Saudi students win 94 scientific awards in 2022: Report

In ISEF 2022, Saudi Arabia won 22 international awards in addition to 72 medals at competitions and Olympics. (SPA)
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In ISEF 2022, Saudi Arabia won 22 international awards in addition to 72 medals at competitions and Olympics. (SPA)
Saudi students win 94 scientific awards in 2022: Report
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In ISEF 2022, Saudi Arabia won 22 international awards in addition to 72 medals at competitions and Olympics. (SPA)
Saudi students win 94 scientific awards in 2022: Report
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In ISEF 2022, Saudi Arabia won 22 international awards in addition to 72 medals at competitions and Olympics. (SPA)
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Updated 22 January 2023

Saudi students win 94 scientific awards in 2022: Report

In ISEF 2022, Saudi Arabia won 22 international awards in addition to 72 medals at competitions and Olympics. (SPA)
  • In 2020, the Kingdom was represented in 13 events, winning 57 awards and medals, while in 2021 it took part in 14, scooping 56 accolades

RIYADH: The King Abdulaziz and His Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity, known as Mawhiba, has issued a report on the awards won by Saudi students at the international and regional Olympics in 2022 and the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair.

Saudi Arabia won 94 international scientific awards, including 72 medals at competitions and Olympics and 22 international awards during the national team’s participation at ISEF 2022, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Sunday.

The report described the Olympics and international and regional awards as high-level annual global competitions and among the top contests for students particularly in the areas of mathematics, physics, chemistry, information and communications technology, biology, and science.

It noted that most of the competitions — many of which had been running for more than 50 years — were held during the summer holiday and involved participants from at least 100 countries.

In 2020, the Kingdom was represented in 13 events, winning 57 awards and medals, while in 2021 it took part in 14, scooping 56 accolades.

Last year, the number of participations was 18, resulting in 72 awards, including eight gold medals, 22 silver, and 25 bronze.

The report highlighted the participation of a Saudi team in ISEF 2022, held in Atlanta, Georgia, that achieved 22 global awards with backing from Mawhiba, and the Ministry of Education.

 

 

 


Sri Lanka to send skilled workers to Saudi Arabia under new scheme

Sri Lanka to send skilled workers to Saudi Arabia under new scheme
Updated 21 March 2023

Sri Lanka to send skilled workers to Saudi Arabia under new scheme

Sri Lanka to send skilled workers to Saudi Arabia under new scheme
  • Skill Verification Program aims to improve professional competence of Saudi labor market
  • Agreement expected to give a boost to Sri Lanka’s manpower exports to Kingdom

COLOMBO: Saudi Arabia and Sri Lanka signed on Tuesday a new agreement on the employment of workers, opening up more opportunities in the Kingdom for professionals from the crisis-hit island nation. 

The Skill Verification Program aims to improve the professional competence of employees in the Saudi labor market, easing the recruitment process of skilled workers from Sri Lanka.  

The agreement, signed by Sri Lanka’s Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission and Saudi Arabia’s Takamol, which operates under the Kingdom’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, covers 23 professions, including electricians and auto mechanics. 

“This is good news to all Sri Lankans,” TVEC Director Dr. Lalithadheera K. Arachchige said during the signing ceremony in Colombo. “Their skills can be officially identified by the concerned Saudi authorities to provide them with suitable jobs.” 

The deal is expected to give a boost to Sri Lanka’s manpower exports to the Kingdom.

“Under Vision 2030 of the Kingdom, Saudi Arabia needs a variety of skilled workers who would fit into various projects,” Khalid Hamoud Nasser Al-Dasam, the Saudi ambassador in Colombo, told Arab News on the sidelines of the event. 

“This is going to be a major development in the annals of Saudi-Lanka bilateral relations.” 

Sri Lanka has been seeking foreign employment opportunities for its professionals as it is facing its worst financial crisis since gaining independence in 1948 and is in desperate need of foreign currency. Only on Monday, the International Monetary Fund approved a $3 billion bailout loan for Colombo, but it will take time for the country to recover.

