RIYADH: Some 398 male and female students were recently enrolled in one the largest training forums for talented students in mathematics, physics, chemistry, and science, the Saudi Press Agency said.

The forum was organized by the King Abdul Aziz and His Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity (Mawhiba) in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, the Thuwal-based King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), the Royal Commission of Jubail, and the Riyadh-based Princess Nourah University.

The 12-day forum, held between Jan 11-22, trains and qualifies participating student for regional and global competitions in chemistry, physics, math and science.

The students are selected based on their previous participation in training forums and basic courses.

Mawhiba seeks to build a national database for gifted students in all regions of the Kingdom and its selection primarily rests on the developed Mawhiba multiple cognitive aptitude test (MMCAT).

This particular forum is meant to complete training in math branches, chemistry, physics, and science which the students began training for in last summer’s training forum.

Founded by late King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, Mawhiba was originally established to encourage gifted youths and develop their talents.