The Gulf Data Marathon (Datathon)  kicked off on 28th October will last until the  3rd November 2019, at the Mysk Al Mouj Hotel, under the patronage of  H.E. Dr. Khalifa bin Abdullah bin Hamad Al Barwani, Chief Executive Officer of NCSI, with presence of A number of GCC  experts who are specialized in the  statistical  field .

Datathon is considered, the first event of the second Gulf Statistics Forum that will be host by the Sultanate of Oman during the period of 9-10 December 2019, under the theme (smart data).

Gulf Datathon, which aims to raise the skills of participants in data analysis by utilizing the latest technology, has started its functions by setting an advance course on the techniques of data analysis and data science for the participants, organized by GBM Company, followed by a competition program for the participants to create IT solution in the statistical sector.

Commenting on the event, H.E. Dr. Khalifa bin Abdullah bin Hamad Al Barwani, Chief Executive Officer of the Centre said: "The convening of this Datathon today in the Sultanate of Oman, shows the interests of the GCC statistical organizations in raising the capabilities of their employees, particularly techniques related to the 4th industrial revolution associated with statistical tasks".

Al Barwani pointed out that, the Gulf Datathon aims to exchange the expertise and skills among the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, and to provide opportunities for the statistical entities to be acquainted with modern technologies in processing, analyzing and creating statistical indicators and information.

He added that, the outputs of this datathon would enable those in charge of GCC statistical agencies and entities to come across key tools for enhancing capacity for more productive and efficient statistics staff, able to utilize latest technologies provided by the fourth industrial revolution.

Al Barwani expressed his sincere thanks and gratitude to GPM,for providing the advanced training course to the participants of GCC Datathon, the management team of Datathon and the participants of the training, wishing them great benefits and a pleasant stay in their second country, Oman.

Ali bin Said Al-Azri, General Manager of Government Sales at GBM company stated that , GBM participation as a strategic partner of the Forum comes through its task to provide a platform ,tools  , trainers and experts in the areas of data analysis, artificial intelligence and digital transformation fields .

Al-Azri pointed out that, the training modules and themes have included the latest statistical trends, the statistics future and addressing the challenges of digital transformation.