Saudi Arabia has launched a National Olympiad for Programming and Artificial Intelligence for middle and high school pupils.
The aim of the initiative is to encourage competition among pupils in computer science, preparing the next generation of innovators and coders, as the world embraces AI.
An estimated 300,000 pupils will be selected from three million participants in Saudi Arabia for training in programming and AI.
The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, and King Abdulaziz and His Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity (Mawhiba), announced the initiative that is open to all pupils in the kingdom.
The SDAIA said the objective of the competition is to help discover distinguished pupils who will analyse and process algorithmic programming problems.
“It will encourage school students to develop computational thinking and algorithm AI-based design and presenting it as a core skill for learning in the 21st century,” it said.
audi Arabia is investing heavily in AI, and in May, Deloitte’s AI Institute was officially launched at the Experience Analytics conference in Riyadh.
“The Deloitte AI Institute is a significant milestone in our journey to drive the progress of businesses and public sector organisations in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East through emerging technology applications,” said Yousef Barkawie, Deloitte’s Middle East AI and