Saudi students secure 27 awards at ISEF 2024 in US
Saudi students secure 27 awards at ISEF 2024 in US/node/2512161/saudi-arabia
Saudi students secure 27 awards at ISEF 2024 in US
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The Saudi Science and Engineering team won two second-place prizes, six third-place prizes and 10 fourth-place prizes. (SPA)
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The Saudi Science and Engineering team won two second-place prizes, six third-place prizes and 10 fourth-place prizes. (SPA)
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For the 18th year in a row, students from Saudi Arabia participating in the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair have won nine special awards. (SPA)
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For the 18th year in a row, students from Saudi Arabia participating in the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair have won nine special awards. (SPA)
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For the 18th year in a row, students from Saudi Arabia participating in the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair have won nine special awards. (SPA)
Saudi students secure 27 awards at ISEF 2024 in US
The team outperformed more than 1,700 students from over 70 countries in the ISEF 2024 event
The Saudi Science and Engineering team now holds 160 prizes
Updated 18 May 2024
Arab News
WASHINGTON: The Saudi team bagged 27 awards – including 18 major and nine special prizes - at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair, state news agency SPA reported on Saturday.
The science and engineering team outperformed more than 1,700 students from over 70 countries in the ISEF 2024 event, which was held from May 10 to May 17 in Los Angeles, US.
In the major awards, the Saudi team won two second-place prizes, six third-place prizes and 10 fourth-place prizes.
Second place winners were Hamad Al-Husseini in energy, and Abeer Al-Yousef in chemistry.
Third place was rewarded to Elias Khan in biomedical and health sciences; Suleiman Al-Masned and Latifa Al-Ghanam in energy; Turki Al-Dalami in environmental engineering; Tahani Ahmed in materials science; and Laila Zawawi in translational medical sciences.
Fourth place winners were: Nasser Al-Sowayan in biomedical engineering; Lana Al-Mazroui in cellular and molecular Biology; Yara Al-Qadi and Yara Al-Bakri in earth and environmental sciences; Shouq Al-Mutlaq in energy; Asma Al-Qusair in environmental engineering; Arij Al-Qarni and Lana Al-Fahid in materials science; and Layan Al-Malki and Tamara Radi in plant sciences.
Amal bint Abdullah Al-Hazzaa, secretary-general of King Abdulaziz and His Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity, or Mawhiba, said the victory reflects joint efforts and commitment to achieving the goals of the Saudi Vision 2030, in nurturing the human capital to build a vibrant society and thriving economy.
She noted that the success was the outcome of a strategic collaboration between Mawhiba and the Ministry of Education, and the capabilities that the national system provides to empower students and boost their presence in international forums.
The Saudi Science and Engineering team now holds 160 prizes from the special awards, including 110 major and 50 special prizes, from their participation in the ISEF.
Regeneron ISEF 2024, the world’s largest pre-college STEM competition, took place from May 11-17 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
The ISEF is an annual science fair in the US. It is owned and administered by the Society for Science, a 501 non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C.
How Saudi Arabia is embracing AI to drive healthier lifestyles in line with Vision 2030
From smart hospitals to intelligent PE planning, the Kingdom is harnessing tech to improve public health outcomes
King Faisal Specialist Hospital uses AI to streamline patient care and educate families on managing long-term health conditions
Updated 22 May 2025
Haifa Alshammari
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is leveraging artificial intelligence to build a healthier, more active population — a central objective of Vision 2030, which commits to raising the quality of life for all citizens through physical wellbeing.
AI is playing a pivotal role in this national transformation, with its applications extending across the healthcare sector, educational institutions and even mobile fitness apps that support healthier daily habits.
AI applications now plays a significant role in healthcare, education and even mobile fitness apps that support healthier daily habits. (Getty Images)
One leader in this field is the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, which uses AI to streamline patient care, support post-treatment recovery and empower families through personalized health education.
“Today, we live in a golden digital innovation ecosystem in the Kingdom,” Dr. Ahmad AbuSalah, director of the Center for Healthcare Intelligence at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, told Arab News.
“It is a golden time for entrepreneurs, for innovators, for organizations and for researchers. In the hospital, we have a digital transformation journey that we take really seriously.”
Early this year, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre in Riyadh announced that it has successfully performed a robotic-assisted implantation of an artificial heart pump (HeartMate 3) developed by Abbott. (Photo courtesy of KFSHRC)
Driven by the healthcare transformation program of Vision 2030, the hospital’s strategy focuses on lowering costs, expanding access to care and delivering outstanding services — all supported by AI.
However, Dr. AbuSalah said that adoption of these new technologies must be strategic and sustainable if they are to have the desired effect on patient outcomes and medical practice.
“Some organizations build AI models, keep it for a couple of years, and then shut it down. Why? Because it wasn’t bringing value,” he said.
One of the most impactful uses of AI at King Faisal Specialist Hospital is operation intelligence, which helps to guide the patient journey from admission to discharge. The system uses predictive analytics to inform patients about their health and encourage targeted lifestyle changes.
“We built a system that will proactively predict a patient’s experience three days before their appointment for the cancer treatment unit,” Dr. AbuSalah said.
This helps doctors anticipate outcomes, manage expectations and intervene early where needed.
