Dec 22, 2025

Student Team Secures Second Place at Fikrahthoon

A student-led team from KFUPM achieved second place at Fikrahthoon, a competitive innovation event organized by Saudi Air Navigation Services (SANS) and held in Jeddah on November 30, 2025, bringing together participants from more than 35 universities across the Kingdom.

Representing KFUPM, Alridha Sameer Almajed, a Computer Science student from the College of Information and Computer Science, collaborated with Ahmed Almajed and Feras Alhejji from Electrical Engineering on a group project focused on building an AI-powered employee assistant. The challenge required teams to design practical AI Agents capable of improving workplace efficiency and streamlining internal operations.

The team developed an advanced AI Agent designed to support employees through multiple integrated features. These included a Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) system that reads company documents and answers employee inquiries related to policies, supply chains, and internal procedures; a smart notification system that reminds employees of upcoming tasks such as safety exams or system maintenance; and a ticket-raising assistant that allows users to request IT support through simple messages. The solution also integrated with the employee database, enabling authorized HR personnel to securely retrieve sensitive information while maintaining strict access controls for regular users.

Despite the project’s technical complexity, the team successfully delivered a working solution within a limited timeframe. Although the competition officially spanned a month, the scope of development, combined with repeated travel to Jeddah and overlap with university exam periods, posed significant challenges. These were overcome through effective teamwork, time management, and strong commitment to applying academic knowledge in a real-world context.

The achievement reflects the strong academic environment at KFUPM, which fosters ambition, technical excellence, and a drive to deliver work that represents the university with distinction. The team encourages fellow students and faculty members to take the first step by registering for such events, emphasizing that confidence and momentum grow through participation and experience.