Investing in human capital is one of the most principal components of building societies and the basis of sustainable development; it is a priority for all countries and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is no exception.
Capacity building is currently on an upsurge in view of the rapid development of AI technologies and relevant activities, which require a generation that can cope with this enormous development.
The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) launched the National Olympiad for Programming and Artificial Intelligence (ATHKA), in partnership with the Ministry of Education and the King Abdulaziz and his Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity (Mawhiba). It was sponsored by the Saudi Technology and Security Comprehensive Control Company (Tahakom).
ATHKA is one of the major national initiatives that SDAIA has worked on; it is effective in developing national capabilities in the field of data and AI, especially at an early age, enabling them to compete globally in this advance
d technical field, and help achieve the goals of Saudi Vision 2030.
ATHKA organizers devote their efforts to discovering intermediate and high school students, accounting for more than 3 million in the Kingdom, who distinguish themselves in technology. They encourage these students to develop problem-solving skills and build solutions using AI technologies.
SDAIA and its partners organized the Road to ATHKA event to encourage the Kingdom’s intermediate and high school students to register for the Olympiad and unleash their potential. The event was attended in Riyadh by more than 10,000 students of both genders.
The ‘Artificial Intelligence Hour’ initiative, a training program introducing students to the world of AI, was also organized; it reached an impressive 575,000 students with the support of 9,700 teachers.
After a long competition that lasted for several months, and which started with the registration of 260,000 students in the Olympiad, 298 students reached the final stage; 10, aged between 14 and
18, won the gold medal, and are representing the Kingdom in the Oxford Scholars Programme (OSP) organized by Oxford University in the United Kingdom currently.
The program will enable these students to develop their capabilities in the field of programming and AI in a stimulating environment that helps them develop their cognitive and mental abilities, gain education at this prestigious university, and interact with their counterparts from different countries.
They will also obtain a certificate accredited by the British Accreditation Council (BAC), which increases their opportunity to obtain an academic recommendation to join Oxford University.
Source: Saudi Press Agency
