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The National Olympiad for Programming and AI (ATHKA)


Added by:   National contact point
Added on:   18 Aug 2025
Updated by:   OECD analyst
Updated on:   16 Sep 2025

The National Programming and Artificial Intelligence Olympiad is a national competitive competition for middle and high school students from different regions of the Kingdom, where distinguished male and female students compete on an individual basis to solve issues and refine their information skills, which is centred on discovering the skills of using computers to solve issues that depend on designing learning-based algorithms, structuring data and programming with AI.

Name in original language

الأولمبياد الوطني للبرمجة والذكاء الاصطناعي

Initiative overview

The objective is to ignite young minds across Saudi Arabia, empowering them to join the Olympiad and explore programming and AI, as well as sharpening their skills to become future leaders on the global stage. It also aims to hone students' competitive edge in international AI and data science competitions and fuel their passion for these fields.

Name of responsible organisation (in English)

Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA) | Ministry of Education (MOE) | Mawhiba

About the policy initiative


Organisation:

  • Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA) | Ministry of Education (MOE) | Mawhiba

Category:

  • National – AI policy initiatives, regulations, guidelines, standards and programmes or projects

Initiative type:

  • AI capacity/skills programme (primary or secondary education)

Participating organisations:


Participating countries:


Status:

  • Active

Start Year:

  • 2023

Binding:

  • Non-binding