His Excellency Dr Saad bin Saud Al Fuhaid, President of Arabian Gulf University (AGU), participated in the opening of the 19th Asia-Pacific Conference on Giftedness, held under the patronage of His Excellency the Saudi Minister of Education, Mr Yousef bin Abdullah Al-Benyan. The conference, hosted by the University of Business and Technology in Jeddah, gathered representatives from 40 countries and over 1,000 participants, including talented individuals, experts, and decision-makers.

On this occasion, His Excellency Dr Al Fuhaid affirmed that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has achieved a leading global position in nurturing talent, owing to the generous support from the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, and the Crown Prince His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman. He noted that the Kingdom has become a global model in talent discovery and empowerment, establishing advanced systems that invest in the potential of its youth.

He also commended the participation of AGU in this significant international event, praising the readiness of the university’s faculty and students to engage in scientific sessions, workshops, and the accompanying exhibition. He stressed that the university’s presence aligns with its strategic goals of fostering talent and innovation, as well as enhancing the capabilities of youth. Additionally, the conference provides a vital platform for dialogue, exchange of experience, and the showcasing of best global practices in gifted education, thereby supporting the transformation of creative energies into added value for the economy and society.

The conference featured the launch of the first global index for measuring and evaluating gifted education, a major step toward developing international talent identification mechanisms and establishing more efficient, sustainable systems.

This year’s conference is themed "Fast Forward: Building a Better Future for Gifted Education 2050 " and brings together more than 100 speakers, 200 researchers, and approximately 800 participants from 40 countries, including faculty members and graduate students from the College of Education, Administrative and Technical Sciences at AGU. This participation underscores ongoing efforts to advance gifted education through innovation and artificial intelligence.

The scientific sessions will commence with the participation of several academics from AGU, along with distinguished Saudi and international speakers, and will continue until February 11, 2026.