A multi-billion dollar university has opened in Saudi Arabia in an attempt to enable the country to compete in science and technology internationally. The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology near Jeddah boasts one of the world's fastest supercomputers. Saudi authorities hope the mixed-sex centre it will help modernise the kingdom's deeply conservative society. The religious police will not operate on-site. Women will be allowed to mix freely with men and drive on campus.
Saudi Arabia has never had any problem in paying foreigners enough to bring them into the country. But they almost all live in a different dimension from Saudi citizens - much of the time they might as well be on another planet for all the involvement they have in Saudi life. The aim is for things to be different with this university. The Saudi elite behind it hope it will become an organic part of their society, acting as a beacon of academic excellence in an educational landscape still dominated by religious and rote learning.
It is also a symbol of the division in Saudi Arabia between modernisers and traditionalists - a fundamental problem that has often been patched over with lashings of cash but never as yet successfully resolved. Women will also not be required to wear veils in the coeducational classes. Similar efforts at promoting modern institutions have had mixed success in the past. Some Saudis are concerned the university will become an international bubble which will operate in another dimension to the rest of the country.
The university has drawn scientists and students from more than 60 countries. About 15% of the incoming students are female, all of whom have studied at universities outside the kingdom. It is alleged there are some limits on men and women socialising, with reports that male students are banned from entering women's residences.
Security is expected to be high for the opening ceremony, a day after al-Qaeda's Yemen branch issued a new threat against Saudi Arabia.