9th International Women in Data Science (WiDS) Conference

Advancing Data Science for Global Challenges | April 15–16, 2026 | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

April 15–16, 2026

Full Day Event

Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

WiDS 2026 Conference at Prince Sultan University

The Ninth International Women in Data Science(WiDS) Conference will be organized by Prince Sultan University(PSU), Artificial Intelligence & Data Analytics (AIDA) Lab, in collaboration with Stanford University. The conference aims to foster women's interest and professional participation in data science, engineering, and computer science. WiDS PSU 2026 will bring together high-profile international researchers and industry pioneers. Prince Sultan University (PSU) is the WiDS Ambassador for Stanford, and the conference aims to expose the latest data science research and practices in the Arab Middle East by promoting the exchange of ideas, encouraging mentorship, and interdisciplinary collaboration in line with technological advances in the Kingdom under the umbrella of the Saudi Vision 2030.

WiDS PSU 2026 will allow national and international researchers to present their novel research findings and exchange information with the research community. It will bring specialists, leading researchers, scholars, scientists, and professors from computer science, technology, engineering science, business, education and alternative connected areas to act and exchange ideas concerning the state-of-the-art technologies associated with artificial intelligence, IoT & big data analytics. WiDS PSU will comprise oral sessions, keynote speeches, technical workshops, panel discussions, best regular paper & poster awards, Poster shows, and video shows by specialists in AI, Data Science and IoT domains. WIDS PSU 2026 will be held in a HYBRID MODE from April 14-15, 2026, with LIVE INTERACTIVE SESSIONS AND PRESENTATIONS ONLY opened to REGISTERED PARTICIPANTS.

Leadership Team

Role	Name	Affiliation
Honorary Program Chair	Dr. Ahmed Al-Yamani	President, Prince Sultan University (PSU)
Program Executive Chair	Dr. Heba Khoshaim	Vice President for Student Life at Prince Sultan University
Program Chair	Prof. Tanzila Saba	WiDS Ambassador, AIDA Lab Leader, Associate Director (Research & Initiatives Center), PSU
Organizing Chair	Ms. Fatima Khan	WiDS Co-Ambassador, Program Manager (Digital Academy), AIDA Lab Member, PSU

Technical Tracks

Data Science & AI for Sustainability

Exploring how data science can address environmental and societal challenges.

Generative AI & ChatGPT

Applications, challenges, and human-AI collaboration in generative models.

Cybersecurity, IoT & Data Security

Latest advancements in securing connected systems and data.

Computer Vision & NLP

Including Large Language Models and their applications.

Big Data Analytics & Visualization

Techniques for processing and presenting large datasets.

AI Applications in:

Healthcare (Digital Clinical Diagnosis)
Renewable Energy, Smart Agriculture
Business, Law, Digital Humanities
Architecture, Interior Design

Important Dates

Milestone	Deadline
Paper Submissions Open	October 1, 2025
Full Paper Submission Deadline	January 20, 2026 Extended to February 10, 2026
Acceptance Notification	February 20, 2026
Final Revised Paper Submission	February 25, 2026
Paper Registration Fee	March 5, 2026
Camera-Ready Paper Submission	March 12, 2026
Conference Dates	April 15–16, 2026

Publication Opportunities

All accepted papers will be published in IEEE Xplore® (Scopus-indexed).

Top papers will be invited for extended versions in:

Nature Scientific Reports (Impact Factor: 3.8, Q1)
International Journal of Computers and Applications

Unique Features

WiDS Datathon: 24-hour hackathon for real-world problem-solving
Student Engagement: Poster competitions, NextGen Data Science program
Networking Opportunities: Connect with researchers, academics, and industry professionals

Program Advisory Board

We honor the contributions of our distinguished Program Advisory Board:

Dr. Muhammad AlShara

Dean, College of Computer & Information Sciences, Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Dr. Reem Alsuhaibani

College of Computer & Information Sciences, Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Dr. Dhafer Almakhles

Director of Research & Initiative Center, Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Prof. Gwanggil Jeon