Many professionals from the South Asian country are currently working in Saudi Arabia without recognition of their professional certification, often enrolled in jobs below their skills. But that will change under the skill verification deal, as Saudi employers will recognize certificates issued by Sri Lanka’s TVEC. 

“It will give them due recognition and due salary and due position,” Pakeer Mohideen Amza, Sri Lanka’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, told Arab News. 

“It’s a long-felt need, and it’s going parallel to the objective of Sri Lanka to shift from quantitative employment to qualitative employment…This really will help to increase our foreign remittances.” 

Around 150,000 Sri Lankan expats are employed in Saudi Arabia, about 70 percent of whom are unskilled. 

Saudi Arabia is the job market with the most potential for Sri Lankans, according to the Association of Licensed Foreign Employment Agencies, which welcomed the latest development. 

“Everyone knows that Sri Lanka is only famous for the unskilled people, not for skilled (workers), but we know that there are very skilled people,” ALFEA Secretary Mohamed Farook Mohamed Arshad told Arab News. 

“The Skill Verification Program is very useful for that…We can market our skilled laborers to Saudi Arabia when this is implemented.” 


Saudi General Entertainment Authority approved 14 projects for Entertainment Business Accelerator

Saudi General Entertainment Authority approved 14 projects for Entertainment Business Accelerator
Updated 21 March 2023

Saudi General Entertainment Authority approved 14 projects for Entertainment Business Accelerator

Saudi General Entertainment Authority approved 14 projects for Entertainment Business Accelerator

Riyadh: The General Entertainment Authority has approved 14 projects for the first Entertainment Business Accelerator, which aims to provide support for entrepreneurs interested in the sector.

The plan is to provide entrepreneurs with guidance and training, and link them with project management experts and a network of investors.

The approval process began with the first stage in February which saw the registration of 260 projects, of which 60 qualified for the initial interviews. Thereafter 22 projects were nominated for presentation to the jury. The process concluded with the approval of 14 projects.

The training programs consist of weekly workshops, and individual consulting sessions between entrepreneurs and specialized consultants. In addition, the new entrepreneurs will be linked with successful business owners in the sector.

The training program involves guidance and support of participants weekly through their mentors, including helping them to prepare for pitching their ideas to investors.

Mentors are expected to have a hands-on role, to advise the budding entrepreneurs on product development, and link them with appropriate consultants.

Mentors will set weekly goals for projects and business, which will be used to determine performance.


Saudi firm aiming to establish Kingdom as top 3 global gaming country

Saudi firm aiming to establish Kingdom as top 3 global gaming country
Updated 21 March 2023

Saudi firm aiming to establish Kingdom as top 3 global gaming country

Saudi firm aiming to establish Kingdom as top 3 global gaming country
  • CEO of Savvy Games Group wants to make Saudi Arabia ‘world-class entertainment destination’

Riyadh: A games and esports company is aiming to help establish Saudi Arabia as one of the top three gaming countries in the world.

Brian Ward, the chief executive officer of Savvy Games Group, said his firm’s strategy was designed to contribute toward gross domestic product and create more jobs in the Kingdom.

He told Arab News: “The gaming and esports sector will unlock economic contribution of more than SR50 billion ($13.32 billion) to the Kingdom’s economic prosperity by 2030.

“We are investing in our citizens and gamers to create over 39,000 jobs in development, publishing, infrastructure, and other professions by 2030,” he said.

In September, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman unveiled the Savvy Games Group’s strategy, which will see an investment of SR142 billion across four programs.

SR50 billion will be used toward the acquisition and development of a leading game publisher; SR70 billion will be spent on minority stakes in key companies that support Savvy’s game development agenda; SR20 billion will be pumped into mature industry partners capable of adding expertise to Savvy’s portfolio; and the remaining SR2 billion will go toward industry disruptors that will grow early-stage games and esports companies.

