His Excellency the UQU President, Prof. Abdullah bin Omar Bafail, announced that one of the top priorities of the current university administration is to upgrade all its systems and facilities to ensure an educational environment that would be engaging and motivational for the students. Moreover, foremost among the concerns of His Excellency is the appointment of the graduates who achieved first place in their class as teaching assistants

These issues were tackled by His Excellency during an open meeting with the students, which was organized by the Deanship of Student Affairs as part of the “Be Happy” initiative, in King Abdulaziz Historical Hall (male section) and Al-Jawhara Hall at Al-Zahir campus (female section).

His Excellency emphasized the importance that the college deans and department heads should listen to the suggestions and opinions of the students, and address them with solutions. He pointed out that the university has started adding new engineering specialties, such as industrial and chemical engineering and construction engineering, and is also studying a proposal to introduce engineering departments in the female section. This is in addition to the opening of a new range of specializations in the area of political science in both the male and female sections, as well as other medical and academic specialties that aim to keep pace with the Kingdom’s Vision for 2030.

In a related context, Dr. Bafail stated that the University would allocate a special budget to improve its facilities, such as the renovation of classrooms, laboratories, college utilities, and campuses. Moreover, it will open channels of direct communication to receive suggestions and complaints from students, and to respond to them directly and swiftly. He also stressed the right of the students to know how the academic grades are distributed. Finally, he referred to the need to work on resolving all academic issues related to the students and their class schedules, and ensure the efficient preparation of all university facilities for them.

The Dean of Student Affairs, Dr. `Amr Al-Saqqaf, said that the meeting was in line with the constant attention paid by His Excellency, the University President, to provide a full range of resources and create a stimulating educational environment for the students, and to elevate the University's scientific and academic mission.

The meeting attracted a distinguished audience of students. The deanship's website received around one hundred questions; and others posed their notes directly, which varied between asking about their academic career to offering suggestions for improving the University environment.