Executive Summary

The Division of Research Development (DRD) of Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University (PMU will be an innovator in higher education and a leader in achieving the university’s goal of breaking down the barriers between academics and society. All divisional programs will be driven by careful needs assessment analyzing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) in the region and throughout the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) as identified by internal and external community stakeholders.

Research at the PMU should be seen as having a strong inter-relationship with the region’s business and industrial sectors and with the region’s economic development interests. Research projects conducted by its faculty and staff will be strongly focused and driven by those missions. Research will be composed of a department of Scientific Research and Applied Research.

Scientific Research will encompass those areas of research of particular interest to the faculty within the various colleges of the university; it will be intended to help in the development and enhancement of their educational and training missions. Applied Research will include, at least initially, three Centers of Research: the Community Design Resource Center, the Information Technology Resource Center and a General Research Center, each focusing in their areas of expertise.