Ward noted that one of Savvy’s visions was to establish Saudi Arabia as a “world-class entertainment destination for citizens, residents, and visitors.”

Wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund, one of the key factors of the company’s strategy is to drive growth by investing in the video games industry and esports using long-dated capital.

In turn, this is expected to create more opportunities for participation and strengthening partnerships in the games industry, as well as improving user experience.

“(Savvy Games Group’s) contribution to the development of the gaming and esports sector aims to cultivate elite gaming athletes, in addition to establishing global recognition for the Kingdom as one of the top three countries in esports pro gaming,” Ward added.

Savvy’s strategy comes in three phases. The first aims to drive growth by investing in games and esports through deploying significant capital over long-term horizons.

Stage two will involve creating opportunities through growth and progression across the games community, while the third phase will be based on partnerships in the gaming community and improving user experiences across products and services.

Ward pointed out that one of the missions of Savvy was to foster the gaming community in the Kingdom through multiple stages such as the “development of high-tech infrastructure, including venues for KSA gamers to socialize and compete on both local and global scales.”

He said: “This will help nurture and upskill new and existing game creators into high-profile AAA publishers that are globally recognized, as well as provide support by way of advisory and investment or acquisition.”

By 2030, Ward envisions Savvy playing a contributing role in the Kingdom’s growing economy along with being a major player in the global gaming community.

He noted that the national gaming and esports strategy was a comprehensive investment to develop the entire gaming and esports value chain.

“The strategy will foster new career and business opportunities and will make Saudi Arabia a global hub of gaming and esports by 2030,” he added.


KSrelief takes Part in second European Humanitarian Forum in Brussels

KSrelief takes Part in second European Humanitarian Forum in Brussels
Updated 21 March 2023

KSrelief takes Part in second European Humanitarian Forum in Brussels

KSrelief takes Part in second European Humanitarian Forum in Brussels
  • Saudi Arabia is considered one of the biggest donors of humanitarian aid in the world

Riyadh:  Saudi Arabia’s vast role in the field of humanitarian work around the world was praised on Monday by the Swedish State Secretary to Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Diana Janse.

In a meeting with the General Supervisor of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSreleif) Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, on the sidelines of the Second European Humanitarian Forum in Brussels, Janse discussed ways to enhance cooperation with Saudi Arabia on the humanitarian aid front around the world.

Saudi Arabia is considered one of the biggest donors of humanitarian aid in the world, with donations amounting to a whopping $95bn in the past 70 years, according to Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan at the Riyadh International Humanitarian Forum that took place last month.

Al-Rabeeah accompanied by head of the Kingdom’s Mission to the European Union Ambassador Haifa Al-Judaea, attended the opening of the Forum along with leading representatives of donor countries and UN agencies around the world.

KSrelief’s participation in the forum is part of its constant efforts to develop humanitarian work, and to find effective solutions to improve living conditions and support vulnerable groups all over the world.

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Saudi foreign ministry rejects remarks by Israeli official on Palestinians

Saudi foreign ministry rejects remarks by Israeli official on Palestinians
Updated 21 March 2023

Saudi foreign ministry rejects remarks by Israeli official on Palestinians

Saudi foreign ministry rejects remarks by Israeli official on Palestinians

RIYADH: The Saudi foreign ministry said Tuesday that it rejected statements made by the Israeli finance minister, who denied the existence of the Palestinian people, saying the remarks contributed to spreading hatred and violence and undermine peace.
“The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses the Kingdom’s condemnation and denunciation of the offensive and racist remarks made by an official at the Israeli occupation government against the State of Palestine and its brotherly people,” read the ministry’s statement on Twitter.
“The Kingdom confirms its rejection of the statements made by the Israeli official, which are contrary to the truth.”
“The Kingdom supports efforts to resolve the Palestinian issue in accordance with the Arab Peace Initiative,” it added. 
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who heads a religious-nationalist party in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-right coalition, said on Sunday there was “no such thing as a Palestinian people,” or Palestinian history or culture.