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The UAE government received the winners of the second edition of the UAE Hackathon “Data for Happiness and Quality of Life” at a ceremony held at Zayed University in Dubai, in the presence of H.E. Ohood bint Khalfan Al Roumi, Minister of State for Happiness and Wellbeing and Director General of the Prime Minister's Office, H.E. HE Hamad Obaid Al Mansouri, Director General of the General Authority for Regulating the Telecommunications Sector (Hackathon organizer), H.E. Dr. Riyad Al Muhaideb, Director General of Zayed University, and a number of officials, academicians, private sector representatives, experts and participants.
During the ceremony, 21 teams were honored, including the winner of the grand prize, winners of the first place in each emirate, as well as the honoring of 100 teams from various emirates, who presented innovative smart solutions to the challenges. Partners from government entities, universities, private sector, arbitrators, supervisors and volunteers involved in the success of the hackathon were also honored, in addition to winners of the best media coverage of the hackathon.
Ohood Al Roumi: Develop partnerships with the community to design advanced solutions to challenges
“The UAE Government is focused on developing partnerships with all segments of society to design and innovate advanced solutions to community challenges,” said Ohood Al Roumi, adding: “UAE Hackathon - Data for Happiness and Quality of Life” revealed innovative ideas and solutions that were developed and transformed into scalable models by teams of students from universities, schools, government employees and entrepreneurs, and this diversity of participants reflects the UAE community's keen interest in innovation and finding solutions to enhance the quality of life.
The Minister of State for Happiness and Wellbeing commended the efforts and initiatives of the TRA in organizing the Hackathon, and called upon government entities to adopt and implement innovative ideas and models presented by the participants, congratulating the winners of the second edition, and wishing the rest of the participants more success.
Al Mansouri: Ideas are the real treasure
In his opening statement, H.E. Hamad Obaid Al Mansouri, TRA Director General, praised the participating teams and their presented ideas and solutions to the hackathon challenges, saying: “The strong start of UAE Hackathon in Abu Dhabi in early February was a good indicator that the efforts we invested in the 2018 Hackathon have begun to materialize. This has been represented in the great participation of government entities, academics, private entities and individuals, reflecting the spirit of the one team and determination on confronting challenges based on science, knowledge and digital data analysis.”
He added: “In this spirit, the words of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, are realized as he said: In 2019, we will impress the world, and in this spirit, we have embodied His Highness's statement that "the government of the UAE is a government of achievements and its people are the people of challenges.”
Al Mansouri added: “I thank and congratulate the contestants and tell them: You are all winners. Success, leadership and innovation await. I want you to consider this moment as a beginning, not an end, and much work lies before you. In this age, where artificial intelligence threatens prevailing thinking patterns, I want to emphasize that your creative ideas are your real wealth, so develop and turn them it into programs and projects on the ground. You today, with your creative ideas, are tomorrow's leaders and makers. We want to see you in Hackathon 2020, and we want you to pass the torch to a new batch of youth willing to compete in the field of innovation.”
Al-Muhaidib: Universities are arenas of innovation
H.E. Dr. Riyad Al Muhaideb, Director of Zayed University, praised the 2019 UAE Hackathon, the national event that was attended by all emirates of the UAE during the UAE Innovation Month last February to represent the biggest challenge of its kind in the UAE. This event attracts large numbers of students and participants from different groups of society, who present their ideas and innovations aimed at serving the community, promoting happiness, enhancing the quality of life, and making innovation one of the most fundamental aspects of developing community life and wellbeing.
Al-Muhaidib noted that the activities of UAE Hackathon confirmed the authenticity and importance of the message it carries through dedicating universities as arenas of innovation in making people happiness. He said that the invitation is open to students and youth to spark their minds to participate and innovate, while renewing Zayed University’s commitment in participating in this remarkable project that embodies the orientations and aspirations of our wise leadership to improve the lifestyle of the UAE.
Hackathon winners
The ceremony saw the honoring of 21 winning teams in the Hackathon. The LIFT OFF Project won the Grand Prize for a smart app, showcased at the Ajman Hackathon, which augments cameras with artificial intelligence to diagnose the user's health by examining the face, eyes, nose and face color, and accordingly determines the medical condition.
The winner of the first place in the Abu Dhabi Hackathon is the KHADER project, which aims at preserving the environment through the use of artificial intelligence in waste recycling operations. JUSTICE-SMART POSITIVE CENTER has also won the first place in the Sharjah Hackathon, which aims to find solutions to family problems by the user's interaction in a room containing a number of smart mirrors, each asking the user to answer a question until reaching a solution to the problem.
The first place in Umm Al Quwain Hackathon went to the FAST RESPONSE project. The concept of the project is to manufacture a remotely-controlled aircraft equipped with special sensors linked to a smart app, which can be guided to a fire scene and can give detailed data about the same and whether there are human casualties or not.
The first place in the Fujairah Hackathon went to the SO CALLED ENGINEERS project, a project to provide a smart helmet for motorcyclists, which will, in the event of an accident, alert the competent entities by reporting the condition of the injured, time and location of the accident.
As for Ras Al Khaimah's Hackathon, the first place went to THE HEALTH INSPECTORS, a smart app that enables users to provide feedback on restaurants and how healthy they are.
The DERASA project won first place in Dubai's Hackathon. The project is an app that helps spread smart interactive learning.
The ceremony saw the honoring of a hundred inspiring ideas developed by participating teams, which were introduced in one of Zayed University's halls, where visitors and participants were able to learn about innovative solutions, their owners and their views on potential future impact of such solutions.
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