The judging committee of the Ibdathon hackathon, organized by Samaa Association for Creativity and Innovation in partnership with Bank AlJazira over three consecutive days, announced that 12 teams have qualified for the final stage, with 4 teams from each track, after presenting innovative projects that reflected the quality of ideas and distinction of solutions. The winners will be announced at the closing ceremony to be held next Thursday at the House of Culture in Buraidah. Samaa Association for Creativity and Innovation had launched the "Ibdathon 2026" hackathon, with the participation of an elite group of creatives and innovators to develop innovative technological solutions that contribute to addressing real challenges and creating a sustainable impact supporting the future of innovation in the Kingdom. 47 teams consisting of 139 male and female participants competed in three main tracks: – Islamic financial solutions. – Smart cities and robotics. – AI-enhanced agricultural solutions.

The Chairman of the Board of Directors of Samaa Association for Creativity and Innovation, Mr. Ahmed bin Abdullah Al-Tuwaijri, praised the passion and interaction he witnessed in this scientific event, which embodies the passion and interaction of the nation's sons and daughters with the leadership's directions in promoting a culture of creativity and innovation in society. Al-Tuwaijri announced that all participants would be granted affiliate membership of the association, as specified in the bylaws, with the board covering the annual fees for the male and female participants in this hackathon, who numbered 139.

The Ibdathon hackathon also featured several specialized workshops. The first workshop, titled "Governance and Compliance in Technological Solutions," was presented by Dr. Suleiman bin Saleh Al-Jarboua and focused on the importance of integrating governance and compliance principles in the design and development of technological solutions to enhance system quality, data protection, risk management, and achieve sustainability and reliability. The second workshop of the Ibdathon hackathon, presented by Dr. Omar bin Abdullah Al-Samani, addressed the importance of employing artificial intelligence applications as a partner in thinking, developing ideas and solutions, and building knowledge, while maintaining the human role in analysis, evaluation, and decision-making. For her part, the Project Manager of Ibdathon, Dr. Haifa Al-Hassoun, expressed her happiness with the success of the hackathon's events, embodied by the level of interaction from all regions of the Kingdom, reflecting the desire of the nation's sons and daughters for an incubating and supportive environment from community institutions. Dr. Al-Hassoun indicated that the number of registrants for the hackathon in the first stage reached 450 male and female participants representing 144 teams, which certainly reflects the hackathon's success in attracting creatives and innovators. In conclusion, she extended her thanks and appreciation to Samaa Association for Creativity and Innovation and Bank AlJazira for organizing this scientific event, which, praise be to God, achieved great success in creating exceptional moments that embody the passion of the sons and daughters of this great nation in the fields of creativity and innovation, also thanking all organizers, volunteers, judging committees, and mentors for their distinguished efforts in ensuring the success of the Ibdathon events.