Each year, we witness the great annual Maida Mohyeddin Nazer Innovation Award in Jeddah, hosted by Dar Al-Hekmah University in partnership with the Research, Development and Innovation Authority.
The award is presented during the Innovation Hackathon, where aspiring innovators will have the chance to develop ideas that respond to real challenges and turn them into practical solutions.
The Award’s History
The Maida Mohyeddin Nazer Innovation Award was launched by Abdullah Saleh Kamel in honor of his mother, Maida Mohyeddin Nazer. It was created to encourage university students in Saudi Arabia to explore new ideas and develop solutions that reflect the strategic priorities of the Saleh Abdullah Kamel Humanitarian Foundation, while also supporting the wider goals of Saudi Vision 2030.
The award was first launched in 2023 and has since been held annually in collaboration with strategic partners. Each edition gives students a platform to present their ideas and take part in an experience centered on innovation and practical problem-solving.
Who Are the Eligible Participants?
The event is open to female bachelor’s and master’s students enrolled at universities across Saudi Arabia. Participants are encouraged to bring forward innovative ideas, apply their academic knowledge to real-world challenges, and collaborate in an environment designed to support creativity, problem-solving, and practical innovation.
2026 Hackathon Tracks
Participants are invited to develop ideas within three main innovation tracks, each addressing a different social or community need.
1. Enriching the Experience of the Guests of Allah in the Holy Cities
This track focuses on improving the experience of pilgrims and visitors in Makkah and Madinah. Ideas may address different parts of the journey, from navigating crowded areas and accessing information to improving comfort, mobility, communication, or service delivery. The aim is to identify practical ways to make the experience smoother and more supportive for people visiting the Holy Cities.
2. Promoting Social Inclusion for Older Adults and Blind People
This track looks at how innovation can help older adults and blind people participate more independently in daily life. Participants can explore challenges related to mobility, access to services, communication, public spaces, or digital experiences. Solutions should focus on reducing barriers and making everyday environments and services easier to use.
3. Sustainable Social Solutions
This track encourages participants to think about social challenges that require long-term, practical responses. Rather than focusing on short-term fixes, ideas should consider how a solution can continue creating value over time, remain feasible to implement, and respond to real community needs. This could include new service models, digital solutions, or other approaches that improve quality of life in a sustainable way.
Prizes
The 2026 Innovation Hackathon offers prizes designed to recognize the strongest ideas and reward teams that demonstrate originality, relevance, and practical potential.
The first-place winner will receive SAR 90,000, while second place will receive SAR 70,000 and third place will receive SAR 40,000.
These prizes recognize the projects that stand out most strongly during the competition and show the greatest potential to address the challenges presented through the hackathon tracks.
In addition, the Audience Choice Award offers SAR 5,000 to the project that receives the strongest support from attendees, giving participants another opportunity to have their work recognized beyond the main judging process.
Innovation Beyond the Hackathon
Innovation is also reshaping fields such as business and law, creating new questions around regulation, emerging technologies, and the way companies operate.
For students interested in exploring these developments from a legal perspective, Dar Al-Hekmah University offers an LLM in Commercial Law designed to build advanced knowledge of Saudi commercial law while strengthening legal research and professional skills.
The bilingual program is taught in Arabic and English and is designed around the evolving needs of the commercial sector.
It’s also the first Commercial Law LLM in the Western Region of Saudi Arabia to offer a bilingual curriculum, with the program supporting the development of specialized legal education in line with Saudi Vision 2030.
