RCU Partners with FERRANDI Paris to Launch Culinary and Hospitality Campus in AlUla

• FERRANDI Paris Campus AlUla will provide high-quality programmes to equip members of the AlUla community and wider Saudi communities with the skills needed to enter an expanding jobs market across the Kingdom

• Inaugural intake of 100 students will enrol in culinary arts, hospitality, or tourism diploma degrees that follow the FERRANDI Paris syllabus operated by the KSA-based Colleges of Excellence Company

AlUla, Saudi Arabia, [XX 2024]: A pioneering new educational and vocational training college will provide members of the AlUla community and students from further afield with the skills, knowledge, and know-how they need to forge exciting new careers in AlUla and across the Kingdom’s rapidly developing jobs ecosystem.

Announced during the 8th edition of the Future Investment Initiative (FII) in Riyadh, the upcoming FERRANDI Paris Campus AlUla is the result of an expansive, multi-year partnership between the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) and the historic French culinary arts institution, FERRANDI Paris. The college will provide extensive training in exciting fields to serve AlUla and Saudi Arabia’s growth as a global destination for tourism, investment, and discovery.

The college is set to welcome its first intake of 100 students in 2025. The FERRANDI Paris Campus AlUla will offer diploma degree in culinary arts, hospitality, and tourism – specialist subjects that will cater to RCU’s comprehensive regeneration goals and equip residents with key skills. Programmes include a preparatory year, followed by two years focused on specialisation.

This initiative reflects RCU's broader commitment to investing in education at all levels, upskilling Saudi men and women in sectors including tourism, film, archaeology, and hospitality.

Culinary arts students can expect to learn the traditions, processes, and techniques of preparing and serving classic French cuisine and more. Hospitality and tourism classes will cover the full range of roles and services required to meet the needs of growing numbers of visitors to AlUla and destinations around Saudi Arabia.

The FERRANDI Paris Campus AlUla is aligned with the goals of Vision 2030 and RCU’s successful community upskilling projects such as the Hammayah Programme, which has engaged thousands of people from AlUla in cultural, heritage, and tourism initiatives. Meanwhile, initiatives like the AlUla Scholarship Programme continue to enrol Saudi students at leading international universities.

Establishing the new FERRANDI Paris Campus AlUla supports the deep-rooted relationship between Saudi and French entities, supported by AFALULA’s mission to drive forward with the development of AlUla as an international hub for the sharing of new skills and knowledge exchange. As well as local partners such as Colleges of Excellence Company to operate FERRANDI Paris Campus AlUla.

FERRANDI Paris boasts more than a century of experience providing the highest levels of training to hospitality professionals, which means the new FERRANDI Paris Campus AlUla will be a dynamic addition to AlUla’s education ecosystem and RCU’s network of global partners.

AlUla’s comprehensive regeneration is fuelling transformative growth, establishing it as a thriving, year-round international destination. This development is delivering a wealth of opportunities for an expanding ecosystem of industries, businesses, partners, and investors.