Innovation X Ecosystems @Topian, the NEOM Food Company

TL;DR
I turn bold ideas into sustainable reality. I fuse technology, sustainability, and food systems to shape a resilient, future-ready world. With a PhD in Applied Mathematics and a track record spanning research, entrepreneurship, and global partnerships, I’m passionate about driving transformative projects that advance Vision 2030.

Speaker bio:
Dr. Andrew Yip is dedicated to curating sustainable innovations and strategic partnerships that will help the food sector reach its full potential. With his extensive experience in technology, innovation, and data governance, Dr. Yip is committed to driving positive change and creating innovative solutions for the industry, supporting Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, which aims to promote economic diversification, job creation, and social and cultural development.

Dr. Yip holds a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics and Computational Science from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology and has been a NEOM pioneer since 2019. When he's not working, he enjoys tabletop gaming with friends and strangers alike.

Andrew Yip, PhD

Just finished a 2 am feed and wanted to mark the moment by sharing something I’ve quietly been building: my own baby activity tracker (Just do it).

Over the past weeks I’ve tried a bit of everything — apps, notes on my phone, even scribbles on the wall — but nothing really matched how my days with my son actually feel. So I started designing a simple tracker just for us, and it’s slowly becoming part of our nightly rhythm. The screenshots here are from this week, where I’ve been logging feeds and diapers and getting little reflections back on how the week went.

One funny (and honest) observation: I almost never manage to log sleep time. Somehow, by the time he finally dozes off, the last thing I want to do is tap another button. That gap made me notice how much I crave calm more than perfect data. Using this tool has helped me be more mindful of our routines without obsessing, and seeing the week summarized gives me a small sense of order in the blur of new parenthood.

I’m deeply grateful that my baby Justin  is the inspiration / pair-programming buddy / tester for this little project. The idea is that the tool will grow with him, and I’ll grow with it: what we track, how we reflect, and how we build tiny moments of awareness into everyday care. If it can help other new parents feel a bit more grounded and gentle with themselves, then it’s already a success.

Give it a try, or share it with a new parent friend. Hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it. 

Link in first comment.

Saudi Premium Resident | Turning bold ideas into sustainable reality | Tech × Sustainability × Future Food Systems

After feeding baby Justin tonight, I suddenly got hit by a very specific craving: that steamy, savory bowl of halal Lanzhou noodles in China – the kind where the broth warms your soul and the hand-pulled noodles disappear way too fast.

So, while the little one was settling back to sleep, I opened up HalalYalla and did the next best thing to actually flying to China: I added a few halal Lanzhou noodle spots in Shenzhen to the app.

If you’re heading to Shenzhen (or already there!), you’ll soon see new listings for:
- Lanzhou / Chinese Muslim noodle places in key districts
- Clear halal tagging and addresses you can navigate to directly

This is just the start. I’ll keep expanding the China halal noodle map city by city – if you know any must‑visit spots, reply or DM so we can add them to HalalYalla and help more Muslims find that perfect bowl.

Link in first comment.

Celebrating the arrival of Eid in the spirit of service, I had the privilege of moderating discussions among agrifood tech innovators and ecosystem enablers from around the world at the preparatory meeting for the Global Agrifood Innovation Alliance (GAIA), a "child" of World AgriFood Innovation (WAFI) Conference, as Prof. Wenge Fu the Founder of WAFI has so affectionately put it.

I was especially honored to introduce our Middle East speaker representative, Prof. Abdulaziz Al-Harbi, PhD, Chief Scientific Advisor of the Saudi AgriFood Tech Alliance (SAFTA) التحالف السعودي لتقنيات الزراعة والغذاء —a true pioneer in the field with over 40 years of contributions shaping agrifood innovation in the region.

What stood out most was the genuine energy for collaboration across regions—from colleagues in Spain exploring deeper engagement with the Middle East, to the inspiring momentum across Africa in advancing both technology and human capacity to support smallholder farmers at scale.

I’m deeply grateful to all participants for their openness, shared purpose, and commitment to building bridges across ecosystems. 

This is just the beginning. 

We warmly welcome continued dialogue and invite partners from across sectors and geographies to join us in shaping this collective effort.

Looking ahead, we’re excited to continue these conversations during our upcoming innovation roadshow in mid-April—more details to follow soon.

In these complex times, I also extend sincere wishes for peace, stability, and shared prosperity across our region and beyond. We look forward to welcoming delegations and visitors to the Middle East in the months to come, to deepen collaboration on the ground and translate dialogue into action.

Eid Mubarak 🌙

Nations endure not just on vision or resources, but on trust: the quiet promises that bind us all.

Saudi Founding Day celebrates exactly that: leaders and people whose word built a lasting foundation, from Diriyah in 1727 to today. That's why I write about trust and foundation today.

Confucius says, "lacking trustworthiness, it's hard to know what can be made of them". In homes as in nations, kids learn trust not from words alone, but from whether "I'll be there" holds true.

In celebration of Foundation Day today, pick one recent promise to your child. Keep it by day's end, or sit down, explain honestly why not, and rebuild together. 

Small acts build strong foundations.

Happy Foundation Day!

自謂西川業漸成，
荊郊野夢尚纏情。
六年閒坐雲山外，
一劍未嘗試世塵。
水繞孤城春自碧，
心隨駿馬意難停。
他年若問興衰事，
但指江流笑未名。

新野覺前歌

Pi Day 2026: The Pie Chart Exception I Teach (And Built)

Data science teacher confession: I always warn against pie charts—bars are better for comparisons. 

