RIYADH — The King Abdulaziz and His Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity (Mawhiba) has completed on Sunday the first training workshop to qualify the Saudi national team prior to their participation in the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF 2021), which will be held in Washington D.C. in May. A total of 35 most talented male and female Saudi students will compete with 2000 students from 75 countries in the most prestigious international science competition in the field of research. This is the 15th time in a row outstanding Saudi students are participating in the international science fair, ever since the year 2007. The preparatory workshop, which lasted for two days, targeted 35 male and female students from 10 educational departments, who are winners of the "Creativity 2021" fair, provided them with the necessary scientific tools and skills so as to enable them to have outstanding performance in the fair. The workshop included sessions focusing on the review of the elements of the scientific project, training students in demonstration and presentation skills, as well as in holding individual interviews for students with members of the scientific committee and the jury to review the project and provide scientific support. A group of Mawhiba alumni, who represented the Kingdom in ISEF earlier, gave enriching lectures to the participants. Mawhiba has appointed a number of experts in various disciplines to supervise the students to boost their performance levels and morale. It is noteworthy that Saudi students have so far won a total of 48 grand prizes and 27 special prizes in the fair. These included eight awards in 2020, including five grand prizes and three special prizes. Mawhiba has also provided special annual international prizes in the competition. So far, 79 prizes have been awarded by Mawhiba to 97 students from 20 countries.
