A total of 516 male and female students with 400 projects have made it to the finals of the four-day National Olympiad for Scientific Creativity (Ibdaa) 2014, which starts in Riyadh on Saturday.

The King Abdulaziz and his Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity (Mawhiba) and the Ministry of Education unveiled the details of the finalists at a press conference on Wednesday.

Ahmed Al-Blushi, general supervisor of the event, said the students are competing in 17 categories including computer science, energy, transportation, bio and genetic engineering, and electrical and mechanical engineering. Other categories include plant, animal, chemical, physical, astronomical, mathematical, social, behavioral, and environmental sciences.

Adel A. Al-Qa'eed, deputy secretary general of Mawhiba, said the aim of the event was to ensure that the Kingdom develops a knowledge-based economy.

The finalists include 135 male and 133 female students in the scientific research field, with 121 male and 127 female students in the innovation field. Each grouping would present 200 projects. There are 284 individual and 116 group projects.

Al-Blushi said the students represent 316 schools and 39 educational administrations. A committee of 169 academic experts would determine the winning projects that would represent the Kingdom at international exhibitions, he said.

Al-Blushi said Ibdaa received applications from 76,736 male and female students. This included 13,972 female students with scientific research projects, and 12,463 female students with innovation projects.

A total of 25,989 male students applied with research projects, and 24,312 male students with innovation projects, a 45 percent increased compared to the previous year.