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The Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture has gained international recognition by winning the Public Water Agency of the Year Award, announced during the Global Water Summit in Madrid.
Deputy Minister for Water Abdul Aziz Al-Shaibani and Deputy Minister for Economic Affairs and Privatization Abdulrahman Alzughaibi accepted the award
Al-Shaibani told Arab News that the award was given in recognition of the Kingdom’s efforts in implementing a national water strategy, reforming the sector, enacting a new water law, integrating management of water resources, and engaging the private sector.
The Global Water Summit in Spain allows leaders and decision-makers to exchange ideas, and share information on progress and trends in the industry.
Industry leaders and investors from around the world, as well as government representatives, took part in the forum, considered among the most prominent events for the water industry worldwide.
Since 2006, the UK-based consultancy Global Water Intelligence has presented awards at the summit, recognizing achievements by water companies, high-tech firms, public agencies and project developers.
During the conference, leaders of the Kingdom’s water sector highlighted its initiatives and solutions in support of innovation and development in the industry.
They also discussed the summit themes aimed at achieving zero carbon emissions, ensuring the sustainability and reliability of freshwater resources worldwide, mitigating the impact of climate change, and increasing job opportunities and growth in the industry.
Conference sessions included extensive discussions on global best practices for ensuring efficient water use, the latest technologies for desalinating and reusing water, and the role of artificial intelligence in the sustainability of the water sector.
source/content: arabnews.com (edited)
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DM for Economic Affairs and Privatization Abdulrahman Alzughaibi, right, DM for Water Abdul Aziz Al-Shaibani, center, and Global Water Intelligence’s Christopher Gasson. (Supplied/MEWA)
The Governor of Makkah region, Prince Khalid Al-Faisal, has honored successful students from Makkah and Jeddah who attended a science fair in the US earlier this month.
Prince Khalid congratulated three winning students who took prizes at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), which was held from May 7 to 13.
Student Mawaddah Omar, hailing from Makkah, won third place in social and behavioral sciences, Youssef Khoja, from Jeddah, won a special award in embedded systems, and Rafaa Qanash won fourth place in engineering technologies.
The Saudi Embassy in the US tweeted: “Congratulations to our young #Saudi scientists Represented by @mawhiba and @tc_mohe, the student delegation won 6 awards at #ISEF2022, the second time this record is achieved in the Kingdom’s 16th year of participation.”
This year’s ISEF exhibition attracted more than 2,000 students from public education systems in over 85 countries.
The Saudi Center for International Communication tweeted: “Saudi students made history with an impressive success at the Regeneron International Scientific and Engineering Fair 2022 in Georgia, #USA. KSA has won 22 major awards, meaning 62 percent of the total number of prizes. #ISEF_2022.”
Saudi students have won 83 prizes at ISEF events, including 53 major prizes and 30 special prizes. Mawhiba also presented special annual international prizes in the competition for students from 20 countries.
source/content: arabnews.com (edited)
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Students Mawaddah Omar, Youssef Khoja, and Rafaa Qanash were honored by Prince Khalid Al-Faisal. (SPA)
A Saudi team won three medals at an international physics Olympiad on Sunday.
Sadiq Al-Abbad from Riyadh won a silver medal, Jawad Al-Saif from the Eastern Province won a bronze medal, and Lama Al-Ahdal from Jeddah earned a bronze at the Nordic-Baltic Physics Olympiad held at Estonia’s Tallinn University of Technology.
The Olympiad was launched in 1992 with the participation of Estonia and Finland and was called the Estonia and Finland Physics Olympiad.
With Latvia joining in 2014 and Sweden joining in 2016, the name of the competition changed to the Nordic-Baltic Physics Olympiad.
Each main country participates with 20 competitors, while each guest country participates with a specified number.
This year’s Nordic-Baltic Physics Olympiad had four main and four guest countries participating.
The head of the Saudi delegation to the Nordic-Baltic Physics Olympiad, Talal Al-Rashidi, said the physics team had won three gold and silver medals in the GCC Olympiad that was held in March.
The team was participating in the European Physics Olympiad in May with five students and the Asian Physics Olympiad immediately afterward.
“Since 2010, we have achieved 472 medals in many international competitions in mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, informatics, and sciences. Saudi Arabia is the first in the Arab world and the first third globally in various scientific disciplines.
source/content: arabnews.com (edited)
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This success is ‘an extension of the series of achievements in international competitions in which KSA participates.’ (Supplied)
Shining a light on bright innovations in Saudi Arabia’s power sector.
Normally, colored lights flashing around in different directions is something seen at a concert, not in an advanced engineering research lab in Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
Yet, watching the lab’s automated blue-light scanner move around a gas turbine part taking digital images is definitely something to talk about for Kamel Tayebi and his team.
