The closing ceremony was held under the patronage of H.E. Dr. Khamis bin Saif Al Jabri, Minister of Economy, in the presence of Their Excellencies, officials, experts and specialists in artificial intelligence and digital technologies, as well as representatives of government, private-sector and academic institutions.

The “Engineer It with AI” Competition forms part of MTCIT’s efforts to build an integrated national AI ecosystem, develop national skills and capabilities, strengthen partnerships among government, private-sector and academic institutions, and encourage the transformation of innovative ideas into digital solutions and products that support the digital economy and contribute to achieving the objectives of Oman Vision 2040.

The closing ceremony began with a tour of the accompanying exhibition by the patron of the event, Their Excellencies and guests. During the tour, the qualifying teams showcased their projects and technological solutions, explaining the challenges addressed by their solutions, how they work, their expected value, and their potential for further development and application across various sectors.

In his opening remarks, Hassan bin Fada Hussain Al Lawati, Head of the National Programme for Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Digital Technologies at MTCIT, highlighted the role of the “Engineer It with AI” Competition in building national capabilities and fostering innovation. He noted that the competition enables participants to progress from the ideation stage to developing applicable prototypes and technological solutions, contributing to the creation of products with economic and social impact.

Al Lawati also highlighted the importance of “Mu’een AI”, Oman’s large language model, and its role in providing intelligent solutions that take into account the Omani context and identity, enhancing local content, and helping institutions improve operational efficiency and leverage AI technologies. The platform has surpassed 20,000 users and is used by more than 60 government entities.

He commended the contributions of partner institutions and users to developing the platform, improving its quality and expanding its use, stressing the importance of continued cooperation and integration among various entities to build an advanced and sustainable national AI ecosystem.

The ceremony also featured a visual presentation on the “Mu’een AI” platform, highlighting its development journey and the contributions of partners in enriching it with Omani content, improving its quality and expanding its use. A video documenting the journey of the second edition of the “Engineer It with AI” Competition was also screened, covering the stages from registration and selection through training, mentoring and development to evaluation and final judging.

The competition aimed to develop national capabilities in artificial intelligence and encourage young people and innovators to create applicable technological solutions that address real-world challenges across a number of sectors. It also sought to foster a culture of innovation and teamwork and promote the use of modern AI technologies in developing digital services and products.

The second edition focused on “Agentic AI”, an advanced area of artificial intelligence that offers capabilities in planning, taking action, executing tasks and addressing complex challenges with a high degree of autonomy and efficiency.

More than 300 teams registered for the competition, with four members in each team, bringing the total number of participants to more than 1,200 from across the governorates of the Sultanate of Oman. Of these, 25 teams qualified for an intensive development journey spanning approximately 50 days, which included training programmes, mentoring, development and evaluation sessions. During this period, the teams worked to transform their ideas into innovative, applicable technological prototypes and solutions.

The competition also included an “Open Data Lab” track, aimed at encouraging participants to make use of data published through the National Open Data Portal and employ it to develop innovative digital solutions and products with economic and social value.

The track comprised three categories: Best Scientific Research Using Open Data, Best Application Using Open Data, and Best Individual Experience in Using Open Data. It sought to promote a culture of open-data use and transform data into knowledge and practical solutions that support decision-making, foster innovation and open new opportunities for researchers, developers and entrepreneurs.

The ceremony featured a keynote session titled “The Future of the Digital Economy in the Age of Intelligent Agents”, which explored the impact of intelligent agents on business models and digital services, the economic and investment opportunities they offer, and the requirements for preparing institutions to benefit from them. The session also highlighted the importance of developing national capabilities and building a digital and regulatory environment that supports responsible innovation.

The ceremony also honoured the institutions and individuals that made the greatest contributions to supporting the “Mu’een AI” platform across four main categories. Two institutions were honoured in the “Data and Language Enablement Partner” category in recognition of their role in providing the platform with high-quality Omani content, while two institutions were recognised in the “Development and Quality Partner” category for their contributions through feedback and reporting errors and vulnerabilities, helping to improve the platform’s performance.

Two institutions were also honoured in the “Leader in Institutional Enablement and Awareness” category in recognition of their efforts in organising workshops and training programmes and activating user accounts. The ten most active and engaged users of the “Mu’een AI” platform were also recognised.

The ceremony concluded with the announcement of the top three winning teams. “OHI AI Labs”, with its “Ma AI” project, secured first place and received a cash prize of OMR 5,000. Team “Faheem”, with its “Rafeeq” project, took second place and received OMR 4,000, while Team “Nawa”, with its “Sadeem Robotics” project, secured third place and received OMR 3,000.

Six incentive awards, worth OMR 400 each, were also presented in recognition of outstanding projects and teams across various categories. The Innovation Excellence Award went to “Novera AI”, while “Itqan” received the Outstanding Collaboration and Teamwork Award. “Sharyk” won the Best Presentation and Communication Award, “Mawrid” received the Most Scalable Product Award, “Sandeed” was recognised with the Outstanding Social Impact Award, and “The Oqtmizers” received the Technical Excellence Award.