Great achievements are not achieved by science alone, but rather require moments in which imagination blends with reality.

Sarah Jazaa Al-Otaibi, a Saudi scholarship student, was the first to use the fingerprint system in managing distributed systems on the Internet. Arab, British, German, French, Polish, Indonesian and many other media outlets wrote about her.

Knowledge alone is not enough.. The creative person needs his imagination too!

Sarah says that her specialization undoubtedly helped her a lot in her achievements, but it was not enough on its own to achieve the creativity she reached. All of her great scientific achievements began with moments when imagination blended with reality until the idea crystallized and the goal became clear with determination, ambition, and reliance on God during every attempt.

She confirms that there are many ambitious people, but the problem is that I was able to change every frustrating obstacle into a motivating motive that the future will be better. By preparing to achieve this ambition and sometimes with the right opportunity... the majority stop at the simplest obstacle they face, but I thank God very much for the presence of my father, mother and siblings who were a help to me in changing every frustrating obstacle into a motivating motive that the future will be better.

First in her class at the University of Southampton in Britain

Sarah grew up and studied all her educational stages in Jeddah, and achieved many accomplishments in the field of designing interactive websites and electronic systems, for government agencies, private institutions or individuals, while she was still a bachelor’s student at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah: Computer Science major.

At this stage, she qualified among the top six places in the Kingdom in the Microsoft Imagine Cup competition, and won the Most Professional Web Application Award from Microsoft in 1428 AH for her DDL Web System project.

She also won the silver award in the Savola Competition to support projects that serve the community in 1428 AH, for her project, the Made by Hand System.

Due to her passion for the specialization and her desire to develop her knowledge, she was able to complete her studies abroad, specifically at the University of Southampton in Britain, to finally obtain a Master’s degree - specializing in Computer Science and Electronics, with distinction, and first place in her class.

Sarah considers her studies at Southampton to be a real turning point in her academic career, as she was able to delve deeper into her research and innovations under the supervision of scientists and inventors in the field of the web. She has made many achievements, thanks to which she has received local and international awards from Microsoft and the World Conference on Information Security. She has given many lectures and participated in many publications, including working papers and scientific posters in international conferences and peer-reviewed academic journals, most of which have received awards and honors for her academic excellence.  

About Sarah Al-Otaibi's innovations:

Original scientific achievements in computer systems and interactive websites are registered as copyright, not patents. Accordingly, Sarah was able to register copyright on all of her technical innovations, including systems and websites. Below is a brief overview of some of them:

First: FingerID system 

It is a system that enables the beneficiary to use fingerprint technology in managing distributed systems on the Internet, so that he can browse all his accounts on the Internet by scanning his fingerprint only once, instead of using the username and password every time for each system.

This system has been appreciated - thanks to Allah - by a large number of specialists. Sarah is the first to use fingerprints in managing distributed systems on the Internet, whether from an academic or commercial perspective. She received the Best Paper Presentation Award from the World Conference on Internet Security (2011 IEEE WorldCIS) held in London in 1432 AH. She is currently studying contracts for a number of companies that are enthusiastic about operating and purchasing the idea.  

This system also found wide resonance in the local and international media. A number of British media outlets wrote about it, such as the Daily Mail and the BBC. It was also discussed by Al Arabiya News Channel and Saudi channels and newspapers. It was written about in a number of languages ​​in a large number of international newspapers and magazines, whether print or electronic, such as German, Romanian, French, Polish, Swedish, Indonesian, and others.

Second: DDL Web System

It is a system and website for the Deanship of Distance Education at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, serving students, faculty members and employees, and is provided with many innovative interactive methods to increase the effectiveness of e-learning. 

With this system, Sarah was able to qualify among the top six places in the Kingdom in the Imagine Cup competition, which was organized by Microsoft. She also received the Most Professional Web Application Award from Microsoft in 1428 AH.  

Third: Made by Hand website and system

It is an interactive website for the Made by Hands Exhibition, affiliated with the Deanship of Student Affairs, King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah. The website serves talented female students and exhibition organizers to achieve the best possible technical and interactive means for the exhibition’s objectives.

This system, praise be to God, won the silver award in the Savola Competition to support projects that serve the community in 1428 AH.  

Sarah Al-Otaibi is currently a PhD student at the University of Southampton in Britain, and she is hopeful that her PhD studies will also be full of scientific achievements that will enable her to serve the country.