Last Update on: 09 November 2026

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1. Purpose
2. Scope
3. Definitions and Acronyms
4. Objectives
5. Annual Allocation
6. Eligibility Criteria
7. Grant Benefits
8. Application Procedure
9. Review and Evaluation
   
10. Visit Report
    
11. Acknowledgments
    
12. Implementation, Compliance, and Reporting
    
13. Compliance and Performance Indicators
    
14. Document Amendment Information
    

1. PURPOSE

The purpose of these guidelines is to support the administration of the International Summer Visiting Program (out-bound) for KFUPM faculty and researchers.

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2. SCOPE

1. These guidelines apply to the support of Outbound International Visiting Program giving opportunity of exposure to new experiences, ideas, and could initiate international academic and/or research collaboration.
2. These guidelines apply to all KFUPM Professorial-ranked faculty and equivalent researchers.

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3. DEFINITIONS AND ACRONYMS

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4. OBJECTIVES

1. The International Visiting Program supports interaction between KFUPM faculty members of professorial rank and research scientists and their counterparts at reputable academic institutions, research institutes, national laboratories, and industrial organizations.
2. The program aims to enable KFUPM faculty members and research scientists to conduct specialized experiments that cannot be performed at KFUPM, develop expertise in applied research, explore new ideas, and identify opportunities for international academic and research collaboration.

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5. ANNUAL ALLOCATION

1. The University will make the decision on number of grants (slots) allocated each year for the program.

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6. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

6.1 Applicant Eligibility

1. All KFUPM faculty members of professorial rank and research scientists are eligible to apply for outbound grants.
2. The program is competitive, and individuals will be chosen based on merit.
3. The program will give priority to first-time applicants who have not availed this opportunity in the past.
4. Applicants must have Evidence of academic and/or research collaboration with the host institute/Professor (i.e. Should have the evidence of completing high quality research projects in the area of proposed research)
5. The host faculty/collaborator should be in the rank of Professor/Director or equivalent rank with records of high impact publications and h-index ≥ 25
6. The university/institute should be well-known in terms of research and contribution. The host institution's/QS university's ranking must be considered.
7. Host university/institute should not be the same from where he/she has graduated.

6.2 Eligible Visits

1. The outbound proposed visit should be two months during the summer term.
2. The proposed visit should not overlap with reporting or final examination periods, nor with any summer assignments, conference attendance or ongoing externally funded research work.

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7. GRANT BENEFITS

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8. APPLICATION PROCEDURE

1. The Principal Investigator submits the Research Proposal in the format prescribed in the DR website .
   
2. Research Proposal needs to be submitted online using the link (Click Here). 
3. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that the proposed host institution (e.g. a university, institute, national lab or an industrial research and development center) is of high repute and is other than the applicant’s alma mater.
4. Before submitting a proposal, the applicant should communicate with the proposed host institution/professor and prepare a clear research plan.
5. In the proposal, the applicant should include a justification for the selection of the proposed host institution/professor and attach an official invitation letter from the host institution/professor.
6. If applicable, the applicant should provide a statement from the host institution/professor assuring that facilities required to conduct the proposed research are available and access to them will be provided.

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9. REVIEW AND EVALUATION

1. The criteria for evaluating proposals includes:
   • clarity and achievability of proposed objectives;
   • methodology;
   • significance of visit’s expected outcomes.
2. For affiliated faculty to IRC, Center Directors and DR review the proposals to ascertain that the above criteria and guidelines have been taken into consideration, and Center Directors will add their feedback and recommendations to the applications of affiliates with IRCs. For non-affiliates, their research proposal will be reviewed and evaluated by the DR after being evaluated by selected experts in the area of the proposed research.
3. Since the number of grants available under the program is limited (and will be decided each year according to the prevailing situation such as summer teaching and other summer assignments), the applications will be ranked and selected on the basis of highest ranked first.
4. DR shall discuss the proposals received and either:
   • Recommended for immediate approval, or
   • Not recommend for approval.

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10. VISIT REPORT

1. The visit should have clear outcomes such as:
   • publications in reputed journals with the host professor;
   • evidence of academic and/or research collaboration with the host institution/professor;
   • a joint research project with the host professor.
2. Upon completion of the visit, and within a maximum of six months from the start of the academic year, the recipient should:
   • submit a visit report;
   • present a public technical seminar on the research conducted to public at university and to affiliates in the IRC.
   • Submit journal/conference paper(s) (ISI/Scopus indexed), or patent on the same research.
3. Such outcomes should result from this specific visit and should not have been obtained prior to enrolling in the program.
4. for details about the report, requirements and guidelines, applicant may visit the DR website or use the template provided by the Center Director.

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11. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

1. Proper acknowledgment of KFUPM support in all publications/presentations and other outcomes resulting from the program is mandatory.
2. Publications or other outcomes with no acknowledgement would not be considered as program outcome(s).
3. Multiple acknowledgements will be treated as per announced policy (Examples of Typical cases and acknowledgements are available (here)).

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12. IMPLEMENTATION, COMPLIANCE, AND REPORTING

1. DR shall implement these guidelines.
2. DR shall monitor the International Visiting Program.
3. Non-compliance with any provision in these guidelines shall be reported to DR.

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13. COMPLIANCE AND PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

In monitoring and reviewing the implementation of these guidelines, the following compliance and performance indicators shall be used:

1. Number of outbound international visits completed each year;
2. Submission of visit reports within six months of the start of the academic year;
3. Presentation of seminar within six months of the start of the academic year;
4. Number of journal articles submitted (ISI/Scopus indexed) by recipients;
5. Number of conference papers submitted (ISI/Scopus indexed) by recipients;
6. 13.1.6. Number of patents submitted by recipients.

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14. DOCUMENT AMENDMENT INFORMATION

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