RIYADH: Saudi Arabia's education sector is undergoing a strategic transformation as it shifts its focus to specific areas such as artificial intelligence, robotics and nuclear energy.
Driven by the Vision 2030 economic diversification plan, it marks a decisive step in equipping the state's future workforce with the high-demand skills needed to secure tomorrow's jobs.
The shift to AI and technology is creating new job opportunities and driving higher education reforms, says Mansoor Ahmed, executive director of the Middle East and North Africa region at Colliers, a Canadian professional services and management company.
“Graduates specializing in these fields will fill high-demand roles, helping to reduce youth unemployment,” Ahmed told Arab News.
Saudi Arabia's National Strategy for Data and Artificial Intelligence, launched in 2020, seeks to attract $20 billion in investment by 2030 and cultivate a workforce of 20,000 AI and data experts.
Ahmad says the emergence of this highly skilled technical workforce will help attract foreign investment, “positioning Saudi Arabia as a potential leader in innovation.”
AI could add more than $320 billion to Middle East economies. PWC analysis predicts that Saudi Arabia expects the largest benefit in absolute terms, at $135.2 billion, and that the UAE will see the largest overall impact at 14 percent of its projected 2030 gross domestic product.
“The development of nuclear power plants and the integration of AI in various fields will create specialized roles in engineering, data analysis and machine learning,” Ahmed said. “This underscores the need to prioritize education in technology, AI, robotics and nuclear energy.”
This section contains relevant reference points, placed in (opinion area).
Saudi Arabia has confirmed its commitment to future technology by becoming a hub for global events and forums such as LEAP, the Global AI Summit, and the International Exhibition and Conference for Artificial Intelligence and Cloud Computing.
However, if the state hopes to lead in these particular areas, it must first close the gap between market demand and educational output.
A report produced by Colliers found the current enrollment distribution at the state's public universities “lacks alignment with the labor market”, with students still favoring humanities and Islamic studies.
That is changing now. King Abdullah University of Science and Technology has an artificial intelligence initiative focused on research and undergraduate education, while KAUST Academy focuses on talent development in AI with programs aimed at outside students.
“KAUST aims to address this gap by providing specialized training and development programs in high-demand fields, which help students transition from traditional fields of study to market-relevant subjects,” KAUST Academy Director Sultan Albarkati told Arab News.
“We are focused on educating a broad range of graduate students to prepare them for the job market of the future.”
you diddo you know
Saudi Arabia's national strategy for data and artificial intelligence seeks to attract $20 billion in investment by 2030.
The state aims to cultivate a workforce of 20,000 AI and data experts by the end of the decade.
AI could add more than $320 billion to Middle East economies, with Saudi Arabia alone receiving $135.2 billion.
Supported by the Saudi Authority for Data and Artificial Intelligence, KAUST Academy's AI program covers the entire field from basic to advanced levels with projects that allow students to demonstrate the knowledge they have acquired.
The program focuses on improving skills in key areas such as deep learning libraries, optimization, linear algebra, machine learning, computer vision, artificial intelligence applications, Python programming and large-scale deep learning.
To support AI research in Saudi Arabia, Silicon Valley tech giant Google recently awarded five seed grants to KAUST faculty members. A total of $100,000 in grants will fund projects focused on multilingual, multimodal machine learning, particularly generative and large language models.
KAUST Academy focuses on talent development in AI targeting outside students. (supplied)
Ahmed says the state's investment in AI has spread across many sectors, integrating into healthcare, robotics, manufacturing and service industries – introducing new roles that require a mix of technical and analytical skills.
“This cross-industry application will significantly expand employment opportunities for graduates,” he said.
AI is expected to change the world of work in the coming years. According to the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report 2023, 23 percent of jobs are expected to change by 2027, with 69 million new jobs created and 83 million eliminated.
To ensure the alignment of educational products with labor market needs, Saudi Arabia's Human Capacity Development Program has set out to review higher education degrees based on their recent and expected employment outcomes.
“Training in these high-demand skills will equip Saudi citizens for success in a technology-driven economy, with the HCDP emphasizing critical thinking, problem solving and technical expertise,” Ahmed said.
