RIYADH: More than 100 data specialists from government agencies are receiving open data training as part of a program organized by the Saudi Authority for Data and Artificial Intelligence at its headquarters in Riyadh. The program will provide trainees from more than 30 government agencies with knowledge and skills about open data, and its applicable standards and policies. Trainees ‎will also be taught methods for making appropriate decisions in the fields of research and innovation. The program’s content was developed through 16 topics to enable the trainees to become familiar with open data in terms of knowledge, value, processing, quality assurance, classification and descriptive management. This step comes within the framework of SADAIA’s efforts to raise awareness of open data through specialized training programs aimed at building a national economy based on data and artificial intelligence. Ali Alaklabi, the Data Specialist. (SUPPLIED) “Open data derives its importance from being available for use and download by everyone, and in appropriate formats that can be modified, taking into account compliance with the usage policy required by the party that provides the said data,” said data specialist Ali Alaklabi. Alaklabi, a former vice dean of library affairs at King Saud University, said‎: “It is characterized by the fact that each person can benefit from it and reuse it, as well as rely on it in his research or reports related to that data. Also, everyone has the right to publish it at his own responsibility.” Availability of open data promotes access to data integration, and encourages research, scientific discovery and innovation, he said. “This in addition to providing the researcher with the ability to verify the accuracy of the results he finds in his research field,” said Alaklabi. ‎“Open data ‎can be made available without restrictions, and collected from its basic sources directly without modification and with high quality,” he added.