RIYADH: Four Saudi students, represented by The King Abdul Aziz and His Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity (Mawhiba) and the Education Ministry, won the prestigious International Mendeleev Chemistry Olympiad (IMChO) 2021.
The students, Mohammed Al-Hadlaq, Mohammed Al-Hudaithi, Abdulaziz Al-Juaid, and Saeed Baghdadi, won bronze medals. The number of awards won by Saudi Arabia at the IMChO has now reached 18 — three silver and 15 bronze medals.
IMChO is a major international competition for students in chemistry. It started in the then-USSR as the All-Union Olympiad in Chemistry in 1967.
Now more than 30 countries participate in IMChO and an international jury of leading chemical scientists around the world make up the tasks for the Olympiad.
Students wishing to participate in IMChO are selected following a strict screening process, which includes several tests. In the next phase, they are required to spend two years in intensive preparations under the supervision of the Mawhiba Foundation. For the final selection to participate in IMChO students undergo more than 12,000 hours of training and testing with the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology.

The entire process held under Mawhiba Foundation is called “The Talented Student Journey.”  It includes several training and research enrichment programs as well as apprenticeship and admission to prestigious international schools.
Mawhiba was established in 1999 as a nonprofit foundation to support the Kingdoms’ long-term vision for developing giftedness and creativity.
It is one of the most renowned institutions for the gifted in the world, with more than 161,000 students having benefited from its services. In the last 10 years, Mawhiba has achieved unprecedented international successes, with its students winning international prizes in global competitions. Many countries later benefited from the experiences of Mawhiba students.