Introduction:

In alignment with the strategic goals of King Saud University, which aim to achieve global leadership in scientific research, and based on the commitment of The Vice Rectorate for Graduate Studies and Scientific Research, represented by the Deanship of Scientific Research, to encourage promising research talents to contribute to studying national issues and challenges in health, scientific, technological, and social fields, and to provide innovative solutions through systematic scientific research, the Deanship is pleased to announce the launch of the "Waed" Program. This program aims to encourage promising new faculty members by providing financial support to create an enabling environment for them to begin their research and innovation journey. The program seeks to enhance the experience of new researchers by providing financial and administrative support to attend workshops and training sessions, enabling them to present their research findings at scientific conferences and build scientific networks with international talents, in addition to strengthening the relationship between new researchers and their colleagues with distinguished research expertise at King Saud University.

Through the Waed Program, the Deanship aims to support several research projects for new faculty members, encouraging them to write research proposals, manage research projects, and work in teams, which will help develop their skills and increase their chances of winning national and international grants. The experience of promising talents within the Waed Program is expected to contribute to the preparation of peer-reviewed scientific papers that address national issues.

Program Objectives:

• Develop the research skills of new faculty members at the university.
• Equip laboratories and contribute to establishing a strong infrastructure.
• Promote the culture of scientific research through specialized and high-quality workshops and training courses.
• Provide an attractive research environment for faculty members joining the program.
• Provide international experience for faculty members through external participation.
• Offer faculty members the opportunity to publish distinguished scientific papers in journals indexed in the Web of Science database.

Program Outputs:

• The program is aimed for faculty members at the rank of Assistant Professor who have been appointed for less than two years, and those who have been appointed for more than two years may be accepted based on availability.
• Human resources capable of conducting scientific research.
• Scientific publications in journals indexed in the Web of Science database.

Program Conditions:

• The program is intended for faculty members at the rank of Assistant Professor who have been appointed for less than two years, and those who have been appointed for more than two years may be accepted based on availability.
• Participation of a qualified expert researcher from King Saud University at the rank of Professor or Associate Professor and specializing in the same field as the researcher in the program.
• Approval of the submitted research proposal by the program.

Mechanism and Implementation Steps:

1. The lead researcher must attend at least two workshops in the first year of the program, organized by the university or accredited entities related to the applicant's specialization.
2. The researcher submits a list of the research equipment needed according to the project’s requirements.
3. The researcher attends an advanced statistics course or participates in an approved international conference.
4. The researcher publishes a scientific paper in a journal indexed in the SCIE or SSCI databases within the Web of Science (ISI) with an impact factor; papers published in the last 10% of journals in the field are not supported.
5. The researcher is encouraged to publish an additional research paper under the same conditions, with financial support provided.
6. The lead researcher submits a report on the workshops, training courses, and scientific conferences attended.

Program Duration:

• The program duration is 18 months from the date of signing the contract.

Note:

•     Research proposal form : https://ksu.sa/HcDrj
•     Registration link: https://forms.office.com/r/HxPi0eZTdN
•     (Frequently Asked Questions.pdf)