Professor, Xidian University, Xi'an, China

Prof. Seifedine Kadry

Professor, Noroff University College, Norway

Prof. Robertas Damaševičius

Professor, Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania

Dr. Layla Alfawzan

Vice Dean, College of Computer & Information Sciences, Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Prof. Maysaa Al Qurashi

Professor, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia

Prof. Hadeer Abouelnagah

Director of Translation & Authoring Centre, Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Prof. Hoshang Kolivand

Professor, Liverpool University, United Kingdom

Dr. Connie Mitchell

Vice Dean, College of Humanities & Sciences, Director of TLC, Prince Sultan University, Saudi Arabia

Prof. Ali Kashif Bashir

Professor, Manchester Metropolitan University, United Kingdom

Dr. Syed Ahmad Chan Bukhari

Director, Healthcare Informatics, St. John's University, New York, United States

Publication Chairs

Dr. Suliman Mohamed Fati

College of Computer and Information Sciences, Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Dr. Amjad Rehman

Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics (AIDA) Lab, College of Computer and Information Sciences, Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Technical Program Committee Chairs

Overseeing the technical review process and program quality.

Dr. Rabia Latif

Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Dr. Nor Shahida

Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Prof. Tanzila Saba

Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Technical Program Committee

Prof. Mubashir Husain Rehmani

Munster Technological University, Ireland

Prof. Ali Kashif Bashir

The Manchester Metropolitan University, United Kingdom

Prof. Usman Ghani

University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore, Pakistan

Dr. Izzat Alsamdi

Texas A&M University–San Antonio, USA

Prof. Shafry Rahim

University of Technology, Malaysia

Dr. Afraz Syed

Mohawk College, Canada

Prof. Abbas Malik

Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Dr. Deep Kothadiya

Charotar University of Science and Technology, India

Dr. Firdous Kousar

Fisk University, USA

Dr. Khalid Haseeb

Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Dr. Gabriella Casalino

Università degli Studi di Bari, Apulia, Italy

Dr. Jaber Jemai

Higher Colleges of Technology, UAE

Prof. Asmatullah Khan

Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Dr. Ashir Ahmed

Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia

Dr. Laila Dahabiyeh

Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Dr. Ijaz Ul Haq

Oakland University, USA

Dr. Soumaya Chaffered

CÈgep de la GaspÈsie et des Iles, Canada

Dr. Anis Zarrad

University of Birmingham, United Kingdom

Dr. Asmaa Ali

Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Dr. Majid Haroun

Duke University, USA

Dr. Abeer Mirdad

Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Muhammad Mujahid

Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Local Organizing Committee

Ms. Fatima Khan

Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Prof. Tanzila Saba

Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Dr. Anees Ara

Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Dr. Abeer Mirdad

Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Prof. Asmatullah Khan

Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Dr. Nahid Fatima

Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Ms. Somaiah Saeed Haif

Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Ms. Roaa Abid

Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Ms. Fawzia Goni

Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Ms. Fatima Ambreen

Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Ms. Salma Idris

Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Dr. Rehman Khan

Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Dr. Tariq Mahmood

Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Mr. Mohammed Mujahid

Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Dr. Yasir Javed

Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Ms. Reema Alotaibi

Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Datathon Committee

Dr. Anees Ara

Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Dr. Fatima Shannaq

Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Dr. Yasir Javed

Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Prof. Tanzila Saba

Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Workshops & Posters Committee

Dr. Walaa Wmetwally

Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Ms. Salma Idris

Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Ms. Roohi Jan

Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Ms. Jalila Zouhair

Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Dr. Umara Noreen

Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Publicity Chair

Mr. Mhanna Al-mhanna

Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

IEEE Liaison Committee Chairs

Dr. Heba Khoshaim

Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Dr. Ibrahim Nasar

IEEE Western Saudi Arabia Section, Saudi Arabia

Logistics Committee

Ms. Fetoun Alzahrani

Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Call for Posters

🚀 Calling all Data Science & AI enthusiasts!

Submit your research posters by March 28, 2026 for a chance to:

Present at a top-tier conference
Receive expert feedback
Win prizes and gain recognition

📍 Showcase Date: April 14, 2026, at Prince Sultan University

📧 Contact: aidalab@psu.edu.sa

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