King Abdulaziz University (KAU)

King Abdulaziz University (KAU)  is a public university in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It was established in 1967 as a private university, by a group of businessmen led by Muhammad Abu Bakr Bakhashab and including writer Hamza Bogary. In 1974, King Abdulaziz University was converted to a public university by a decision of the Council Ministers of Saudi Arabia under then-King Faisal's orders. In 2021, it is ranked the #1 Arab university by Times Higher Education. King Abdulaziz University has been placed in the top 200 universities in the world by four major ranking tables

Private university

In the year 1964, the idea of establishing a private university in the city of Jeddah was originally put forward by Mohammed Ali Hafiz. In the same year, a preparatory committee of 6 members was formed, including Mohamed Ali Hafiz and Muhammad Abu Bakr Bakhashab. Shortly after, then-Crown Prince Faisal officially approved the idea. In 1965, the university's executive committee was formed. In 1966, the KAU held a competition to design their logo. The winning design was submitted by Adbul-Halim Radwi, a local artist from Jeddah..

Public university (1974-Present)

In 1974, the Council of Ministers of Saudi Arabia decided to merge the university with the government; converting it to a public university. This major decision spurred the impressive transformation to where the university stands today. King Abdulaziz University has further witnessed tremendous quantitative and qualitative progress in terms of enrollment and diversity of academic programs. It is now recognized as a world-class university due to its international outreach and collaboration in research, innovation, accreditations and rankings. It does this while continuing to maintain its traditional commitment to delivering outstanding education and community service. As of 2017, it had almost 31,000 students, of which 28% are international, and is considered to be one of the best universities in the Arab world.