Staff were full of praise for the university.

"One of the motivations (to come here) was that ... anything that I would dream of is here," said India's Kultaransingh Hooghan, a computer researcher who just relocated to Thuwal.

"There is no barrier in science," said Canada's Jasmeen Merzaban, an assistant professor of biochemistry. "Whether you are a woman or a man, working side by side you don't look at the gender at all. It's all based on science."

KAUST is run by the state oil company Aramco, which has a similar liberal enclave at its headquarters in Dhahran on the Gulf coast. It is outside the control of the education ministry.

Columnist Abdullah al-Alami, who worked at Aramco, said more Saudis must enrol to make KAUST a success.

"Fifteen percent is a small start, but remember that when Aramco was established the percentage of Saudis was less than 5 percent. Today, Saudi employees make up more than 90 percent of the Aramco population," he said.

Analysts and diplomats say it is the state education system that Saudi Arabia needs to reform.

"KAUST is impressive but starts at the wrong end. Instead of pumping billions into universities you need to reform primary schools focusing on religion," said another Western diplomat.