National Olympiad for Programming and Artificial Intelligence (ATHKA) has set a record with over 260,000 Saudi male and female students from intermediate and secondary levels participating.
Representing over 10,000 schools in the Kingdom, this makes it the largest national Olympiad to reach such extensive participation. The surge in involvement indicates a significant rise in the Kingdom's youth awareness and interest in programming and AI technologies, SPA reported.
The substantial engagement with ATHKA highlights the successful collaboration between the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), the Ministry of Education, and the King Abdulaziz and His Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity (Mawhiba).
Together, they aim to bolster ATHKA as a national initiative nurturing a generation proficient in programming and AI, aligning with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030 for human capacity development.
In April 2023, the Kingdom secured the second position globally in societal awareness of AI. This achievement follows a survey demonstrating increased confidence among Saudi citizens in utilizing AI products and services.
The Artificial Intelligence Index's sixth edition report by Stanford University indicates a high level of trust among Saudi citizens in embracing AI within the Kingdom.
