A fascinating article today in the New York Times about an effort by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia to build a first-class research institution in the country – an MIT for Saudi Arabia. The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) is getting started with $12.5 billion dollars, and it will have an enormous endowment of $10 billion, putting it in the top 10 in the world from the get-go.

What’s more interesting though, is how this university will coexist with Saudi Arabia’s strict religious laws. Of course, women in Saudi Arabia can’t drive, and the genders can’t really interact with one another in public places. Current universities, for instance, place a partition in lectures between the men and women. Not so at the new KAUST:

Its planners say men and women will study side by side in an enclave walled off from the rest of Saudi society, the country’s notorious religious police will be barred and all religious and ethnic groups will be welcome in a push for academic freedom and international collaboration sure to test the kingdom’s cultural and religious limits.

To keep the influences separate, the education ministry is cut out of the equation. Instead, the King has hired “the state-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco to build the campus, create its curriculum and attract foreigners.” But can this really work in such a closed society? The campus will be 50 miles from Jidda, which sits on the Red Sea and is a relatively liberal city in the country – ‘relatively’ being the operative word. Though some rules will be relaxed on campus, others will not: women will be able to drive, but there will be no alcohol. And since Israelis are not allowed to visit Saudi Arabia (but uh, seriously, Saudi Arabia is doing all it can for peace, they swear), they won’t be able to collaborate on research.

Foreign collaboration is another concern surrounding KAUST. The Saudis presumably want the university to help their own people, and there are fears it will become secluded like the foreign oil compounds in the country – and drain resources while doing little for the populace. It’s hard to tell whether this new university is a way for the rich and powerful in Saudi Arabia to appease the masses outwardly while actually doing little, or whether this represents real steps towards liberalization. Either way, it’s an interesting read.