Dr. Ahmad AbuSalah, director of the Center for Healthcare Intelligence at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center in Riyadh. (Supplied)
The hospital’s AI tools also alleviate administrative burden on medical staff — a major cause of burnout. “If we remove the noise around the doctor, the care quality will be enhanced by itself,” Dr. AbuSalah said.
“You always hear the term ‘physician burnout’ because they are spending a lot of time on non-clinical tasks, on documentation, submitting orders here and there, generating reports. How can they focus on patients?”
By automating those tasks, AI frees up time for direct patient care, improving both staff wellbeing and service quality.
Outside the hospital setting, the same technology is helping Saudis to make better everyday health choices. AI-enabled apps now track sleep, diet and exercise, offering personalized insights to encourage small, achievable steps — such as walking or cycling.
In fact, walking and cycling are now the most popular forms of physical activity among Saudi adults, according to a 2024 General Authority for Statistics report.
DID YOU KNOW?
• Predictive AI can forecast patient experiences before appointments, enabling more personalized treatment.
• AI-powered apps help users to track their sleep, diet and activity for smarter, healthier daily habits.
• Schools are using AI to plan tailored PE lessons, making physical activity more engaging for students.
However, the report also noted a gender gap, with 23.2 percent of men being physically active compared to just 14 percent of women.
AI could help to close that gap, offering flexible, accessible ways for women to engage in exercise from home or within their communities.
Meanwhile, in schools across the Kingdom, AI is transforming physical education by helping teachers to tailor activities to individual students’ needs. This has made PE more engaging and inclusive — and part of a broader campaign to instill lifelong habits of fitness.
Last year, the Saudi Ministry of Education added rugby as an elective sport in its physical education curriculum, as part of an effort to promote the importance of having a healthy lifestyle among children. (AFP photo)
In a landmark move last year, the Ministry of Education introduced rugby as an elective sport — an initiative that underscores the growing importance of physical activity in the national curriculum.
But technology alone is not enough. To ensure lasting impact, experts say that the Kingdom must continue investing in infrastructure, educator training and custom tools that align with Saudi culture and goals.
Through such initiatives, Saudi Arabia is turning AI into more than just a technological leap — it is becoming a public health revolution, helping the nation move, live and feel better every day.
BRUSSELS: Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, adviser at the Royal Court and supervisor general of the Saudi aid agency KSrelief, recently conducted high-level discussions with UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell during the European Humanitarian Forum in Brussels.
The meeting, which included Saudi EU Ambassador Haifa Al-Jedea, focused on joint humanitarian and relief initiatives designed to enhance child welfare programs across global crisis zones.
Russell praised the ongoing partnership between UNICEF and KSrelief, highlighting how their collaboration has successfully delivered aid to millions of vulnerable children worldwide. She described the relationship as “an outstanding example of international humanitarian cooperation dedicated to serving children globally.”
Madinah university launches ‘Legacy and Impact’ project
Updated 22 May 2025
Arab News
MADINAH: The Islamic University of Madinah has launched the “Irth Wa Athar” (Legacy and Impact) project, which aims to document its graduates’ educational impact and rectify data digitization.
The university said the initiative included documenting and rectifying graduates’ certificates from 1961-97 and collecting the data of 173,000 international scholarships offered by the university to its graduates from 179 countries since its establishment in 1961.
The international scholarships include more than 41,000 awarded to students in the fields of religious sciences, in addition to over 15,000 granted for studies in the principles and skills of Islamic preaching.
Some 27,000 scholarships were granted to students of Arabic language education, while 24,000 were offered for training specialists in other scientific fields.
RIYADH: The National Developmental Housing Corporation, or Sakan, has won the Qassim Award for Excellence and Creativity in the National Excellence Branch in its fifth session.
Yazeed Al-Rasheed, vice president for shared services at Sakan, received the award on behalf of the organization. He expressed his gratitude to officials for their support and recognition of national initiatives, saying that this was an incentive to continue efforts in cooperation with all parties.
Abdulaziz Al-Karidis, secretary-general of Sakan, thanked the Qassim governor for his support for Sakan’s initiatives and for following up and encouraging activities that achieved the foundation’s goals. Receiving the award would inspire the foundation to further enhance its performance and reinforce its core values, he said.
The win marks a milestone in the foundation’s journey and its commitment to excellence and innovation. The foundation continues to strive toward creating a positive and sustainable impact in the developmental housing sector by offering the best solutions and practices.
Black mulberry and damask rose seedlings distributed to farmers in Baha
Updated 22 May 2025
Arab News
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s National Research and Development Center for Sustainable Agriculture — known as Estidamah — has distributed over 20,000 black mulberry and damask rose seedlings to farmers in Al-Baha.
The initiative, carried out through the center’s tissue culture laboratory, is part of efforts to support farmers and transfer modern agricultural techniques to areas with comparative advantages. It continues Estidamah’s contribution to a former agricultural project which saw 52,000 black mulberry, damask rose and strawberry seedlings distributed across the area.
The aim is to introduce new types of seedlings, increase production efficiency and achieve a qualitative leap in the region’s agricultural landscape.
It reflects the center’s keenness to support sustainable agricultural development by spreading highly economically viable plant varieties, which are propagated using tissue culture techniques to ensure quality, genetic purity and suitability to the targeted climatic and environmental conditions.
The center continues to implement several programs that aid farmers by providing research and technical solutions based on sustainable agricultural practices, achieving optimal efficiency in using resources and maximizing production value, in line with National Agriculture Strategy objectives.