Kamel leads the advanced metrology engineering team at the GE Gas Power Hot & Harsh (H&H) Research & Development (R&D) Center of Excellence, located at the GE Manufacturing & Technology Center (GEMTEC) campus. The site includes one of the largest GE Gas Power turbine service centers in the world.
His team, which includes Saudi nationals, supports the repair center with new and innovative ways to assess the condition of gas turbine components in terms of fitness for use. Their other research work on blade vibration sensors helps to identify cracks or further weaknesses that must be corrected.
The Center’s digital blue-light scanner, mounted on a programmable robotic arm, is the only one in the Middle East and Africa.
The team has also been active in pushing the envelope of the application of manual scanners to initiate new ways of serving repair processes, notably for rotors and fixtures. This pioneering work was selected to be presented at the Advanced Manufacturing & Repair for Gas Turbines conference , one of the most prestigious international mechanical engineering conferences hosted by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
An example of the Saudi-based R&D team’s approach was to explore the benefits of mounting the scanner on the robotic arm.
The solution allows GEMTEC technicians to examine more parts faster, while still maintaining the impeccable reliability of the scanning results. This helps the facility reduce turnaround times, which in turn, can contribute to faster deliveries for outages at power plants.
A major contributor to this accomplishment is Badi AlQuzayz, a young Saudi engineer who has used this technology on thousands of turbine parts. Here, he is involved in projects not being done anywhere else,” Tayebi said.
Tayebi, who is Canadian, formed the nucleus of the team with two Saudi engineers – one with a graduate degree from the UK and another fresh graduate from King Saud University. A fourth researcher holds an engineering degree from India.
The Hot & Harsh R&D Center, which houses the advanced metrology research team, was established to address the extreme conditions experienced by gas turbines in regions such as the Middle East, Africa, and other parts of the world.
The work done by the metrology team and, more generally, by the Hot & Harsh R&D Center, supports key goals of Saudi Vision 2030, including fostering homegrown innovation, building Saudi workforce capabilities, and deepening the Kingdom’s industrial sector..
Fatima Albanawi is an actress, producer, and filmmaker, who has performed in several drama, horror, romance and comedy productions.
Albanawi completed her undergraduate degree at Effat University in psychology in 2011, and received her master’s degree from Harvard University in theological studies in 2015.
In 2016, Albanawi was recognized for her role in the award-winning feature film “Barakah Meets Barakah.” The film won the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at the Berlin International Film Festival, and was also the Saudi Arabian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards.
She has also played a Parisian actress from the seventies in the feature film “Roll’em,” a selfish theater superstar in the “Bashar” series, and appeared in the Netflix series “Paranormal.”
Albanawi has traveled to multiple countries and performed around the world including in Buenos Aires and at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris.
Early on in her career, Albanawi founded “The Other Story” project. This is a book with the raw and unedited stories of Jeddah’s residents and visitors.
The actress had earlier served as a consultant at the Islamic Development Bank for six months, where she worked on developing a policy for the empowerment of women at the bank and its member countries. In 2018, Albanawi was selected as one of Time Magazine’s Young Generation Leaders, a series about the young people impacting the world. She was selected for her work in sharing the stories of people in Saudi society.
In the same year, she narrated and performed in a short film titled “A Blink of an Eye,” which shared the stories of “five normal lives that have changed or would change in a blink of an eye.”
In 2020, she wrote and directed her first short film “Until We See Light,” which became part of the feature “Becoming” in collaboration with the Red Sea International Film Festival.
Albanawi also co-wrote, co-directed, and starred in the “Al-Shak” serial drama, a Shahid.net original. The storyline was shot completely from home during the global pandemic.
In 2021, Albanawi starred in the Egyptian thriller series “60 Minutes,” which premiered on Shahid.net, recording the highest viewership in Egypt.
Dr. Hanan bint Abdulrahim Al-Ahmadi was awarded the International Award for Exceptional Achievement during the Tulane Alumni Awards Gala, hosted by Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine on April 9.
Al-Ahmadi, an academic who specializes in economics and health management and who also serves as the assistant speaker of the Saudi Shura Council, was honored for the contributions of her legacy of excellence at Tulane University.
The award is given to alumni who represent the highest standards of excellence and community service locally and internationally.
During her acceptance speech, Al-Ahmadi said that the scholarships to study abroad provided by Saudi Arabia are pillars of educational strategy in contributing to distinguishing the Kingdom as a global educational institution.
Al-Ahmadi highlighted that all this is due to the great investment in women’s education in Saudi Arabia. She emphasized that the leadership’s support of Saudi women contributed to elevating her to international and regional forums and representing the Kingdom abroad.
