The Middle East

Saudi Arabia’s tertiary education segment is steadily deepening its contribution to the country’s push for higher competitiveness via applied research and the alignment of educational outcomes with economic needs and labour market realities.

In recent years Saudi Arabia’s education sector has received the highest proportion of government spending of all areas of the economy. In line with the goals of Vision 2030, the country’s overarching development strategy, the government has rolled out multiple reform programmes aimed at raising the quality of teaching and curricula, and improving student attainment levels....

As the construction industry redefines its priorities to ensure sustainability, there is increasing recognition of the benefits of regenerative architecture as a means of lowering emissions. According to the “2019 Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction” published by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the construction sector accounts for nearly 40% of global...

The country is undertaking one of its most extensive construction projects to date, which is expected to transform the Kingdom’s north-west and set a benchmark for the future of smart city development worldwide. Located in Tabuk province, close to the Jordanian and Egyptian borders, NEOM will span the Red Sea coast with mountains, deserts and plains, and aims to use smart city...

The Saudi real estate and construction sectors have been experiencing a period of rapid expansion due in part to a string of giga-projects and an economy rebounding from the pandemic. Indeed, the Kingdom is currently engaged in some of the largest construction projects in the world, including NEOM, the $500bn new city in the north-west, and developments on the Red Sea coast...