Welcome to AOU

It is an honour to be part of the Arab Open University (AOU) which was initiated by the late HRH Prince Talal bin Abdul Aziz in 1996 to be a unique educational and developmental project in terms of its goals and teaching methods.

The establishment of the AOU stems from the belief that every human being in the Arab world has the right and capability to contribute to the national development in his/her country. Before the inception of the AOU, many individuals, females and males, unfortunately, did not have an educational opportunity that would help them to contribute to their country’s development due to economic and social reasons, living in remote areas, time barriers, unavailability of time to study in traditional universities, etc.

All these factors led to the birth of the idea of AOU as a higher educational institution under the umbrella of a non-profit developmental program (AGFUND) with the aim of building capable individuals in the Arab societies, who are equipped with science, knowledge and applied practices.

In order to achieve AOU’s unique objectives, the University adopted an educational system, the first of its kind in the Arab world. It is the Open Learning system, which utilizes modern technologies and digital means of communication, and eliminates time and space barriers.

The AOU has succeeded in strengthening this learning system in the Arab world in partnership with the Open University in the UK which offers a wide range of accredited programmes locally and internationally. AOU’s graduates have proved their competence through gaining awards in local and regional competitions. The University is pleased to provide educational services with reasonable tuition to the students of the Arab world in nine Arab countries. AOU will continue to achieve educational excellence and progress in spreading across the Arab countries, promoting its goals and unique mission.

Thanks to the founder, and all of the contributors to shaping AOU’s journey, as well as the AOU successive presidents, and all academic and staff members.

We pray to Allah Almighty to assist us in serving the University.

Prof. Mohammad bin Ibrahim Zakari
President of the Arab Open University