ATHKA makes history with a record number of 260,000 Saudi students enrolling in the competition

An extraordinary figure of 260,000 Saudi male and female students registered for the National Olympiad for Programming and Artificial Intelligence (ATHKA), creating history in the process. Over 10,000 middle and secondary schools in Saudi Arabia are represented by the students.

The record number of Saudis enrolling in ATHKA—which translates to "smarter"—indicates that they are becoming more knowledgeable about artificial intelligence and programming concepts. This successful interaction with ATHKA is further evidence of the fruitful efforts to support its Olympiad that the King Abdulaziz and His Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity (Mawhiba), the Ministry of Education, and the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) have made.

The Olympic Games are viewed as a national endeavour to develop a generation of programmers and artificial intelligence (AI) experts to fulfil the goals of the Kingdom's Vision 2030 for the development of human capacities. Saudi Arabia placed second internationally in April 2023 for societal knowledge of artificial intelligence (AI), mostly due to the high degree of awareness among Saudis about the uses of data technologies and AI.

The 6th edition of the Artificial Intelligence Index study, published by Stanford University in the United States, was the outcome of an opinion poll that showed a high percentage of Saudi residents' trust in interacting with AI goods and services in the Kingdom. In order to propel the Kingdom to the forefront of these two fields on a global scale, the SDAIA has committed since its founding in 2019 to work towards increasing awareness in the fields of DATA and AI, within the parameters of the support and direction it receives from Crown Prince, Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman, who also serves as the Chairman of the Authority's Board of Directors. It is notable that an event titled "The road to ATHKA" was organised with over 10,000 male and female students in attendance as part of the framework to encourage membership in the ATHKA Olympiad.

Another programme known as "Artificial Intelligence Hour" was also held. It is thought of as a training programme aimed at pupils on the principles of AI, benefitting 575,000 male and female students and involving 9,700 male and female teachers.

"ATHKA" is one of the national initiatives, programmes, and projects that SDAIA worked on to develop human capital in the field of data and artificial intelligence (AI). This requires developing young people's capabilities at an early age to reach highly qualified and globally competitive competence. "ATHKA" received exclusive sponsorship from the Saudi Technology and Security Comprehensive Control Co. Ltd. (Tahakom).