Saudi placed 2nd in Armenia Olympiad

A Saudi from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals was runner-up in the Microelectronics Olympiad in Armenia.
Mohammed Abu Obaida finished second out of 349 contestants from 12 countries at the sixth Olympiad organized by electronic design automation company Synopsys.
A number of countries took part this year including Armenia, Saudi Arabia, USA, China Russia, Belarus, Germany, India, the UAE, Jordan, Ukraine and Serbia.
Abu Obaida qualified from the first stage of the Olympiad organized by King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) in Saudi Arabia that featured students from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology and King Saud University.
Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan expressed happiness over the number of different nationalities participating in the event.
“This indicates that this initiative, which aims to develop youths in the field of information technology, is gaining international recognition and is also a great platform for bringing together diverse perspectives,” he added.
“We attracted engineers from Saudi Arabia to be able to compete successfully with engineers in countries with a high technology pedigree.”
KACST President Dr. Muhammad bin Ibrahim Al-Suwaiyel expressed his institute’s support for initiatives that aim to build a knowledge-based economy in the Kingdom.
Synopsis Armenia’s Chief Executive Rich Goldman added: “We have supported microelectronics education in the Kingdom for many years.”
KFUPM Rector Dr. Khalid bin Saleh Al-Sultan expressed happiness over Abu Obaida’s achievements. “Our university is committed to preparing Saudi specialists and providing them with the scientific knowledge they need to succeed in science, engineering and designing and serve their country,” he added.
Abu Obaida said the Olympiad was his first international experience. “This has given me much experience and an opportunity to meet colleagues from around the world,” he added.
The Olympiad aims to harness development in microelectronics technology in Armenia and participating countries, and allows the organizers to discover talented engineers throughout the world.
The first Olympiad organized by Armenia was in September 2006 and it was developed into a bigger event by including more countries and giving more opportunities to participants from around the world.