Saudi Arabia has taken a major step toward future-proofing its education system by launching a nationwide high school course titled “Introduction to Artificial Intelligence.” The initiative, spearheaded by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) in partnership with the Ministry of Education, aims to embed AI literacy into the national curriculum and equip the next generation with skills vital for the digital economy.
Announced during the Human Capability Initiative (HCI) 2025 conference, the new elective course targets third-year secondary school students—commonly equivalent to 12th grade—within the general education track. More than 50,000 students are expected to benefit from the program’s initial rollout, which is being delivered via a specially developed digital learning platform.
The curriculum is designed to blend theoretical concepts with hands-on projects and continuous assessment, offering students not just an understanding of AI but also exposure to its real-world applications. It places a strong emphasis on interactivity, multimedia learning, and supervision by trained teachers, reflecting an educational model that is both modern and practical.
“This initiative represents a key step toward empowering the next generation with the tools and skills they need to thrive in the data-driven economies of the future,” SDAIA stated. The course is also aligned with the Kingdom’s broader strategy to localize data and AI education, strengthen national capabilities, and foster innovation across sectors.
A Pillar of Vision 2030
The launch of the course is part of a broader national agenda under Vision 2030, which aims to transform Saudi Arabia into a hub for innovation, data, and artificial intelligence. By introducing AI education at the secondary level, the Kingdom is not only addressing future workforce demands but also reinforcing its ambition to lead the region—and the world—in AI research and deployment.
This ambition is already producing measurable outcomes. Saudi Arabia ranked third globally for AI job growth in 2024, according to the Stanford AI Index Report 2025, a significant marker of its accelerating digital transformation. The same report also revealed that the Kingdom now leads the world in female representation in the AI workforce—a milestone driven by a national strategy to empower women and close long-standing gender gaps in science and technology.
Programs like SDAIA’s Elevate initiative, developed in partnership with Google Cloud, are helping to fuel this growth by training more than 25,000 women in AI and emerging technologies. These efforts are positioning women as key contributors in the digital economy and expanding the national talent pipeline.
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