February 20, 2020,

The American University of Ras Al Khaimah (AURAK) hosted UAE Hackathon 3.0, the local part of a nationwide event organized by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA).

The theme of the three-day Hackathon was “Data for Happiness and Well Being”. Participants formed teams that competed in analyzing data on happiness-related themes, which included happiness and well-being, Expo 2020, smart sustainable cities, environment and climate change, world class healthcare, digital transformation, security and safety, investing in space, sustainability and integrated infrastructure, and world-class education.

The overarching theme of the Hackathon was “using data to promote happiness and wellbeing”, said Stephen Wilhite, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs and Student Success at AURAK, in his opening address. “Within that overarching theme this event presents the opportunity to propose creative ways to use data to address a number of other issues,” he added.

“For students, we hope that participation in this event will be part of an educational experience that is transformational. An important part of a transformational education is the opportunity to develop an entrepreneurial mindset. It is my hope that participating in this Hackathon will indeed contribute to the development of mental skills in all participants that will support the acquisition of an entrepreneurial mindset,” he said.

“My generation has left those of you in succeeding generations with plenty of big, audacious problems. But I am confident that you will succeed where we have failed. We look forward to following the success of the projects you propose in the coming days.”

The Hackathon included help for participants with design thinking and validation, team building, problem definition and user identification, project and idea validation, ideation, business model generation, mentoring and pitching.

It included presentations and workshops held by leading international companies such as Amazon and Google.

AURAK encouraged its students to participate in the event because it provided them with a wealth of experience and exposure.

The UAE Hackathon, open to anyone from the public or private sectors, was being held across all seven Emirates in the UAE with AURAK hosting the event in Ras Al Khaimah. Participants included entrepreneurs, engineers, thinkers, innovators, problem solvers, and anyone with an imagination to make things better.