One of Saudi Arabia’s top universities has set up a centre to promote new product development.

The King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM)’s Advanced Manufacturing Centre of Excellence will provide future engineers and Saudi industrial enterprises with the latest tools to design products, a statement said.
“The Kingdom faces new challenges and opportunities in its drive to diversify the economy into non-oil based industrial manufacturing,” a statement said. “Future Engineers will require knowledge and practical experience in the latest technologies available in order to enter the workforce fully equipped to play an important role in industrial growth. In this respect, KFUPM is providing its graduates with comprehensive skill sets and the relevant education.”
The centre is equipped with the latest CAD/CAM/CAE and PLM (product lifecycle management) technology from PTC, a leading supplier of product development software.
Additionally the KFUPM centre has reverse engineering and quality control software and hardware, rapid prototyping, (for form, fit and function testing of parts prior to manufacturing), metal flow simulation software, and computational fluid dynamics (CFD).
 The university has chosen Infocad SA as the source of the selected technologies which will be supplied through its Eastern Province partner Abdulla Fouad Holdings.
 Infocad will provide a range of technologies to cover design through to manufacture. These companies have provided technology transfer, implementation, training and local support to facilitate the successful establishment of this Centre.
The new KFUPM facility will not only be utilised to teach the latest product development technologies within the curriculum but will also be instrumental in providing the capabilities to participate in collaborative R & D projects with national or international partners, the statement said.
 “New educational-industry alliances will be possible. A pool of engineering knowledge will thereby be created in Saudi Arabia to encourage innovation and nurture global engineers of the future. 
“With the rise of industrial cities and the government making ambitious plans to bring growth in the engineering manufacturing industry, KFUPM, will be assisting the efforts by training engineers with the essential technologies.”