Three days of talks on industrial automation came to an end in Al-Khobar today as the ISA Saudi Automation Conference 2026 closed, having brought together 50 speakers and more than 800 engineers, researchers, academics and specialists from the Kingdom and abroad.

Organised by the Saudi section of the International Society of Automation (ISA) under the theme "Autonomous: Vision to Reality", the event focused on turning advanced technologies into industrial solutions that can be applied in practice.

Section president Dr. Sulaiman Mousa Al-Madhi said the accompanying exhibition featured more than 33 pavilions and two panel discussions with industry leaders. Topics included process measurement, automation and safety, data analytics, industrial control system security, and how the Fourth Industrial Revolution is reshaping industry in Saudi Arabia and worldwide.

He said the ISA EMEA student games brought together students and young engineers from the Middle East, Europe, the United States and Asia, with two tracks: an AI, machine learning and industrial IoT challenge, and a best-paper competition for undergraduate and postgraduate students. The Saudi section launched its student games programme three years ago.

Exhibiting companies showed the latest automation, digital, cybersecurity, and instrumentation and control products, alongside workshops and panel discussions.