Umm Al-Qura University
Overview of Umm Al-Qura Consultancy Oasis
The Institute of Research and Consultation Studies has established Umm Al-Qura Consultancy Oasis to be the knowledge and technological arm of the university; aiming at building knowledge economy and sustainable development. With the Saudi vision 2030, the institute adopted its new vision related to becoming a pioneering association is designed to create, transfer and localize knowledge and technologies to achieve the sustainable development goals of the Kingdom in regard with building developed knowledge society and economy that are capable of fulfilling their tasks and competing globally. Thanks be to Allah, our university has come a long way in the path of pioneering transformation, as we became in the forefront of Saudi universities in adopting the leading universities model. Our aspiration is that our university becomes on top 200 universities globally by 1452 AH- 2030 AD; and this is one of the strategic goals of the Saudi vision 2030.
Since the launch of the Saudi vision 2030, the institute has been working hard. During this period, the institute started a new phase of work; whereas it planned and prepared for the establishment of a group of specialized centers and units to be a known-globally national reference in the field of creating, transferring and localizing knowledge and technology, providing studies and consulting services and vocational training for public and private sectors and the society.
The construction of Umm Al-Qura Consultancy Oasis, whose first phase will include two centers and five units, is a culmination of a two-year work in which the oasis was established and developed, and it will- with the help of Allah, represent the technological and knowledge arm of Umm Al-Qura University to play its active role in developing the society, knowledge economy and sustainable development.
One of the cornerstones of Umm Al-Qura Consultancy Oasis is Risk and Crisis Management Center (SAFE)- an initiative approved by the Ministry of Education among the winning National Transformation Initiatives 2020. Among the 9 winning initiatives, the largest share of human and financial resources was allocated to it, and by which our university became distinguished rather than the Saudi universities. SAFE perform its mission through providing consulting and training experts in the field of safety systems in industrial, constructing projects as well as the general ones; in addition to the fields of industrial security, planning and risk, disaster and crises management.
This center acquires its importance owing to more than 10 mega development projects in the region, although the scarcity of safety engineering specialization in the Saudi universities and the lack of cadres in this field; in addition to the increase of safety accidents in recent years. A new pioneering approach is being adopted in the implementation of the center; its technological infrastructure is based on scientific foundations and by using cutting-edge technologies with the provision of devices as well as technical and technological supplies to ensure the continuation of services. This approach is also used to build an advanced model according to the international standards in planning and shaping the security and occupational safety polices as well as preparing and providing the specialized training programs and courses.
In a short period, the center achieved a great success. It developed a number of internationally-accredited courses and training programs. In addition to that, two executive diplomas will be presented this year: one of them is about health and safety in constructions specialization, while the second diploma is about the occupational safety and risk management. Both of them have been developed and accredited in cooperation with the International Institute of Risk & Safety Management (IIRSM) in the UK.
The Unit of Continuing Medical Education is the second cornerstone of Umm Al-Qura Consultancy Oasis. It is also an initiative approved by the Ministry of Education among the winning National Transformation Initiatives 2020. The adequate human and material resources have been allocated to its success. The Unit aims to develop the skills of health practitioners in line with the rapid development of the health services sector in the Kingdom through cooperating with Umm Al-Qura University’s scientific colleges and departments; whereas it has 9 colleges and dozens of departments specialized in the fields of medicine and health.
The unit accomplishes its message through contributing to the development of 4 areas that include training services, continuing medical education, consultations, and services of the professional accreditation in the health sector. The development of educational and training curricula and methods are given much attention to achieve 3 goals that meet the requirements of the health services sectors in the Kingdom and the Arab Gulf as well, the contribution to achieve the third mission of Umm Al-Qura University, and the enhancement of knowledge economy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
This unit acquires its importance by addressing the weak suitability of education and training outputs to the needs of labor market, as the medical and health programs and courses continue to suffer from severe weakness in terms of number, quality and impact. Also, the Saudi universities are seeking to review their educational curricula, provide advanced curricula, educational programs and training courses, measure the educational outputs and link them to the efficiency of cadres in the medical and health professions.
The third cornerstone of Umm Al-Qura Oasis is Faran Center for Rehabilitation and Hospitalization. It is an initiative that is based on establishing and operating a center for rehabilitation and hospitalization to be the first building block in an ambitious project to build and develop an integrated city for medical rehabilitation, particularly for people with physical disabilities; a city is with Islamic characteristics on the blessed land of Mecca next to the Holy Mosque as a global investment initiative, and with a new concept of innovative benefit of the great status of Mecca in the hearts of Muslims around the world, in addition to the very positive impact on the mental and spiritual state of patients and their families that will help them and raise their morale to pass the rehabilitation program strongly and successfully.
The Engineering Training and Development Unit is the fourth cornerstone of Umm Al-Qura Consultancy Oasis that is in the core of the Saudi vision 2030; as the goals and measures that have been set for the success of the vision is the classification of three Saudi cities among the best hundred cities in the world. Hence, the importance of this unit is reflected in the training and development of effective engineering staff working in an innovative manner to be capable of developing our cities and improve the quality and quality of services provided. The main objective is to make the best use of our engineering cadres in all areas to build the homeland.
The information and communication systems are the backbone of the development of knowledge economy for all advanced economies, so the oasis has in its first phase two units in this field, the geographic information system unit and computer, information systems and security unit. Undoubtedly, the two units will contribute to the training and development of qualified and efficient staff that operate in an innovative manner and capable of developing telecommunication systems and information technology and upgrading the Kingdom's digital infrastructure and services and quality. This infrastructure is essential for building advanced industrial activities, attracting investors and improving the competitiveness of the national economy
As for the fifth unit, it is the Professional Development for Teachers and Educational Leaders Unit (PDTELU). The progress of any country is based on the development of two major systems: health and education. The Kingdom, however, faces major challenges in moving forward with regard to improving its global competitiveness; most notably is the challenge of improving basic education and training so as to reach international standards. Therefore, this unit is important in the training and development of educational staff capable of promoting the educational system and improving the quality of education services.
The establishment of Umm Al-Qura University in the land of Holy Mosque gives it a distinctive character as a scientific and cultural institution is concerned with Islam, and the consolidation of Islamic perceptions in various fields of science and arts and the needs of sustainable and comprehensive development of the country through actively contributing to the development of human resources and building knowledge economy of the Kingdom. Thanks to Allah, Umm Al Qura University achieved great achievements over the past years, as Umm Al-Qura Consultancy Oasis is one of those achievements. Also, it was achieved thanks to the participation of all, the support of His Excellency UQU President, and the support and blessing of HH Khalid Al-Faisal, the Emir of Makkah Region and Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, and we are determined and aspire to more planning and work in the service of our country and its promotion and progress.
Umm Al-Qura Consultancy Oasis' contribution to building the economy and sustainable knowledge society
