AI Capacity Building at ICAN 2026

AI Capacity Building took center stage at the International Conference on AI Capacity Building (ICAN 2026) in Riyadh, where global technology leaders and government entities launched a series of specialized workshops focused on modern applications, national talent empowerment, and agentic artificial intelligence. The event, held on January 27, 2026, attracted technology professionals, academics, advanced technology enthusiasts, and university students eager to develop their skills in data science and artificial intelligence.

Educational Data Analytics and Agentic AI

In the educational track, atomcamp delivered a comprehensive workshop on “Data Analytics in Education,” focusing on systematic analysis of various educational data types including academic performance, behavioral patterns, interaction data, and demographic information. Participants gained hands-on experience with agentic AI demonstrations and engaged in practical activities aimed at identifying students at risk of early academic failure using predictive analytics. The workshop emphasized developing measurable indicators for monitoring and evaluation purposes.

The King Abdulaziz and His Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity (Mawhiba) conducted a guidance workshop supporting students through university admission processes and international acceptance tests. The session covered key components of successful university applications, structural requirements of major international tests such as SAT, IELTS, and TOEFL, and strategies for building strong personal profiles including extracurricular activities, leadership skills, and impactful personal essays.

Arabic Language Processing and Large Language Models

The King Salman Global Academy for Arabic Language showcased the transformation journey of Arabic natural language processing toward Large Language Models (LLMs). The presentation highlighted the evolution of Arabic language processing, key transformations shaping the field, drivers behind contextual models and LLMs emergence, opportunities offered by modern technologies for Arabic language applications, and technical and methodological challenges associated with current Arabic language processing.

AI-Powered Content Creation and Global Readiness Indicators

Amazon presented a workshop exploring AI-powered content creation, training participants on using Amazon Nova Canvas and Amazon Nova Reel models to generate and edit images, as well as create video content based on text prompts in application notebooks. The concepts demonstrated can be easily applied across various sectors requiring innovative creative visual content.

PWC discussed the global AI ecosystem under the theme “AI Readiness Indicators,” highlighting various dimensions including governance, standards, responsible AI, and other aspects. The session explored the wide range of current global AI readiness indicators and comprehensively reviewed results from three global indices (2024/2025), while presenting the ISO/IEC 42001:2023 standard for AI management systems.

Banking Sector AI Applications and Data Governance

IBM delivered two specialized workshops for leaders and professionals. The first focused on building AI on correct data foundations, examining the direct relationship between data quality, availability, governance, and AI performance, while identifying common data challenges causing AI initiative failures. The second workshop targeted the banking sector, discussing prominent use cases for AI and agentic AI in core and supporting banking functions, and evaluating the suitability of local solutions and specialized LLMs for sensitive data environments in the Kingdom.

These efforts reflect the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority’s (SDAIA) commitment to embodying the conference’s objectives in building globally competitive human capabilities through integrating theoretical aspects with practical applications, keeping pace with the latest technological developments shaping the new digital economy. The AI Capacity Building initiative demonstrates Saudi Arabia’s dedication to preparing its workforce for the future of technology and innovation.