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NYUAD Fourth Annual International Hackathon Unites Global Innovators in Abu Dhabi

Judges, mentors and students from more than 20 countries showcase inventive applications for social good in the Arab World

Press Release

Driven towards promoting innovative technology for social good in the region, New York University Abu Dhabi will host the fourth annual International Hackathon for Social Good in the Arab World from April 10-12.

During the three-day programming marathon, participating students from countries such as the UAE, Algeria, China, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Mexico, Morocco, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Turkey, UK and the U.S. will develop ground-breaking mobile and web applications for use in diverse fields such as health, education, film, music, business, and science. Participating universities include the UAE’s New York University Abu Dhabi, UAE University, MASDAR, National Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Ain Shams University; Lebanon’s American University of Beirut; Saudi Arabia’s Saudi Electronic University as well as the UK’s Imperial College London and U.S.’s MIT, and Stanford University, among others.

Providing students in the Arab region and from across the globe with the opportunity to experiment the full cycle of creating a technology start-up, the Hackathon will also enable them to acquire top practices in software development as well as create solution-based technology applications, which are considered a pivotal goal for computer scientists worldwide.

Students will also work closely with mentors from internationally recognized institutions and organizations such as Microsoft, Google, Ericsson, Arccos, Foursquare, Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, Qatar Computing Research Institute, among others, to turn their vision into reality.

Sana Odeh, affiliated professor of computer science at NYUAD, and Founder and Chair of the NYUAD International Hackathon said: “For many students the NYUAD International Hackathon is a life changing experience, opening their eyes to the possibilities of how technology can be used for social good. The Hackathon is a celebration of creativity and innovation in computer science. It is a chance for students to come together to learn the newest software development practices from renowned IT experts while building a working application in health, environment and education in just three days of conception, design and development.”
Students will present their applications to a panel of judges on Sunday, April 12 at 4 pm.

About NYU Abu Dhabi

NYU Abu Dhabi is the first comprehensive liberal arts and research campus in the Middle East to be operated abroad by a major American research university. NYU Abu Dhabi has integrated a highly selective undergraduate curriculum across the disciplines with a world center for advanced research and scholarship. The university enables its students in the sciences, engineering, social sciences, humanities, and arts to succeed in an increasingly interdependent world and advance cooperation and progress on humanity’s shared challenges. NYU Abu Dhabi’s high-achieving students have come from over 115 countries and speak over 115 languages. Together, NYU's campuses in New York, Abu Dhabi, and Shanghai form the backbone of a unique global university, giving faculty and students opportunities to experience varied learning environments and immersion in other cultures at one or more of the numerous study-abroad sites NYU maintains on six continents.