RIYADH: A total of 1,000 women from 29 countries are receiving training in data and AI skills through the Elevate Program, launched by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority in collaboration with Google Cloud. Elevate aims to train over 25,000 women worldwide in advanced technical fields within five years, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Tuesday. In the initial phase of the program, launched in May, trainees will undergo four levels of remote training. This will include integrated learning, recorded lessons, self-training modules, group-based and synchronous learning, open seminars, virtual courses, and practical projects. Seven male and nine female Saudi trainers are supervising the training, providing 340 intensive training hours in two tracks: one for technical specialists and one for nonspecialists. The program will offer free training sessions in areas including cloud engineering, data engineering, machine learning engineering, and cloud operations. In the first phase, 300 female technical specialists and 700 female nonspecialists from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Oman, Egypt, Mauritania, the US, Nigeria, Tanzania, Syria, Turkiye, Algeria, Kenya, India, Jordan, Brazil, Gambia, Vietnam, Uganda, Swaziland, Lebanon, Lesotho, Iraq, the UK, Sudan, Tunisia, Moldova, Uzbekistan and Liberia are taking part. The Elevate Program gives women the skills needed to pursue jobs in emerging markets, catering to both technical specialists and those wishing to enter the fields of data, artificial intelligence and machine learning. The program is also aimed at closing the gender gap in science in line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.