Riyadh: The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) has placed young men and women at the heart of its priorities, providing them with comprehensive support to empower them in data and artificial intelligence. SDAIA views youth as the nation's future and a key pillar in building and developing the country, as well as in achieving the Kingdom's aspirations for global leadership in this advanced field.
According to Saudi Press Agency, this approach is part of SDAIA's strategic vision, developed since its establishment in 2019, to align with the Saudi leadership's focus on human capital, ensuring young Saudis become effective contributors to society and drivers of Vision 2030 goals.
In line with the directives of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince, Prime Minister, and Chairman of SDAIA's Board of Directors, the authority has created new pathways for Saudi talent in technology to study data science and artificial intelligence at the world's top universities.
This initiative aims to equip them with mastery of advanced technologies and the ability to leverage them for the benefit of the Kingdom and the wider global community, supporting Saudi Arabia's contribution to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
SDAIA's investment in both male and female youth taps into an inexhaustible national resource, enabling them to channel their creativity and energy into solutions and ideas that have fueled numerous digital initiatives and projects. These skills are built through a wide range of local and international training and qualification programs conducted by SDAIA, either at its headquarters, in Saudi universities, or abroad in collaboration with leading global experts and institutions. This training has significantly enhanced their knowledge and skills in AI, enabling them to enter the labor market with high professionalism and inspiring them to pursue further academic and professional excellence.
Through these efforts, SDAIA has strengthened national capacity in AI and created widespread public interest in learning about artificial intelligence via awareness campaigns. To date, more than 840,000 trainees, most of them youth, have benefited from its training programs. The flagship 'One Million Saudis in Artificial Intelligence' initiative offers AI training and certification in partnership with Microsoft, with more than 472,000 people registered so far.
SDAIA continues to develop national expertise in AI by setting professional standards, designing tests, and implementing educational and training programs. These efforts aim to produce a generation capable of leading innovation in advanced technologies, reinforcing the Kingdom's global leadership in AI and contributing to a more prosperous future for the coming generations.