Two other doctors, Dr. Neil Meltzer and Dr. Joseph Kanter were also honored for different achievements alongside Al-Ahmadi.
There were inspiring scenes as the winners of Arabian Business’ inaugural KSA Women Excellence Awards were revealed at a special ceremony, a glittering evening at the Riyadh Marriott on Mother’s Day with an audience of more than 150 attendees, the winners were revealed.
Before the winners were announced, a fireside chat with Arabian Business Editor in Chief Scott Armstrong heard from Mae Al Mozaini, CEO of nusf – The Arab Institute for Women’s Empowerment, who told the room: “What an exciting time it is to be a Saudi woman – we are the number one most educated women in the region and 10 in the world.”
Meanwhile, Hawazen Almaddah, Group Head of Corporate Communications at IFFCO Group, captivated the room with her ‘letter to her future self’.
Mae Al Mozaini, founder and CEO of The Arab Institute for Women’s Empowerment – Nusf
Secondly, Samar Alshorafa, who is the founding CEO of She is Arab.
And finally, Carla Sertin, ITP Group Editor, who leads brands such as Oil & Gas Middle East, Construction Week, Utilities Middle East, to name but a few.
Editor in Chief Scott Armstrong said: “The journey to today has been breathtaking, and if you plot the line graph for women into Saudi’s future, the potential is incredible.
“As the proud father of an irrepressible daughter and husband to an unstoppable wife, I’m delighted to be here in Riyadh to celebrate the achievements of inspiring women, especially on Mother’s Day here in the Gulf.”
The Winners:
Business – Woman of the Year
Highly Commended: Maria Medvedeva, Vice President, Mastercard, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
Winner: Mona Althagafi, KSA Country Director with Serco.
Education – Woman of the Year category
Winner: Alia Albazie – Director of Special Education with the Tatweer Company
Business – Energy – Woman of the Year
Winner: Dr. Abeer Al-Olayan, General Director at the Ministry of Energy
Entrepreneurial – Woman of the Year
Highly Commended: Nour Al Hassan, the Founder and CEO of Tarjama
Winner: Sheikha Aldosary, founder and managing director of Saudi Women’s Stories
Finance – Woman of the Year
Winner: Tala Al Jabri
Government – Woman of the Year
Highly commended: Reem AlSuwaiyel, Executive Director -Board of Directors General Secretariat at the Diriyah Gate Development Authority
Winner: Dur Essam Kattan, the Deputy Minister for Communications and Media at the Ministry of Culture (MoC), Saudi Arabia
Inspirational – Woman of the Year
Dr. Hibah Shata, owner of Maharat Learning
Linah Alhabeeb, the Associate Director for Human Capital Development at the Diriyah Gate Development Authority (DGDA)
Nouf Aljalaud, currently Customer Success Manager at SITA covering Border Management Service Management
Nouf Abdullah Al Rakan- Nouf founder Qiyadat Global
Law – Woman of the Year
Highly commended: Tala AlJahlan who led the legal and compliance department during the Saudi G20 presidency
Winner: Nasreen Alissa of The Law Firm of Nasreen Alissa
Media – Woman of the Year
Winner: Ghada Alrumayan, group chief marketing and communications officer at the national community developer, ROSHN
Medical – Woman of the Year
Highly commended: Dr Tamara Sunbul, Medical Director of Clinical Informatics with Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare (JHAH)
Winner: Taghreed Alghaith of the National Health Economics and Policies at the Saudi Health Council (SHC)
Rising Star – Woman of the Year
Highly commended: Albandari AlajlanDental Department Manager at Dallah Hospital
Winner: Abeer Algwaiz, Design Assistant Manager at the Diriyah Gate Development Authority (DGDA)
Science and Technology – Woman of the Year
Highly commended: Maha Alnuhait, GM of Sustainability with stc
Winner: Dr. Noha Alharthi, Technology Lead at NEOM
Startup – Woman of the Year
Winner: Muzon Ashgar, Muzon Bodycare
Special Recognition – Woman of the Year
Special Recognition – Woman of the Year: Mae Al Mozaini (L), The Arab Institute for Women’s Empowerment
Highly commended: Samiha Ahmed of the Ireland- Saudi Arabia Business Council
Winner: Mae Al Mozaini, The Arab Institute for Women’s Empowerment
Abdulaziz Fahad Al-Jouf is the founder and CEO of PayTabs, a payment processing company founded in Saudi Arabia in January 2014 and now based in Bahrain.
He graduated from Riyadh’s Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in Islamic business and subsequently obtained a bachelor’s degree in information technology from the University of Nebraska-Omaha and a master’s degree in e-business from the New York Institute of Technology.
