ABSTRACT
The Saudi strategy to address the future, a future without an oil-based economy, has been to finance and build world-class universities and medical institutions with research centers. This is strongly demonstrated by the 2014 national budget in which 43.8% of the total is appropriated for education and health care (Jadwa Investment, 2014). This is also confirmed by the Saudi strategy of constructing a major public university and medical hospital system in each of its 13 regions. Included is a deliberate plan to create a supporting infrastructure that directly benefits citizens: new modern airports, major expansion to the “Two Holy Mosques” in Makkah and Madinah, extensive metro transit systems and highways, new modern cities, huge desalination plants for freshwater, electric power plants, and ports for high-end international shipping.
