Saudi students are competing in the hope of representing Saudi Arabia in the International Science Olympiad 2014 to be held in South Africa, Kazakhstan and Vietnam in July 2014.

As many as 175 boys and girls took part in the preliminary event in Riyadh. The Saudi team will be formed on Oct. 13.

The King Abdul Aziz and his Companions Foundation for the Gifted and Creativity, or “Mawhiba,” organized the event in collaboration with the Ministry of Education.

“The autumn competition seeks to explore and train the budding geniuses of this country to participate in the International Olympiad in mathematics, physics and chemistry,” said the Director of the International Olympiad at Mawhiba, Abdul Rahman bin Saad Alquisani.

Alquisani said the strategic visions of Mawhiba and the Ministry of Education would create a generation of young Saudis with extraordinary cognitive ability.

“Mawhiba and the ministry provide them with support,” he said. The program derives its importance from the depth, strength and intensity of the scientific material that underpins the training program. The main objective of the competition is to train students and consolidate the experience gained from high-level tests during the event.

“The autumn program seeks to link participants to areas of science and motivate them to continue progressing on a scientific level. It is a series of scientific events that will prepare students from an early stage prior to the advent of the global event.”

Fifty boys and 25 girls will participate in the mathematics competition. The winners will represent the Kingdom at the 55th International Competition in Math hosted by South Africa from July 3 to 13.

Forty-eight boys and 22 girls will compete in physics. The winners will take part in the 45th Physics Olympiad to be will be held in Kazakhstan from July 13 to 21.

Another 19 boys and eight girls will go through training in the chemistry section. The selected candidates will head for the 46th International Chemistry Olympiad in Vietnam.

Experts from Romania, Hungary, Estonia, China and Saudi Arabia will supervise the training sessions.