PayTabs was founded in 2013 after Al-Jouf “faced problems finding a suitable payments gateway for one of his business startups … and figured there would be many others with the same issues.”
PayTabs was, according to Al-Jouf, “taken under the wing” of Saudi Aramco’s entrepreneurship scheme “Wa’ed” and made headlines in August 2017 when it raised $20 million investment from unnamed sources.
In 2018 PayTabs was recognized by Forbes Middle East as No. 1 among “the top 20 Fintech startups to watch.”
In the same year, Al-Jouf was featured on the cover of Arabian Business magazine, and PayTabs was named “Fintech Company of the Year” at the Arabian Business Achievement Awards.
The three-day race event will start in Hail before finishing in Riyadh
Saudi Arabia is readying to host its first women’s-only motoring event.
Called Rally Jameel, the event consists of 34 teams from 15 countries and takes place from March 17 to 19. It will feature both beginners and seasoned veterans in competition.
The 900-kilometre race, which is being held over three days, will start in the north-central city of Hail, taking in the sites of Al-Qassim city and then heading to the capital, Riyadh , via hidden checkpoints and challenges.
Motorsport racer Dania Akeel, who was the first Saudi woman to participate in the Dakar Rally in 2022, says she hopes the event will help women to feel more at ease while driving.
Elsewhere in the region, the UAE is represented by Atefa Saleh, while Oman will have Sanaa Al Shekaili and Halima Al Balushi behind the wheel.
Al Shekaili was the first Omani racer to participate in the 2020 Middle East Rally Championship, finishing in third place.
Al Shekaili also established the first women’s car club in Oman.
There are three teams taking part from the US while Europe will be represented with a team from Sweden and a team from Spain. There will also be one team from Egypt.
“Taking part in Rally Jameel, for me, is an incredible way to support women who are new to the scene of off-roading and motorsports,” says Sedona Blinson, who has previously participated in Rally Jameel’s inspiration, the Rebelle Rally.
The rally, which is not designed as a speed test, was first announced back in December. It is open to any entrant aged 18 or above and holding a driving license accepted in Saudi Arabia. No special equipment is needed, as the cars are required to be totally unmodified, although they must be a 4×4 or AWD.
source/content : thenationalnews.com
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From left, Oman’s Sanaa Al Shekaili, Saudi Arabia’s Dania Akeel and Sedona Blinson from the US are competing in Saudi Arabia’s first women’s only motoring event. Photo: Rally Jameel
The winners’ ceremony for the 13th Makkah Excellence Award took place on Wednesday, with recipients honored by Gov. Prince Khalid Al-Faisal.
The awards were announced earlier in February during the sixth session of the Makkah Cultural Forum, which was held under the theme of “How to be a role model in the digital world.”
In its sixth session, the Makkah Cultural Forum achieved nearly 771 digital initiatives, and the Makkah Excellence Award, since its inauguration, received more than 4,500 initiatives.
The awards covered nine categories.
The Ministry of Sports won the award for administrative excellence, with the prize handed to Sports Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal.
The scientific and technical excellence award went to the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.
King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah won the environmental excellence award and this was presented to Abdulaziz Alduailej, president of the General Authority of Civil Aviation.
The Special Forces for Hajj and Umrah Security won the award for Hajj and Umrah services. The prize was presented to Maj. Gen. Mohammed Al-Bassami, commander of the Hajj Security Forces.
Two companies were honored for their economic excellence. The first was Um Al Qura Development Company, with the prize presented to Abdullah Saleh Kamel, chairman of the company’s board of directors. The second was Petro Rabigh Company, and the award was presented to Othman A. Al-Ghamdi, Petro Rabigh’s president and CEO.
The humanitarian excellence award went to the Saudi Red Crescent Authority, with the award given to the authority’s president Jalal Alowaisi. The other winner of this award was Fayez Al-Malki, a Saudi actor known for his humanitarian work. Al-Malki was the only individual winner across all categories.
The cultural excellence award went to the Red Sea International Film Festival, and was presented to Film Commission CEO Abdullah Al-Eyaf.
The urban excellence award was given to the Jeddah dome project, and the prize was presented to Nawaf Abdulkareem, director general of Jeddah season.
The Ehsan charity platform was recognized for its social excellence.
Wednesday’s ceremony also honored and announced the winners of the Makkah Days Challenge for Programming and Artificial Intelligence.
Winners included the University of Jeddah for their “Air Supply Ambulance” initiative in the field of Hajj and Umrah, Taif University for an initiative called “Mustahil” in the field of smart cities, and Um Al Qura University for its “Athar” initiative in the field of tourism and entertainment.
source/content: arabnews.com
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Prince Khalid Al-Faisal, the Governor of Makkah region, during his speech. (Supplied)
