Aug 20, 2025

KFUPM Hosts OpenAI: A New Era for AI Education

As part of Reporting Week 2025, KFUPM welcomed a team from OpenAI on Sunday, August 10, marking their first official visit to Saudi Arabia. The visit aligned with the theme “Teaching with AI” and highlighted the growing collaboration between KFUPM and global leaders in AI education.

First Impressions of Saudi Arabia

In a special interview following the day’s activities, Valeria Focke, OpenAI’s Education Lead for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, reflected on her experience:

“We spent a little bit of time with the KFUPM community, who showed us local markets and foods. My knowledge of both dates and coffee has been extremely extended.”

Her colleague Shaig Abduragimov, Solutions Engineer at OpenAI, shared similar thoughts, emphasizing the creativity of KFUPM faculty and the warmth of Saudi hospitality:

“I think KFUPM is in a very strategic position to drive a real change in the region,I attended a few sessions, and what stood out to me was the creativity and diversity of KFUPM’s faculty. At the same time, I saw how focused they were on impacting learning. It is a very serious academic community.”

He also highlighted a personal memory from the visit:

“The most rewarding experience of this trip was exploring the markets and trying the dates. I thought there were only two types, but I discovered there are over 30. The Saudi coffee was also fantastic. We even considered bringing it to our London office and setting up a corner so everyone could try it.”

Strengthening Collaboration in AI Education

This visit also underscored KFUPM’s growing partnership with OpenAI. Earlier in 2025, KFUPM became the first university in Saudi Arabia to adopt ChatGPT Edu, a secure AI platform designed to enhance teaching, research, and innovation. Through this collaboration, faculty, students, and researchers at KFUPM now have access to advanced AI tools that support personalized learning, accelerate academic research, and enable collaborative innovation, while ensuring data privacy and academic integrity.

Antiquity Meets the Future

The meeting between KFUPM and OpenAI symbolized how the university’s rich academic heritage continues to embrace future-focused innovation. Before launching this collaboration with OpenAI in 2025, KFUPM introduced the AI+X™ Initiative, an innovative educational model that integrates Artificial Intelligence (AI) with every academic discipline. Through this approach, all KFUPM students graduate with deep AI expertise alongside their chosen field of study, empowering them to lead the future of technology and innovation.