The second edition of the Oman AI-Enhanced Drones Competition was concluded at the Grand Hall, under the patronage of His Highness Sayyid Fahd bin Al Julanda Al Said, the Vice Chancellor. 

The Competition was organised by the College of Engineering in collaboration with the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology, as part of the Makeen Initiative for digital competency development. It received technical support from the Civil Aviation Authority and financial sponsorship from Ithca Group, OQ, Sohar Port and Freezone, Petroleum Development Oman and Oman LNG. 

During the closing ceremony, the winners were announced. In the remote control category, the first-place was awarded to Sanad bin Hamad Al-Salmi, an SQU student, while the second was awarded to Luqman bin Saud Al-Saqri, a student at the Military Technical College. 

In the artificial intelligence autonomous control category, Osama bin Mohammed Al-Rawahi and Yusuf bin Abdullah Al-Shuaili won the first place, while Ayah bint Ahmed Al-Balushi, Sumaiya bint Nasser Al-Shamli and Zainab bint Mohammed Al-Mahrouqi won the second place, all of whom are SQU students.

The competition programme aims to raise public awareness about drones, their applications and benefits, seeking to empower Omani youth to contribute to technological solutions and therefore support the economic growth and job creation in the field. The training courses provide foundational knowledge for enthusiasts while refining the skills of participants in drone construction, calibration and operation. Moreover, they aim to develop competencies in drone programming and integrating artificial intelligence for autonomous operation, broadening their applications. The programme also prepares participants to compete in regional and international competitions. 

The second edition of the competition targeted 120 participants, selected from among hundreds of applicants, including students and job seekers from a variety of disciplines. The training programme was conducted in two phases: the first focused on manual operation, while the second involved autonomous control using artificial intelligence techniques. Upon completion of the training, the top-performing participants qualified for the final round of the competition that featured two tracks: manual control and AI-enhanced autonomous control.