri (Jazan University). The research papers provided studies on the "partnerships and alliances". The researchers tried to give a formula stimulates institutes to create partnerships and enter alliances to have more than one option on way to overcome markets dominated by giant corporations. 

During the second session, four research papers were presented on the "sustainable development". The researches were presented by Dr. Mohamed Qurban (KFUPM), Dr. Ibrahim Lohaidan (Qassim University), Dr. Abdullatif Al Hadithi (King Khalid University) and Dr. Muffarreh Asiri (Najran University). The four researchers focused in their studies on the resource-efficient upgrade of production equipment to guarantee sustainability for the next generations (to meet the needs of the upcoming generations and keeping the rights reserved for more generations coming later).

The deans, in their 3rd session, discussed four other studies on (Advisory and training "A vision of the future"). The research papers were presented by Dr. Al Shaeri (UQU), Dr. Hamad Al Omran (Majmaah University), Dr. Abdullah Al Ghamdi (King Abdulaziz University) and Dr. Sa'ed Al Sa'edy (King Saud University).

During the 4th session, the deans held talks on the "follow-up and evaluation of recommendations" to give out applicable recommendations that would be used to develop and improve university performance and the quality of outputs needed by the community.