On the occasion of the World Creativity and Innovation Day, which falls on April 21 of each year, I would like to share with you my experience in entering the world of innovation, which began when I was in middle school, where I participated in the National Olympiad for Scientific Creativity in the innovation track, specifically, by inventing a navigational instrument with a spoon at the end, a simple experiment that opened many horizons and distinct opportunities for me.

All distinctive innovations started with a simple idea. Everything we see around us is the result of out-of-the-box ideas and brainstorming, a talent that had the merit - after God Almighty - in helping me think in a different and more creative way. The story began with my teacher’s suggestion at school to participate in the annual Creativity Competition and think of new solutions. At first, I was afraid of the experience and hesitant to participate, but after attending many training workshops on brainstorming and hearing many stories about innovators, many of my concepts changed, and I started to propose a simple idea for implementation and an inexpensive poster that served the purpose and was worth trying. Here lies the challenge. I went through the experience and it was very enjoyable and useful. I was unable to win the competition, but my experience in the Creativity Olympiad 2011 helped me develop myself more and think differently by inventing new study methods that would benefit me during university. Also, my previous experience helped me to go through more in-depth experiences, such as my participation with my team at the university to invent the smart pharmacy, and winning first place, as well as my participation in the MIT medicine hackthone.

When I joined the work, innovation became my way of overcoming difficulties, whatever their source. For example, in my dealings with my patients in the clinic, I helped my patient (a visually impaired person) who was suffering from multiple problems, such as difficulty reading consecutively. So I thought of helping her by designing a small card out of cardboard, and emptying it into specific sizes, after calculating the average length and width of English words on smartphones.

The card is used on the smartphone to track the reading, a very simple idea, from home resources, inexpensive, but very useful.

Delving into the field of innovations becomes, over time, a way of life. For every problem we face, we can find the appropriate solution - God willing - as life is built on experiences, and it is wonderful for a person to try new experiences and take on different challenges without hesitation.

Here is an invitation to my fellow students to participate in Mawhiba’s programs and competitions, and not to be afraid of not achieving success in them, because in reality there is no winning or losing as much as they are experiences that include the opportunity to learn, which will greatly enrich your lives and benefit you, and in your future - God willing.

Be innovative, creative and distinguished - God willing.

Shukria Yacoub Kankar

Optometrist from King Saud University