The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) announced the launch of the 4th edition of the UAE Hackathon “Data for Happiness and Wellbeing” with the support of the Ministry of Community Development represented by the National Program for Happiness and Wellbeing, in the seven emirates of the country.
Images: from left to right
First row: Mr. Mohamed Almadhani, Abu Dhabi Digital Authority, Mr. Aziz AL Amri CEO National Program for Happiness & Well-being, Mr. Amel Isamil, senior specialist intelligent transformation planning in TRA
Second row: Mr. Mohamed Hassan CEO the National Statistics Sector in FCSC, H.E. Salem Al Housani, acting deputy Director General for Information & E-Government Sector in TRA, Ms. Amna Al Shehhi, Ras Al Khaima Electronic Department
Third row: Ms. Auhood Essa Al Ali Smart Umm Al Quwain, Ms. Maryam Bin Salmin Senior Officer - Media & Public relation in TRA
The announcement took place in a virtual press conference held by TRA, with the participation of TRA strategic partners, media representatives and a number of participants in the UAE Hackathon.
Hackathon, an abbreviation of two words hacking and marathon, is a competition in which developers, programmers, innovators, students and entrepreneurs get together with the aim of solving social, economic or technical problems related to a specific field by competing within a short period of time (hours or days) and present creative smart and effective solutions.
The Hackathon 4.0, which is organized by TRA virtually, aims to complement the efforts and support provided by TRA and its partners in the UAE Hackathon for creators and innovators to reach innovative and creative ideas to become successful companies and projects by using of open data available on the open data portal (Bayanat.ae) as a tool.
Anyone with a valid Emirates ID can participate in the UAE hackathon website and registering.
The UAE Hackathon 4.0 was launched at the beginning of February 2021 with the application and registration stage, and continues until February 10. The second stage lasts from February 11 to 18, and includes intensive training for the teams according to the challenges they participate in. The third and final stage is the evaluation stage, in which the teams are divided according to their location in the seven emirates and the best three teams in each emirate will be selected. The UAE Hackathon closing ceremony is scheduled to take place on 6 March 2021, where the top three teams in each emirate will be honored.
During the press conference, TRA announced the selection of several challenges according to the problems monitored by the various government entities in the seven emirates. Accordingly, the participants will compete to find practical solutions to ten challenges adopted by TRA to achieve the objectives of the National Online Service Index, thus contributing to the achievement of the UAE vision 2021. The challenges focus on digital transformation, financial technology, environment and climate change, security, safety and justice, smart sustainable cities, entertainment and e-sports, travel and tourism, world-class education, world-class healthcare, and work efficiency and productivity. A special theme has also been allocated in the UAE Hackathon 2021 for the Golden Jubilee of the UAE.
Commenting on the UAE Hackathon 4th edition, H.E. Salem Al Housani, Acting Deputy Director General for Information & E-Government Sector, said, “The UAE Hackathon 4th edition coincides with the year of preparation towards the next fifty and the UAE Vision 2071, as the Centennial seeks to invest in the nation’s youth, equipping them with the skills and knowledge necessary to keep pace with the rapid changes, and achieving the UAE’s position as the best country in the world by the UAE Centennial in 2071. The UAE Hackathon is a real interpretation of the wise leadership directives in engaging all members of society in developing the country and achieving its goals and aspirations, as it opens the door for all segments of society, including citizens, residents, government, private and civil sectors to participate in designing the future of the UAE next fifty, which makes the UAE Hackathon a supportive hand in achieving this vision by finding appropriate solutions to the identified problems to create a better future.”
The UAE Hackathon reflects the meaning of partnership and collaboration between the government, academia, companies and community members, as it is organized by TRA in strategic partnership with government entities, national universities and the private sector to emphasize that the culture of innovation is an integral part of the qualification and education mechanisms in the UAE, which in turn embodies the four aspects of the UAE Vision 2071: future-focused government, excellent education, a diversified knowledge economy, and a happy and cohesive society.
The UAE hackathon has achieved great success in its previous editions, as the number of competitors reached 6316 competitors, in 20 hackathons, forming 764 teams and presenting 273 inspiring ideas, with the participation of 107 judges, the guidance of 263 mentors, the help of 848 volunteers, and with the support of 106 partners.
