Aramco has made a financial donation to the Colorado School of Mines to support its Entrepreneurship and Innovation Ecosystem. The gift is aimed at enhancing the Aramco xWorks Innovation Space on the Mines campus in Golden.
The Aramco xWorks Innovation Space, along with the adjacent Labriola Innovation Hub, represents a significant resource for making and team-based innovation at Mines, featuring one of the largest makerspaces in the United States. The facility includes 12 large-scale building bays for student senior design projects and competitions, along with a state-of-the-art Engines & Testing Lab focused on traditional and alternative engines research.
The dedication ceremony for the building took place on Oct. 10, attended by university officials, Aramco representatives and Aramco-sponsored students. “Having the facilities and the environment for impactful, collaborative hands-on education is a powerful combination,” said Faisal Al-Hajji, senior VP of human resources at Aramco. “This gift aligns with our commitment to academic excellence, developing people and technology, and supporting innovative research.”
This contribution builds on a 40-year relationship between Aramco, the national oil company of Saudi Arabia, and Mines. Since the early 1980s, Aramco has sponsored hundreds of Saudi Arabian students to pursue engineering degrees at the university. Currently, around 80 Aramco-sponsored students are enrolled at Mines, primarily in the Petroleum Engineering Department.
Aramco has supported research at Mines since 2004 and continues to engage with the university in various educational initiatives. “Mines is honored to receive this capital gift from Aramco,” said Mines President Paul C. Johnson. “The Aramco xWorks Innovation Space will enable our students to pursue larger and more complex projects and innovations at a level that other schools can only dream of.”
