Stanford is joining a team of universities working to build a major science and technology university along a marshy peninsula on Saudi Arabia's western coast.

The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) will be an international, graduate-level research university, sponsored by Saudi Arabia's reigning monarch. The university, intended to be a showcase for modernization, plans to open its doors to students in September 2009.

Tagged: computer science, Middle East, Saudi Arabia, International Issues, On Campus, Engineering