Dubai Hackathon Kicks With High Turnout

In cooperation with the National Program for Happiness & Wellbeing

The Dubai Hackathon launched yesterday as part of the third edition of UAE Hackathon, organized by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) in cooperation with the National Program for Happiness & Wellbeing, with a wide participation of those interested from students, specialists, employees and business owners. This Hackathon is the final stop in the journey of UAE Hackathon 2020.

Competitors at Dubai’s Hackathon will work to find solutions to challenges set by participating entities, whether nation-wide or at the level of the Emirate, where participants will analyze datasets to reach ideas and solutions for Dubai’s challenges set by the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Finance, Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship, Roads and Transport Authority – Dubai and the Dubai Police.

The UAE Hackathon 2020 ‘Data for Happiness and Well-being’ concluded its third week successfully, after going through six stops: Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah. Today, the Hackathon has reached its seventh destination at Dubai's Zayed University.

There were more than 3,500 participants in the UAE Hackathon from across the Emirates, where the Emirate of Fujairah witnessed the largest participation with 645 participants forming 92 teams.

On the events of UAE Hackathon 2020 during the past weeks, H.E. Salem Al Hosani, Acting Deputy Director General of the Information and Smart Government Sector, said: “UAE Hackathon 2020 has reached its final stop. The Hackathon journey has started from the capital Abu Dhabi, through Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah, and today it makes a stop in Dubai. During its journey, the Hackathon has pooled hundreds of innovative, creative ideas, which make us proud of our human potential capable of dealing with the requirements of the era, analyzing its particulars and coming up with creative ideas and projects that support UAE’s directions and future plans.” 

Mr. Al Hosani pointed out to the success of the Hackathon in attracting creators from various sectors and age groups, adding: "Ideas are the real wealth of the future and data is the new form of oil in which countries invest for added value and sustainable development. Thus, we must prepare for tomorrow by building and training minds to analyze and innovate. UAE Hackathon is an ideal opportunity for people of all ages to present their feedback on the central issues of our time. The Hackathon has been able to attract students from middle and high school—which, if anything, indicates that we are on the right track to build a generation capable of assimilating the requirements of the future, leveraging and harnessing available resources to pave the way for the UAE and achieve its goals. Our children today are the foundation on which we build our future, and the stronger the foundation, the more beautiful and successful the future will be.”

Mr. Al Hosani also added: "The high turnout assured us that the Emirati community is fully aware of the importance of data, as they were highly-skilled in dealing with datasets presented to them and have analyzed and extracted creative solutions that the TRA, in cooperation with its strategic partners, will seek to develop and see them into projects, thus accelerating the process of development and reaching the goals of our beloved country.”

The Hackathon, in its current session, includes ten pillars or themes, namely: happiness and well-being, Expo 2020, smart and sustainable cities, environment and climate change, world-class health system, space investments, sustainability and infrastructure integration, high-level education system, safety and security, and digital transformation.

Winners of UAE Hackathon 2020 are planned be announced at a closing ceremony to be held for this purpose on March 3, in conjunction with the International Open Data Day, where the team winning the grand prize and the top 3 winners in each emirate will be honored.

UAE Hackathon is the largest event of its kind at the national level, taking place across the seven emirates. It reflects the efforts of the TRA to disseminate the culture of digital transformation in the country. This project provides an opportunity to various segments of society including  individuals, students, investors, employees, entrepreneurs and IT experts to use open data as a tool for finding creative solutions to specific challenges related to UAE's visions and strategies in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), Digital Transformation, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and others.

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