Aston University welcomes British Council delegation from Saudi Arabia

• British Council delegation from Saudi Arabia met with University leadership about its research centres in AI and Digital Futures
• The focus was on building partnerships and research collaborations between Aston and Saudi universities
• There were senior officials from Saudi Electronic, Imam, Um Al-Qura and Najran as well as Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University.

Aston University has welcomed the British Council to its campus in Birmingham to discuss its research in artificial intelligence (AI) and digital futures.

The visit also focused on building partnerships and research collaborations between Aston and Saudi universities, with senior officials from Saudi Electronic, Imam, Um Al-Qura and Najran as well as Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University in attendance.

The main event featured an expert panel with talks from Aston University’s Zi Yang, Paul Jones, Felipe Campelo, Hassan Aqeel Khan, Bogdan Adamyk, Muhammed Imran, Victor Chang and Donato Masi, discussing AI, big data and health.

This was followed by a networking event in Conference Aston, before delegates were taken on a tour of Aston University’s facilities including visits to the Aston Laboratory for Immersive Virtual Environments (ALIVE) research facility and the Robotic Lab.

The day concluded with a partnerships and collaborations discussion led by Dr Keith Schofield and the senior international team, with Digital Futures Institute director, Professor Abdul Sadka, joining the conversation.

Professor Aleks Subic, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of Aston University, said:

“I would like to thank the British Council and our Saudi Arabian guests for attending this important event.

“At Aston University, we are excited about working with our partners across this global network focused on technology innovation and in particular AI and data science. 

“We are establishing Aston University as a global innovation hub in the Midlands to access and share world experiences and best practices and facilitate intercultural awareness among our students and staff. 

“It is one of the key pillars of our 2030 strategy that defines Aston University as an inclusive, entrepreneurial and transformational university.”