Prince Sultan University and US digital solutions company VMware have signed a memorandum of understanding to launch an innovation center equipped with VMware software and resources to give students, researchers, and businesses hands-on experience with transformative digital solutions for app modernization, cloud, networking, security, and digital workspace.
The MoU was signed under the patronage of Abdullah Al-Swaha, minister of communications and information technology, Saudi Arabia.
The innovation center, which is expected to start operating in the first half of the year, will help foster a culture of learning and build real-world information and communications technology skills, while providing a valuable resource to research projects underway at PSU by expanding access to VMware’s solutions.
The center will also be used to demonstrate the benefits of VMware’s solutions to local customers and partners, with the aim of helping accelerate digital transformation among the local business community.
Dr. Ahmed Yamani, president of PSU, said: “The innovation center is intended to spur innovation, research, and learning at the university, and among local businesses and partners that are interested in embracing a cloud-first approach. By helping a diverse range of people and organizations gain experience with VMware’s solutions, the innovation center will play an important role in furthering Saudi Arabia’s digitization agenda in line with Vision 2030.”
The innovation center will be equipped with the full range of VMware’s solutions and will showcase disruptive technologies such as edge computing, artificial intelligence, blockchain, machine learning and Kubernetes.
Saif Mashat, country director, Saudi Arabia, VMware, said: “We’re proud to collaborate with Prince Sultan University for the innovation center. VMware is committed to education and knowledge transfer, and I believe that this initiative will help give young people, researchers, and businesses the knowledge they need to innovate and develop their digital transformation plans.”
VMware is dedicated to empowering educators in Saudi Arabia. In June 2021, PSU and VMware started discussions to build a regional VMware IT Academy to support youth digital skills development in line with the aims of Saudi Vision 2030.
The VMware IT Academy works with a global network of educational institutions to provide students access to high-quality learning certification opportunities and hands-on lab experiences with VMware technologies. The company provides a free curriculum and materials, with the goal of helping students jump-start their software careers. In the past year, the VMware IT Academy partnered with more than 2,400 institutions in 93 countries, reaching over 48,000 students.
The US firm is helping to develop ICT education and skills as part of its VMware 2030 Agenda, a decade-long commitment to addressing critical challenges facing the global community.