About the Unit

The Unit is responsible for organizing and facilitating faculty and staff participation and attendance at internal and external conferences, seminars, and related events.

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Key Responsibilities

  • Facilitating procedures related to the attendance and participation of faculty and administrative staff in conferences, seminars, forums, and related events held abroad.
  • Developing and maintaining a database of faculty members' attendance and participation in internal and external conferences, seminars, forums, and related events.
  • Preparing periodic reports on the Unit's activities and achievements.

Carrying out any other duties assigned to the unit within its area of responsibility

Regulations Governing Participation in Conferences and Seminars

For Saudi Faculty Members:

  1. Faculty members must obtain approval from both the Department Council and the College Council to participate in conferences and seminars.
  2. A faculty member may be nominated to present a research paper at, or attend, external conferences or seminars no more than twice per academic year, with participation distributed across the two academic semesters and the summer vacation. The conference or seminar must have a distinguished academic reputation.
  3. A faculty member who has published an article, or received acceptance for publication, in an ISI-indexed journal during the year preceding the conference, with PNU listed as their institutional affiliation, may be granted a third opportunity for external participation, even without presenting a research paper.
  4. Participation in a conference, seminar, or related event must not interfere with the faculty member's assigned duties.
  5. A complete participation request must be submitted at least two months before the scheduled date of the conference or seminar.
  6. Faculty members may not participate in conferences or seminars during their scientific sabbatical year, unless the event is included in their approved sabbatical program and is directly related to it. For an external sabbatical, the event must be held in the country where the faculty member is undertaking the sabbatical and must be included in the approved itinerary. For an internal sabbatical, participation may be in any country, with a round-trip ticket provided.
  7. Faculty members may not participate in conferences or seminars if they have been assigned to another entity on secondment or loan, are serving as full-time consultants, have been delegated to another government or private entity, are undertaking a scientific assignment, or are on exceptional leave.
  8. Faculty members assigned administrative duties during the summer may not participate in conferences during the summer vacation. Participation is also not permitted during the first week of each academic semester or during final examination periods. The Department Council may recommend approval if it determines that participation is necessary.
  1. A faculty member may not present a research paper that has previously been presented at a conference, seminar, or similar event.
  2. The nominee must not be subject to disciplinary proceedings, have received a disciplinary decision from the University Administration, or have been subject to a decision by the Scientific Council concerning plagiarism or academic misconduct during the preceding year.
  3. No more than four faculty members or 5% of the faculty members in each department, whichever is greater, may participate in the same conference. If the number of applicants exceeds this limit, priority shall be given in the following order:
  • Priority is given to participation with a research paper.
  • Priority is given to oral presentations at the conference.
  • Priority is given to faculty members with fewer previous conference participations.
  • Priority is given to faculty members with the higher academic rank. In the event of equal academic rank, priority is given to the faculty member with the earlier appointment date.
  1. These regulations do not apply to annual and periodic visits and meetings attended by deans and equivalent officials who are invited by various entities in connection with their official responsibilities and duties assigned by the University Administration, provided that the University President approves such participation.


 The Regulations of participating in conferences and seminars for non-saudi

- A non-citizen facility member may participate in conferences, seminars and equivalents without any financial obligations.

- It is required that the contracted faculty member has spent at least one year working at Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University when applying to participate in the seminar or conference.

-The participation of a non-Saudi faculty member in conferences and seminars shall not exceed one participation per year.

-Priority for participation is given to a non-Saudi faculty member if they are able to publish in a classified publication or receive acceptance for classified publication (ISI) during their employment at Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University.

 

‏General Provisions

  • The Scientific Council has the authority to interpret these regulations in accordance with the University's operational requirements and best interests.
  • The Scientific Council shall evaluate the implementation of these regulations two years after their approval

 Requirements

  • The conference topic must be relevant to the faculty member's specialization or actual job responsibilities.
  • The faculty member must be proficient in the language of the conference.
  • One of the researchers involved in a co-authored research paper may participate in the conference, provided that approval from the other researchers is submitted.
  • The University's name must be included on all research papers and scientific posters submitted to conferences or scientific seminars, in accordance with the approved format.
  • The nominee may not withdraw from a conference or seminar for which they have been nominated unless they provide a valid justification accepted by the University Administration. If the justification is not accepted, the participation opportunity will be counted against their available opportunities.
  • The conference organizer must be a specialized and accredited scientific entity. 

Financial Entitlement Regulations

  • Faculty members are provided with travel tickets for a round trip from Riyadh to the city where the conference is held.
  • Upon completion of the assignment, registration fees and official assignment allowance are disbursed, provided that the following documents are submitted:
  • Assignment completion certificate.
  • Scientific mission report.
  • Conference attendance certificate.
  • Conference registration fee receipt.
  • The duration of the assignment shall correspond to the duration of the conference or seminar, in addition to one day for travel before and after local events, and two days for travel before and after international events.

Procedures for Participation in External Conferences


Amended Organizational Rules for Faculty Members' Attendance and Participation in Conferences, Seminars, and Related Events

 

1.    The applicant must complete the online form on the Ministry of Education's website for conferences and seminars. The relevant department and college must also activate online approval on the website, based on the approval of the relevant department and college councils for the request.

2.     The request is then submitted to the President of the University by the Vice Rector of Graduate Studies and Scientific Research to obtain her approval. Based on this, the Conferences and Seminars Department activates its approval on the Ministry of Education's conferences and seminars website to request approval from the relevant authorities in the Ministry of Education.

3.     After obtaining approval from the Ministry of Education, a boarding pass letter is issued to the member by the Vice Rector of Graduate Studies and Scientific Research to the Human Resources Department, accompanied by the official approvals.

4.      A letter is then sent from the Vice Rector of Graduate Studies and Scientific Research to the Human Resources Department to disburse a per diem allowance to the member after completing attendance or participation, at the university's expense, accompanied by the official supporting documents.