Exception? Pi Day, when "parts of a whole" demands intuitive slices.

Enter Slice Truth on π Day – 20 interactive pies in one view.

Some of those pies:
AI's venture capital grip
Shifting global defense budgets
Timeless truths:
10,000 hour myth debunked
Where your focus really goes
How long habits take to form
How identical are we as humans genetically

Pick your provocation—what slice surprises you?
Enjoy the πs. 

Link on first comment.

Six weeks in, my wife and I have been so focused on baby Justin that we sometimes forget… us.  

I originally built a tiny baby activity tracker just to keep up with his feeds, naps, and milestones. But over the past few weeks, I realized the app was quietly reinforcing a mindset: everything for the baby, and whatever energy is left for the parents.

So I added a new screen: a gentle “Just Do It” checklist for us.  

Simple things like “Go outside”, “Drink water”, “Move your body”, “Eat a real meal”, “Take a shower”, “Read to baby” – tiny prompts that nudge us to care for him and ourselves in the same frame.

It’s not fancy product-wise, but it’s been surprisingly grounding to tick off “I ate a real meal” with the same satisfaction as “I read to Justin today”.  

If you’re in the newborn tunnel too, how are you reminding yourself that the parents are part of the care plan?

Engen

Merchandise Analyst

Wauko

Worked in the Forex and Treasury branch. 
Highlights included specking and implementing an Azure server. Developed business analytics roadmap and built open-source Forex Policy Dashboards in Python.
Feel free to contact me for Git integration and pricing options.

Wau-Creator

Hanoi Films ltd.

Founded and operated a boutique media company called Hanoi Films Company Limited (VN MST #0108284269)

Total unique clients: 170 across 4 continents. Produced content in English, Arabic, French, Vietnamese and German languages. Services included digital media content and creation as well as digital strategy packages. Worked in a team of between 3 and 12 people. Produced documentaries, corporate realization videos, short films, animations, television commercials, music videos - all to professional industry specifications. 
 
– Key Achievements 
Instrumental in managing a diverse range of clients from different countries. Developed and implemented client delivery process from onboarding through to final sign-off. Hands on approach.
Cultivated strong working partnerships with educational institutions, NGOs (Non-governmental organizations), fintech startups, and small businesses across South East Asia and beyond.
Created internal digital tracking process with proxy media and google cloud data management that allowed multiple team members to work on the same file.

Founder / Director

Capitec Bank

Added value to the Granting Model and Credit Provisioning strategy through:
Scorecard development / Monitoring / Analysis, Affordability calculations,  ad hoc statistical analysis

 – Key Achievements 
Undertook detailed financial modeling, presented a range of solutions that lead to better client understanding.
Managed credit bureau data inflow and developed multiple model pipelines to improve operational robustness.
Technical specifications drafting as well as coding for production on ad hoc analysis

Statistician

Telesure Technology Solutions

Worked in Pricing and Advanced Analytics:

Added value across Telesure group brands using  CART / CHAID,  Data mining, Predictive modeling (Lapse and Propensity), Scenario modeling,  Survival Analysis, Non-payments/Collections analysis 

 – Key Achievements 
Conducted sector and company research; performed quantitative analysis and financial modeling as well as preparing data for the actuarial team.
Improved key business processes and understanding through exploratory data analysis on client demographics
Presented to EXCO on two occasions

SAS Analyst Programmer

Stellenbosch University

I was approached for this position by Dr. Morne Lamont while taking a pre-semester computer programming course.
During the year, I supervised first year statistics computer classes which had been recently introduced to give the students a practical component to assist them with their academic syllabus. This involved demonstrating basic statistical concepts through microsoft excel functions.

Student Assistant for the department of Statistics and Actuarial Sciences

My duties as a student assistant for the economics classes (demi) included invigilating tests and practicals as well as marking these tests and practical assignments.
As well as this, I also supervised a weekly tutorial group for 15 first year students who were struggling academically. For these weekly tutorial I would run over pre assigned chapters from the lecturers while also going through material that I had prepared to give the students a better understanding of the subject and more interest in the subject of Economics.

Student assistant for the department of Economics

Somerset College, Somerset West, South Africa

While training for the Universities Boat race, I was approached by Somerset College to train their novice (u14) age group. 
My duties involved writing and implementing a training program for the boys which gave them a feel for the sport of rowing - its principles and discipline - while still encouraging a fun and friendly sporting environment. I ran their 5 day long rowing camp in Elgin, supervised bus trips to the dam twice a week as well as inter-school regattas on the weekend.
This was a very rewarding experience, where I was put in a position of power but still managed to build strong friendships with the boys, mentoring and motivating them for future challenges they might face in life.

U14 boys rowing coach

Statistics and Media visualisation have equipped me with much greater ability to gain insight and drive organisational goals. I am also trained in the use of appropriate statistical, database, project management, and media packages. A good grasp of figures and good mental arithmetic as well as the ability to conceptualise have also been advantageous.

Competencies: R, Python, SAS, SQL, Luminar AI, Da Vinci, Adobe CC, SAP HANA, Azure, DevOps, data science, data visualization and modeling, ETL, machine learning, advanced analytics, data analytics, strategy, consulting, learning, empathy, tennis, golf, exceptional storyteller and provider of jokes.

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