Prime Highlights
- Al Subeil received the “Best Female Student” award, created specifically to honor distinguished female students and encourage more women to pursue scientific fields.
- The award highlighted growing female participation in nuclear science, a field where women remain underrepresented worldwide.
Key Facts
- The International Nuclear Science Olympiad is organized annually to recognize excellence in nuclear science among young scholars worldwide.
- Saudi Arabia led the 2026 Olympiad results, with 120 students and specialists from 19 countries competing for gold, silver and bronze medals.
Background
The Saudi student Jana Saleh Abdullah Al Subeil has received a gold medal in addition to the “Best Female Student” prize awarded by the International Atomic Energy Agency in the third edition of the International Nuclear Science Olympiad. This was an award that appreciated her excellence and performance in the contest.
The award is one of the special prizes established by the Olympiad’s council to honor distinguished female students and encourage greater participation by women in scientific fields. Al Subeil earned the distinction after excelling in both a five-hour theoretical examination and a five-hour practical examination, which tested participants on nuclear science knowledge, analytical ability, experimental skills and problem-solving.
Her achievement stood out in a competition where Saudi Arabia’s delegation delivered a strong overall performance. Fellow Saudi student Amjad Mahmoud Issa Al Darwish claimed the top gold medal and the title of “Nuclear Science Ambassador” after posting the highest combined score across both exams. Abdulaziz Abdulmohsen Al Shurayt won silver, while Saleh Mubarak Daifallah Al-Harbi took bronze.
The Olympiad awarded eight gold medals, 13 silver medals and 18 bronze medals, along with several special awards, to 120 students and scientific specialists representing 19 countries. Organizers designed the Best Female Student award specifically to spotlight young women excelling in nuclear science, a field where female representation remains limited globally, and to inspire more girls to pursue advanced scientific study.
The event was jointly organized by the Ministry of Education, Mawhiba, and King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy, and was hosted by King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah during the first week of August under the theme “Bright Minds for a Promising Future.”
