The potential for launching a postgraduate course on sustainable energy in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The pressures of a growing global population, compounded by environmental degradation, escalating energy use and the depletion of natural energy resources, have led to sustainable energy (SE) holding a prominent position on the international agenda. In spite of the widespread recognition of the important role of SE education in securing a sustainable future, it has not yet received much attention within oil-rich countries such as Saudi Arabia. A single-sex private college in Saudi Arabia – referred to here as ‘Al-Ola College’ – has been selected as a case study for this study. As part of this work, a survey has been distributed to all of the female students of Al-Ola College in order to examine their potential acceptance of such a proposed course dedicated to SE. Moreover, several in-depth interviews have been conducted with senior staff of the Al-Ola College and with the potential employers of SE graduates. Issues that have been investigated herewith go beyond the likelihood of acceptance of the new course, and include a detailed examination of the potential benefits and challenges that might be encountered when incorporating the subject of SE into Saudi higher education curricula, in addition to the employment prospects for female students specialising in SE in Saudi Arabia. The primary conclusion was that the launch of a postgraduate course on SE for Saudi females might not be viable at present. This conclusion emerges from the identification of a wide range of barriers including insufficient government support for the SE agenda, a lack of sustainability awareness, a strong social resistance to accepting this field of study and lack of work opportunities for females in the highly conservative Saudi society. As a result of this empirical research, a set of practical ‘enablers’ has been proposed in order to change the status quo with regard to the poor prospects for SE education in Saudi Arabia.