Omantel in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, recently concluded the second version of Omantel Olympics for Coding, which was held, online this year due to COVID-19 pandemic, on December 28 and 29 for the qualified students from previous stages of the competition.

The Omantel Olympics for Coding awards went to Yasin Ahsan Uganeh from Hafs bin Rashid School in Muscat Governorate, Said bin Saud bin Sulaiman Al Qasabi from Balarab bin Sultan School, Dkhaliya Governorate, Mohamed bin Abdulhamid bin Hamed Al Hinai from Saleh bin AL Mutawkel School in Dhakhliya Governorate, Ghaith Mohamed Abdulwahab from Sheikh Nasser bin Rashid Al Kharusi School in Muscat Governorate, Abdulmalik bin Sulaiman bin Salim AL Lamki from Moosa bin Nasir School for basic education in Muscat Governorate, Moanis bin Hilal Al Khusaibi from Shujaa bin Wahab School in Muscat Governorate, Ghaida bint Salim bin Sulaiman AL Kindi from Hail Al Awamer School for basic education in Muscat Governorate, Mohamed bin Hasan bin Abdullah Al Ajmi from Ibn AL Nafis School in Muscat Governorate, Ahmed bin Ibrahim bin Yahya Al Abri from Abu Said Al Kudmi School in Dhakhliya Governorate, Elaph bint Ahmed bin Khalfan Al Shidi from Saham School for Girls in Al Batinah North Governorate.

Omantel Olympics for Coding aims at building a generation of talented students through enabling them to understand the general foundations of software and information technology.

The Olympics also aimed to enabling students to keep pace with the rapidly developing IT systems, enhancing the educational process in the Sultanate, and creating a conducive environment for innovation and creativity.

The Omantel Olympics for Coding is based on the procedural coding which serves as an introduction to the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, cloud computing, Internet of things (IoT), big data among others. A number of students have in fact already qualified to participate in the international competitions.

Laila Mohammad Al Wahaibi, Manager of Corporate Social Responsibility at Omantel, indicated that Omantel Olympics for Coding is one of the most important CSR initiatives of Omantel saying:” The objective of the Olympics is to raise the technical capabilities of Omani youth and enable them to participate and contribute to the digital transformation process in the Sultanate during the next stage. It also aims to increase awareness of the importance of technology in the development and innovation journey in Oman, as well as encourage students to benefit from the digital world”.

“Moreover, the competition is one of the means to discover talented students who will together form a national team that can participate in international coding competitions”, she added.

“We are working at Omantel to harness technology with the aim to serve the community and to cultivate digital knowledge in the new generation, by developing the level of skills and knowledge they have acquired, assessing their readiness to deal with various technological advancements and the Internet of Things. Such initiatives enable our students to use these technologies more efficiently and prepare them to be in line with rapid technological developments,” she furthered.

On her part, Maya Said Al-Azaria, Director of the Innovation and Scientific Olympics Directorate at the Ministry of Education, emphasized the role Omantel played in the success of this edition of the Olympics, at which a group of students representing various schools of the Sultanate took part.

“Due to the Corona pandemic, this year’s edition was implemented virtually, which had a great impact on emphasizing the importance of employing technology and programming in all aspects of life’, she added.

“Omantel is a major partner with the Ministry of Education in several programs, especially those related to technology. Omantel serves as a role model for other companies in the field of CSR programs as it invests heavily in youth development. Omantel initiatives complement the role of the Ministry of Education in enhancing students’ experiences by allowing them to participate in international programs and competitions that help them share their experiences with others, in addition to refining their skills and digital knowledge at the same time. Such initiatives support the Sultanate’s digital transformation efforts by creating a generation capable of embracing innovation, development and employment of technology in various aspects of life”.

Hilal bin Khalfan Al-Khuzairi, Head of the Scientific Competitions Department at the Ministry of Education pointed out that coding competitions help us discover talented students who are passionate about IT and 4IR technologies. He noted that the competition electronic platform provided by the Coding Academy helped us to follow the results of the students’ solutions live.

“Our participation in international competitions gave us insights on how to manage and implement such competitions electronically and provided in-depth details of all competition centers”.