Omani student builds AI model for personalised education

Omani student builds AI model for personalised education

An Omani university student has developed Ilmify, an artificial-intelligence platform designed to personalise learning for university students by adapting educational material to individual needs. The platform was co-founded by Sultan Qaboos University student Nouf bint Abdul Hamid Al Shamli and has already been deployed in several pilot projects beyond Oman. The team represented Oman at the Falling Walls competition in Berlin last year.

“Statistics gives me the ability to read data, understand its patterns and predict its trends, while computer science gives me the tools to turn this understanding into actual, applicable technical solutions,” Nouf said, describing the foundations of the project.

Ilmify emerged after Nouf encountered academic material that was difficult to grasp when presented in a conventional one-size-fits-all format. What began as an individual problem crystallised into a broader challenge: many students struggle when lessons are delivered through standardised methods that do not reflect diverse learning needs. The platform uses large language models to adapt content and the learning experience to each student, aiming to create a more responsive educational pathway rather than expecting every learner to follow the same path.

• Founder and background: Nouf bint Abdul Hamid Al Shamli is a student at Sultan Qaboos University specialising in statistics and data science, with computer science as a sub-speciality.
• Technology: Ilmify leverages large language models alongside data-science principles to personalise educational material and predict learning trends.
• Early traction: The project has moved beyond Oman through several pilot projects and has participated in local and international competitions, including the Falling Walls competition in Berlin, where the team represented Oman.
• Skills beyond tech: Building Ilmify required Nouf to expand into marketing, branding, budgeting and stakeholder management, including interactions with users, investors and partners.
• Awards and recognition: Nouf mentioned winning an award for early problem detection, an experience that shifted her view of innovation toward identifying the right problem before developing sophisticated solutions.

Nouf frames effective AI as more than tool adoption; it demands domain knowledge, careful questioning and responsibility. “The fundamental difference today is not between those who have access to AI and those who do not,” she said, “but between those who use it superficially and those who understand its mechanisms and leverage them to build meaningful solutions.” That principle informed Ilmify’s design: a data-first approach where statistical analysis identifies patterns and computer science translates insights into technical solutions.

Looking ahead, Nouf emphasises a regional ambition. She said Ilmify aspires to “establish clear features in the future of smart education in the sultanate,” and to evolve into “an Arab educational model capable of competing with global solutions.” She also sees opportunity for locally developed AI across sectors including education, health, infrastructure and tourism, arguing that international solutions may not fully reflect local needs.

For young developers in Oman, Nouf offers practical advice: move beyond thinking as technology users and begin building products for markets beyond the Sultanate. Her own journey — from tackling a classroom difficulty to leading a startup that blends AI, statistics and real-world product-building — illustrates the combination of technical competence, domain understanding and entrepreneurial skills she believes are needed to scale locally relevant AI solutions.