Research & Innovation

Overview of the Deanship of Scientific Research, Innovation, and Graduate Studies

The Deanship of Scientific Research, Innovation, and Graduate Studies (DSRIGS) at UPM serves to advance the university’s strategic mission and goals in applied research, innovation, and graduate studies. Guided by a vision to position the university as a leading regional institution in applied research, the Deanship plays a transformative role in addressing community-driven challenges with industry relevance, and academic excellence. Our multidisciplinary environment and research focus areas promote impactful and applied research, supporting the development of niche and market-oriented graduate programs, and empowers faculty and students to contribute to the national knowledge economy. Additionally, we encourage collaboration across different sectors to generate innovative solutions that serve societal needs and support national development priorities, including Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030.

Moreover, DSRIGS is committed to cultivating a culture of excellence, innovation, and academic integrity, providing robust support for researchers, facilitates access to diverse funding opportunities, and strengthens the infrastructure and operational ecosystem needed for evolving research and innovation. It also promotes sustainability-focused initiatives, student research engagement, and entrepreneurship through mentorship, technology transfer, and startup opportunities. Through strategic leadership, future-aligned initiatives, and community engagement, the DSRIGS aspires to elevate the university’s research profile, expand its regional and international partnerships, and prepare the next generation of scholars, innovators, and policymakers.

Acting Dean, Deanship of Scientific Research, Innovation, and Graduate Studies

Key Achievements

Awarded with an in-kind Research Grant from EON Reality for Developing Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR) and Metaverse for Applied Research & Academics.

Established the Research InitiativeS (RIS) Internal Research Grants Program with over 30 accepted and submitted proposals.

Collaboration and Partnerships with reputable national and international institutions.

Artificial Intelligence Development Projects include:

Developing Virtual Tours for Historic and Religious Sites using Augmented & Virtual Reality and Metaverse Technologies

Large Language Model (LLM) Chatbots for Automating Inquiry of Academic Policies & Procedures.

AR, VR and Metaverse Development for Academic Courses and Community Projects

University continuous commitment to support Research & Innovation growth & planning.

Establishment of the University Scientific Council.

Summary of Key Performance Indicators (KPI) Achievements (2020 – 2024):

19% increase in percentage of full-time faculty members who published at least one research during the year.

4.5% increase in rate of published research per faculty member.

83% increase in citations rate in refereed journals per faculty member.

3.5 times increase in number of innovations, patents and excellence awards.

6 times increase in proportion of the budget dedicated to research.

Over 100 times increase in proportion of external funding for research.

15 policies, procedures and manuals published and in development.

Awarded 25 research incentives.

Facilitated and nominated 9 research excellence awards (Dr. Hussein ElSayyed Award) in AY22-23 and AY23-24.

Launched a Digital Research & Innovation Web Portal for Updating and Automating Faculty Requests

Mission

The Deanship is dedicated to advancing multidisciplinary research and innovation, promoting technology transfer and entrepreneurship, and developing distinctive, market-aligned graduate programs. It fosters strategic partnerships to address societal challenges through research-driven community engagement, while contributing to the knowledge economy in support of national priorities.

Strategic Goals:

Advance applied & multidisciplinary research with strong societal outreach

Recruit, develop, and incentivize distinguished researchers

Enhance institutional reputation in Research, Innovation and Graduate Studies

Strengthen Research & Innovation infrastructure, environment and operational capacity

Foster an enabling environment for students & graduate-level research

Cultivate a Culture of Excellence, Innovation, and Academic Integrity

Promote sustainability-driven research & innovation initiatives

Strengthen entrepreneurship and technology transfer through mentorship, startup support and innovation commercialization

Centers & Labs

Dr. Hussein El-Sayyed Center for Scientific Research (HRC)

Virtualization and Intelligence Lab (VISI)

Smart Cities and Sustainability Lab (SCS)

Humanizing Cities

Civil & Construction Engineering Lab (CCE Lab)

Research Themes and Priorities

Research at UPM is focused across several research themes reflecting the interdisciplinary teams across the different colleges. The research themes are targeted to invest in new research fields with high potential and relevance; address challenges, society needs, and national priorities; and develop a more robust and diverse external research funding base.This forward-thinking approach makes UPM a promising destination for those seeking to study in Saudi Arabia. Most of the research at UPM falls under one or more of the following broad research themes:

Data Science and Cyber Security

Energy, Sustainability, & Built Environment

Industry Engagement & Innovation

Financial and Business Services & Technology

Science & Technology

Research priorities at UPM cover all its academic specializations aligned with the Vision2030 and National research priorities. From among those priorities, particular focus has been laid on AI, CyberSecurity, Smart Cities, AR/VR/Metaverse and Sustainability.