The Saudi science and engineering team won 15 grand prizes and six special prizes during its participation in the most prominent scientific fair for competition in scientific research at the pre-college level.
The team comprises 35 male and female students from 11 educational administrations from different regions in Saudi Arabia.
They competed with about 1,800 international students from 80 countries, and they returned crowned with titles and adorned with medals of excellence and merit among their peers.
King Abdulaziz and his Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity (Mawhiba) and the Ministry of Education represented Saudi Arabia at the International Scientific and Engineering Fair (ISEF) 2022 held in the US State of Georgia on May 7-13.
The student Abdullah al-Ghamdi achieved first place in energy for his qualitative project titled "Engineering a dual-functional metal-organic framework for the production and storage of hydrogen with high efficiency and effectiveness."
The student Dana al-Eithan won first place in chemistry for her project "Selective production of hydrogen from formic acid using an effective special catalyst for energy generation."
Minister of Education Hamad Al al-Sheikh congratulated the Saudi students, announcing that the winning students would be granted scholarships in appreciation of their unprecedented achievement.
He stressed that the Kingdom won these awards unprecedentedly thanks to the leadership's support and the efforts of teachers and families of the students.
Media manager at the Mawhiba Foundation Majid al-Kinani said that national institutions believe talent creates the future and job opportunities, and investing in human capital will generate scientific and development revenues that meet the Kingdom's needs and future aspirations in light of Vision 2030.
The participation of Saudi students at ISEF 2022 is a translation of those efforts and an affirmation of the Kingdom's value in light of the involvement of large numbers of international students.
Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Kinani indicated that the Foundation plays a vital role in ensuring talented people are taken care of and empowered.
He explained that discovering gifted students happens in the first stage, focusing on students in the early school years to secondary to uncover their abilities. The second stage refines, nurtures, and qualifies their talents within professional training programs based on the requirements of each field and the trends of each skill.
The third and final stage provides the appropriate opportunities and unleashes those talents to invest in and benefit from them.
Kinani said that Mawhiba had become a global model, which includes the most comprehensive model in talent and creativity, pointing out that the integrative partnership between Mawhiba and the Ministry of Education and their strategic and supportive partners provides students with a rich environment to acquire science and knowledge.
