College initiative aims to raise the bar for prospective Saudi business leaders

Plans to launch the College for Business and Entrepreneurship at King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC), a flagship program aimed at raising the bar for prospective Saudi Arabian business leaders, were announced last week in Riyadh. 

The College for Business and Entrepreneurship, which will be patterned after Babson College’s entrepreneurial education initiative in the United States, is the brainchild of Babson subsidiary Babson Global, Lockheed Martin, the Saudi Arabia Economic Offset Program and KAEC.

With the intention of opening doors for the kingdom to become a leader in business education, the institution aims to nurture the region’s young entrepreneurs poised to become the “next generation” in an increasingly knowledge-based market.

"Helping to establish an educational institution that will support sustainable development and contribute to peace and stability in Saudi Arabia is important and exciting work," Babson President Kerry Healey said. "Babson is proud to assist Saudi Arabia and partner with Lockheed Martin on this tremendous opportunity to bring world-class entrepreneurship education to Saudi students and to help empower them to stimulate economic development and generate new sources of job growth in the kingdom."

Lockheed Martin has agreed to financially support the campus programs over the next decade. Its involvement will balance the scales as the company fulfills industrial responsibilities in the region. The college will accommodate as many as 1,400 students in a variety of classroom and virtual course programs, enhancing available Babson resources as well as stimulating the business community at large.

"We are committed to supporting the economic development of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia with an innovative program that will provide sustainable returns and benefits," Alan Chinoda, Lockheed Martin’s chief executive for Saudi Arabia, said. "Today's announcement is the culmination of four years of project planning and maturation, and Lockheed Martin is honored to be a partner with Babson in this exciting initiative."