Computer whizkids and budding programmers from around the world are heading to the capital to display their computer skills when competing in the New York University Abu Dhabi’s International Hackathon.
To be held from 14th to 16th February, the three-day programming marathon will see groups of students team up to create mobile and web applications aimed at benefiting the social good in the Arab world.
Over 80 computer science students from the UAE, Algeria, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Mexico, Morocco, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, and the US are set to participate in the event.
The programme is aimed at not only promoting computer science in the Arab region, but also promoting innovative technology for the benefit of the greater good. The annual event has seen applications created such as Take Flight, an online platform for cross-language video mentoring; Alert2Sign, a public announcement service that translates speech and text announcements into sign language for the hearing impaired; and the literacy promoting SMS Micronovel.
“This event will provide an opportunity for students in the Arab world to experience the full cycle of creating a tech startup – sharing and generating ideas, pitching ideas, learning new platforms and programming languages, designing and developing mobile and web applications and working with a team,” said Professor Sana Odeh, founder and chair of the NYUAD Hackathon.
In addition, participating students will receive mentoring by top leaders and organisations in the industry representing Tech Wadi, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and Tumblr, to name a few. Mentors and judges will be able to provide direct feedback to the students and most applications will go live at the end of the session. To find out more visit: www.nyuad.nyu.edu
