Promoting excellence in sustainable innovation

The transition towards a green economy relies on bringing together technological solutions with entrepreneurial drive for applying innovation at scale. However, this can also be a battle for hearts and minds, requiring mentorship and education that foregrounds sustainability while developing the next generation of environmentally engaged graduates. Similarly, engaging industry partners in this journey is vital, and that takes engagement and outreach.

Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University (PSAU) in Saudi Arabia is implementing strategic initiatives to do just that. In addition to aligning its curricula with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), partnerships with industry are leveraged to accelerate research impact and graduate employability. It put this work on display during its 2025 PSAU-Industry SDG Exhibition, an event that invited public and private sector partners to its Al-Kharj campus to showcase projects related to sustainability and how students are active participants in this work.

Abdullah M. Elias, professor and director of PSAU’s Rankings, Strategy and Institutional Advancement Department, says that what started as an exhibition turned out to be a catalyst for new research projects and a networking opportunity for students. “We had around a dozen of the top industries in the region come on campus and it became so many things in one,” says Elias. “While the themes were around sustainability and industry partnerships, we had student project exhibitions. Those from industry were able to identify projects of interest and are now in the process of funding some of those projects, so we attracted research funding.” Elias adds that the exhibition took on the atmosphere of a jobs fair as industry partners were also keen to identify potential candidates they could recruit.

Above all, the SDG exhibition was a call to action, launched to inspire PSAU students and encourage the local community to get more involved with sustainable development. Hosted at the College of Engineering, the 2025 exhibition focused on sustainability in building materials. However, the event highlighted the breadth and scope of PSAU’s 2030 SDG Roadmap.

The event featured seminars to discuss issues around sustainability and explore how higher education can work with industry to shape the world around us. Students presented their engineering projects in competition and were judged on categories such as innovation, environmental impact and potential for practical application. Ali Aldrees, associate professor and dean of PSAU’s College of Engineering, says it was a chance for students to learn how to market their ideas to an audience of industry professionals.

Getting students to work directly on real-world sustainability issues is a central plank of PSAU’s SDG strategy. Sultan Almuaythir, associate professor at the College of Engineering at PSAU, says incentivising students to compete in events such as hackathons is an effective way of encouraging participation, as they bring out students’ competitive spirit. “In February 2025, we had a small hackathon to help students engage with industry, bring their ideas and make a presentation,” says Almuaythir. “It is a very good approach to get students involved.”

PSAU plans to expand the SDG exhibition in 2026 by inviting all universities in Saudi Arabia to take part. It will focus on bridge design using sustainable materials. He hopes that future events will welcome universities from across the world to Al-Kharj.

One of the key successes of the 2025 exhibition was engagement with industry partners. The event highlighted the students’ innovative projects, which were well-received by the industry partners. Several formal agreements for collaboration were signed with industry partners through the event. 

Almuaythir says companies that originally came to PSAU asking how to reduce waste would learn that sustainability is not just about reducing waste and that there are ways to turn waste into a useful product with commercial value. “Some industries have problems with waste materials,” he says. “We try to give them solutions on how we can mitigate their environmental problems. We would like to break the barrier between academia and industry.”

Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 initiative to modernise the nation’s economy and promote sustainability is creating a unique opportunity for PSAU’s leadership to collaborate with industry. The remarkable intellectual input from its student body is an incentive for PSAU to intensify its focus on sustainability. 

“The students just need encouragement. Just show them the way and the new generation will surprise you,” says Aldrees. At the 2025 Shell Eco-marathon, PSAU students designed a car that can run for 300km on one litre of fuel. In 2026, students are planning to debut a prototype car that will run on hydrogen. Another project will use AI to encourage safe and fuel-efficient driving. 

These students are the engineers in training who will be in charge of designing tomorrow’s world. But they are also picking up marketing and communication skills at PSAU and developing the multidisciplinary green skills that are needed to apply their innovations in the real world – and their passion for sustainability is infectious. “Fortunately, many students are excited about SDGs and sustainability,” Almuaythir says. “I am proud to see the impact.”

Find out more about Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University.

Find out more about the PSAU Global South Partnership.