The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on AI research and current technologies in the Kingdom.

As per the Saudi Press Agency, the MoU was signed by Dr. Majid Al-Tuwaijri, CEO of the National Center for Artificial Intelligence, SDAIA's inventive arm, and Professor Tony Chan, President of KAUST.

The MoU promotes and enhances science and technology research by establishing a cooperative centre for AI research and innovation.

The centre will concentrate on a variety of fields, including health, energy, the environment, water, agriculture, bioinformatics, and natural language processing. The two parties also want to work together to accomplish national goals by solving both local and global difficulties in data science and AI.

Under the terms of the deal, SDAIA and KAUST will collaborate on the development of academic programs and vocational training, and provide collective support to new businesses in AI and marketing research, and encourage the interchange of experiences through teachers and learners.

Moreover, they aim to collaborate on infrastructure and data to use them in AI research and innovation following national policies and guidelines; to accomplish grand goals and objectives that promote the Kingdom's Vision 2030; and to match the leadership's aspirations for the parties to collaborate and incorporate their endeavors that are propelling Saudi Arabia forward.

Dr. Abdullah Bin Sharaf Al-Ghamdi, president of SDAIA, noted that SDAIA continues to engage with numerous entities to attain integration thanks to Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, who is now the chairman of SDAIA's Board of Directors.

He goes on to explain that SDAIA is taking a new step by signing a MoU with KAUST to foster AI research and innovation and to encourage indigenous talent.

He stated that the signing of the MoU is following our leadership's directions to combine efforts between SDAIA and national authorities, with the primary goal of making a concrete influence in various domains relevant to the Kingdom's Vision 2030.

Prof. Tony Chan, president of KAUST, emphasized that the university is making significant investments in data science and AI, which support the university's guiding principles to build the nationwide skills and capabilities that Saudi Arabia requires, to propel the world into the fourth industrial revolution, which could make Saudi Arabia a leading destination in the field of AI technology, along with increasing its commitment to the formulation of solutions to real-world challenges.