SABIC Honors ISEF 2022 Saudi Team

• SABIC holds an honoring ceremony for the ISEF 2022 award winners

• Al-Benyan: The achievement reflects the wise leadership's support for the Saudi youth to excel in international forums

• Strategic partnership between SABIC and Mawhiba spans many years

SABIC held a ceremony on June 7 to honor the Saudi science and engineering team for winning 22 awards at the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), which was held in Atlanta, USA, from May 7-13, 2022. 

The ceremony was held at the SABIC Academy in the presence of Yousef Al-Benyan, SABIC Vice Chairman and CEO, SABIC executive leadership, several officials from the Ministry of Education and the King Abdulaziz and his Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity (Mawhiba). 

Speakers focused on the key aspects of Saudi participation in ISEF 2022 and ways to invest the gains to unlock the capabilities of youth as a driving force for excellence in the future.

The objective of the ceremony was to highlight this national achievement and enhance the strategic partnership between SABIC and Mawhiba to discover and encourage more promising creative and innovative talents.

SABIC had sent an official delegation to accompany the Saudi team, which won 16 major awards and six special awards competing against students from 85 countries. This brings the Kingdom's total awards to 104 since its first participation in 2007, including 68 major awards and 36 special ones.

Yousef Al-Benyan said this national achievement is a clear demonstration of the wise leadership's support for the Saudi youth to excel in international forums. “The achievements of the young Saudi talents in ISEF 2022 demonstrate our competitive advantages in science and innovation. When we bring together creative ideas, institutional efforts and integration between sectors to achieve the concept of a ‘knowledge economy,’ we have to collaborate to develop human resource programs and build future competencies to contribute to Saudi Vision 2030 goals,” he added.

Al-Benyan expressed appreciation for the unremitting efforts of the Ministry of Education and Mawhiba to discover and nurture talented and innovative students, highlighting SABIC’s leadership in education, technology and scientific research, and its continued investment in innovation and creativity, not only as national and social responsibilities but as key pillars of the company's vision, strategy and business growth.

“We have been in a partnership with Mawhiba for many years. This partnership has developed and diversified. It involved supporting and sponsoring Mawhiba’s programs, competitions and conferences, having SABIC employees participate as members of the scientific committees in some national science competitions and hosting some of the National Olympiad’s events. This cooperation with Mawhiba aims to leverage and maximize the joint national efforts to enhance scientific research skills, promote the spirit of creativity and a culture of innovation among male and female students in the Kingdom, support talents in various fields, and develop human capabilities,” said Al-Benyan. 

During the honorary ceremony, SABIC highlighted its belief in the importance of creativity and innovation in business growth. This has led SABIC to invest in science and technology education and stimulate innovation, technology development and scientific research, as core values in its work environment. As a result, SABIC has successfully registered and filed 10,090 patents, with 1,660 employees working in 20 technology, innovation and development centers around the world.

SABIC has also invested in strategic partnerships with many government and private entities to develop innovative technologies and industries with competitive advantages that improve the quality of life. In addition, SABIC has closely cooperated with leading universities to encourage scientific research and innovation projects and jointly worked with a number of national bodies to sponsor and host events relating to innovation and creativity. Along with its scholarships and cooperative training programs, SABIC is also involved in several joint programs with a number of local and international educational institutions, including research chairs. 

SABIC Academy is an educational platform for presenting experiences and developing leaders through knowledge sharing and applied practices.

SABIC and Mawhiba continue cooperating in supporting and empowering the gifted and creative people in different educational stages in the Kingdom by adopting international scientific principles and methods. They jointly work on many national strategic projects and initiatives that aim at developing gifted people in line with Saudi Vision 2030, which focuses on raising the social capital index through investment in education.