My name is Jihar Gifari, but some of my friends call me Jay. I’m an MSc Data Science student at Leeds Beckett University, having started in September 2023. Prior to joining LBU, I worked as a Data Scientist at one of the leading e-commerce platforms in Indonesia, Shopee. I had three years of experience in the data science field when I began my master’s degree. My plan was to deepen my expertise in data science and gain international networks, which I hope will lead me to becoming a global player in the rapidly evolving fields of data science and AI.

In January 2024, a friend approached me and asked me to join a group of students for an AI competition in Saudi Arabia. The competition was hosted by the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The team that invited me already had their idea, but they needed a technical person to build the prototype. The initial idea was to build smart glasses to help Muslims perform Umrah and Hajj. However, we decided to build a simpler solution for the prototype: a personalized AI assistant to help Muslims from all over the world in at least four parts of their Umrah (pilgrimage) journey: pre-departure, departure, rituals, and post-rituals tourism. We did our best but didn’t expect much at the time.

Several days after submitting our solution, we were informed that our team was selected as one of the 15 finalists to present our work in Medina, Saudi Arabia. The competition received almost 1,000 submissions from 15 different countries, including China, the USA, the UK, Australia, Germany, Indonesia, and the KSA itself. Most of the finalists were tech or AI companies, not active students like us. Being selected as a finalist alone was a big achievement for us! This was my first AI competition on a global scale and my first time flying on a business flight, which was provided by the committee. After seeing other finalists present their work, we almost lost hope. However, the eight judges gave great feedback on our presentation, and we began to hope we could get at least 5th or 4th place.

The next day was the winner announcement day, and we were very excited and nervous. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t expecting to win, but I didn’t want to be naive either. So, when we heard that 5th and 4th place were taken by other participants, we prepared to return empty-handed. Unexpectedly, they announced that our team, a group of MSc candidates, secured 1st place in the AI competition! I was flabbergasted and couldn’t believe for a straight 20 seconds that I actually won an AI competition on a worldwide scale!

Now that we’d secured 1st place, we needed to deal with the consequences: spotlights and expectations. Many media outlets approached us, from the KSA, the UK, and Indonesia. Also, the KSA government said that this is just the beginning—they want us to actually implement the project as a Saudi-based startup. My team and I are now in the process of handling all the necessary administration to legally start our company in the KSA. The KSA will also provide working space and connect us with investors.

Since all of us are active students in the UK, we are committed to finishing our master’s degrees before moving forward with our next journey. I have an ongoing contract to work as a Data Scientist with an AI consulting company based in Huddersfield for the next several months too. Furthermore, this project is becoming my thesis idea, and I am currently in the middle of improving it with continuous consultation from my supervisor at LBU. I am very excited to see how the future unfolds and where my fate will take me.