Program · Training & Capability-Building

Mateen Program

Mateen is SAIF’s project-based applied AI research and talent program. It is being designed to connect selected participants with real problems, technical coaches, and structured project delivery. The first cohort will be announced when the program’s operating and funding conditions are ready.

At a glance

Starts with

Real institutional problems

Brings together

Participants, coaches, partners

Delivery model

Structured project work

Status

In development

What Mateen is

Mateen is a project-based applied AI research and talent-development program. Real problems submitted by companies and institutions are reviewed, scoped, and — where they qualify — turned into project cycles staffed by selected participants and screened coaches and mentors, with SAIF program management and research oversight throughout.

Mateen is not a generic training course, an open-enrollment bootcamp, a hackathon, a software-outsourcing service, or a standalone incubator or accelerator.

Where projects begin

Every Mateen project begins with a real problem submitted by a company or institution — not a syllabus and not a generic assignment. Submitting organizations identify the problem owner, the affected users or process, and the data, infrastructure, or technical access available to work on it.

How projects are qualified

SAIF reviews whether a submitted problem can become a meaningful applied AI research or development project — considering the clarity of the problem, data and access readiness, and delivery feasibility. Not every submission qualifies.

Mateen is not a general software-outsourcing channel. Submitted problems are reviewed for their potential to become meaningful applied AI research or development projects.

Selection

Participants and coaches are reviewed and selected for each project cycle based on fit, capability, and availability. Submitting an application does not imply acceptance or assignment to a specific project.

Delivery model

The model under development moves suitable projects through preparation, participant and coach selection, matching, onboarding, focused delivery, final review, documentation, and transition to the appropriate next pathway. Timing will be confirmed for each announced cohort or project.

Institutions and project partners

Companies, public-sector bodies, universities, and mission-aligned organizations may submit real problems for review. Project partners are expected to contribute relevant cash, data, infrastructure, specialist time, or other in-kind resources, with flexibility based on context and project value.

Students and project participants

Apply to be considered for future Mateen projects. Applications may be reviewed through eligibility, technical and project-fit, commitment, and interview stages. Submission does not guarantee selection or project matching, employment, funding, publication, continued study, or startup formation.

Coaches and mentors

Mateen coaches and mentors guide project teams, support technical and research discipline, review progress, and help participants work toward credible outcomes. Applicants may be interviewed and assessed for expertise, availability, trust, and project fit.

Possible outcomes

A Mateen project cycle can lead to a range of outcomes. None of these is guaranteed, and startup formation is only one of many possibilities:

• A completed project
• A working prototype
• Partner adoption of the resulting work
• A reusable methodology, model, tool, or dataset
• A research report
• A publication or conference pathway
• Continued academic research
• An internship or employment opportunity
• Participant capability development
• Startup formation, in some cases
• Documented non-viability — a clear, honest conclusion that the problem did not support a viable project

Syrian Computer Society collaboration agreement

SAIF and the Syrian Computer Society have signed a collaboration agreement. Training of Trainers is one activity identified within that agreement — it is a specific preparation activity, not a definition of the coach role or of Mateen itself. The agreement does not mean that every Mateen project is jointly delivered with the Syrian Computer Society. Applicant information is shared with the Society only where the applicant has explicitly consented for that specific joint activity.

All three paths above submit an expression of interest through SAIF's standard participation form. Submitting one does not imply admission, cohort acceptance, project selection, employment, or a guaranteed opportunity. SAIF will review submissions against future needs and fit, and will announce the first cohort only when operating and funding conditions are ready.