Abu Dhabi: The 12th NYUAD Hackathon for Social Good in the Arab World, organized by NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) and Tamkeen, will take place from April 25–28.
Cross-disciplinary teams from all over the world will be invited to the international event, which is unique in the area, to address problems in the fields of artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing (QC). The goal is to create concepts that advance social good to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the UN.
Teams of seven to ten talented students from across the globe, with a majority from the Arab world, will each be guided by two experts in the field from leading institutions. This includes renowned global computer science professors from the likes of the University of Oxford, ETH Zürich, MIT, and Stanford, along with founders of successful startups and technology professionals from Google, Meta, IBM, Qbraid, along with venture capitalists and other leading institutions such as Core42, and the Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator (GESDA).
This elite and unique gathering of mentors will teach the teams about top practices in QC, AI machine learning applications, and software developments through workshops, keynote speeches, and lighting talks during the marathon. The outcome will be the creation of applications by the students contributing to society.
NYUAD Affiliated Professor Sana Odeh, who founded and organizes the event, remarked that, “The NYUAD Hackathon has successfully empowered generations of students from the Arab world and beyond to use the most advanced quantum hardware to confidently undertake challenges in quantum computing and AI-driven machine learning. It is important to note that this event is about more than technical upskilling. Equally valuable is the caliber of partnerships and participating experts on hand, which creates unprecedented networking opportunities for students.”
“We have seen over the years how this opens the door to collaborations on future international projects, inspires students to launch their own startups, and further academic research in the quantum computing field. It is our hope that this year’s Hackathon will once again cement the potential and capabilities of technology in making a positive impact on the future of our society and to assist young experts in tackling the challenges of our time,” Professor Odeh added.
On April 28, the final presentations and award ceremony are free and open to the public. The keynote speeches will include the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Xanadu Christian Weedbrook and Professor at the Raman Research Institute (RRI) Urbasi Sinha.