Riyadh: The Ministry of Education and the King Abdulaziz and His Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity (Mawhiba) launched today the inaugural National Gifted Olympiad, targeting middle and secondary school students across Saudi Arabia as part of a comprehensive national program to identify, develop, and prepare scientific and research talent for local and international competitions.

According to Saudi Press Agency, the National Gifted Olympiad was created by merging the National Olympiad for Scientific Creativity 'Ibdaa' and the National Science and Mathematics Olympiad 'NSMO' into a single Olympiad, bringing together pathways to identify scientific and research talent, develop their capabilities, and prepare them for competition.

Ibdaa and NSMO attracted more than 450,000 male and female students from across Saudi Arabia to their 2026 competitions, reflecting the broad participation base in the scientific and research competitions now brought together under one umbrella.

Registration for the National Gifted Olympiad is open from August 20 to September 30, 2026. The competition and qualification stages will continue in the following months, culminating in the finals in Riyadh in late January 2027.