Royal Commission for Riyadh City Signs Strategic Partnership with Spain's IE University to Launch Regional Leadership and Innovation Center in Creative District
Riyadh, July 17, 2025, SPA -- The Royal Commission for Riyadh City (RCRC) today announced the signing of a strategic partnership agreement with the prestigious IE University of Spain to launch the IE Center for Leadership, Development, and Innovation in the Middle East. This center will be hosted within Riyadh's Creative District, as part of the RCRC's efforts to transform Riyadh into a global destination for culture and creativity, in line with Saudi Vision 2030's objectives.
RCRC Board of Directors launched the Creative District initiative in February, with King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) hosting its first phase. This initiative contributes to supporting Saudi Arabia's creative economy by enhancing collaboration opportunities between local and international talents and companies, and by attracting global firms in three main sectors: media (including gaming, TV production and distribution, and music recording and distribution); culture (encompassing performing arts and visual arts); and media technologies (such as social media platforms, and software for media, advertising, and public relations technology).
The IE Center will serve as a collaborative hub, bringing together entrepreneurs, professional business leaders, and creatives to meet, learn, and exchange ideas. It will also foster knowledge exchange between Saudi Arabia, the broader Middle East region, and the global community.
The center's activities will revolve around three main components: IE Entrepreneurship Center: a platform dedicated to supporting and developing startups and entrepreneurs through training and mentorship; IE Leadership Center: designed to hone the skills of executives in the region through cutting-edge educational programs; and IE Design and Media Lab: a creative environment for ideation, experimentation, and exploring emerging trends, supported by IE's Metaverse and Gaming Experience Lab.
The signing ceremony was attended by Acting Vice President of the City Marketing and Investment Promotion Sector at the RCRC Eng. Mazen Ahmed Tammar, Mayor of Madrid José Luis Martinez-Almeida, and CEO of the IE Center for Leadership and Innovation in the Middle East. William Davila Valeri, representing IE University.
Tammar expressed RCRC's pride in this partnership with IE University, highlighting that its academic reputation and pioneering curricula in leadership, creativity, and technology represent significant added value. He noted that this collaboration will enhance the Kingdom's creative economy by empowering national competencies, connecting them with the global ecosystem, and localizing content creation, thereby achieving national development goals.
He added: "With the participation of institutions like IE, Riyadh's Creative District becomes a powerful engine for economic and social transformation, supporting the development of the next generation of Saudi executives and entrepreneurs in the creative and technology sectors."
Valeri expressed IE University's enthusiasm in collaborating with the Royal Commission for Riyadh City on what he described as an ambitious and forward-looking initiative. He affirmed that the center represents a pioneering platform for innovation in education across the region, offering multidisciplinary learning environments, advanced curricula, and world-class academic competencies, in addition to a strong network of international partners in both the academic and industrial sectors. He looked forward to the programs commencing in the last quarter of the current year and to the center becoming a contributing and active part of Saudi Arabia's creative ecosystem.
IE University, founded over fifty years ago in Madrid, Spain's capital, is one of the most prominent global educational institutions in management, leadership, and innovation. It comprises six specialized schools: Business, Law, Politics, Economics and International Affairs, Architecture and Design, Science and Technology, and Humanities. It boasts over 500 faculty members, hosts students from more than 160 countries, and its alumni network includes over 82,000 graduates across 185 countries.
-- SPA
