NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) will host the region’s first-ever Quantum Computing International Hackathon with a focus on innovation, entrepreneurship, and advanced industries, from March 30 to April 1, at the NYUAD Conference Center.
More than 200 participants from over 30 countries will convene at NYUAD and learn about quantum computing and quantum-based technologies using Amazon’s Braket SDK to access the newly made available Oxford Quantum Circuits quantum computer “Lucy”. Participants will work together to develop innovative applications relevant to diverse fields such as health, education, film, music, business, and science for the benefit of social good in the Arab World and globally.
The NYUAD Hackathon for Social Good will be supported by experts from academia such as AWS, University of Calgary Institute for Quantum Science; Quantum Algorithms Institute (Canada); and the QC researcher for the University Linz, Austria, qBraid, and the Quantum Coalition Hackathon by Yale and Stanford. Experts from businesses including Microsoft, AstraZeneca, IBM, AWS and qBraid will also be represented and available as a source of mentorships to the participants. The best applications will be eligible for prizes.
Over the last ten years, the Annual NYUAD International Hackathon for Social Good has resulted in the creation of multiple innovations that have contributed successfully to the region’s business operation. The online platform Take Flight was created in 2012 for cross-language video mentoring. In 2015 the development of a wearable device to monitor construction worker health led to the formation of hakee.me. The co-founders of Vul9, one of the fastest-growing cybersecurity companies in the region, met at the NYUAD Hackathon in 2015 and founded their company in 2016. In 2017, Hiat was developed to connect skilled refugees and the local community in an easy-to-use gig-economy platform. FoodSavour, developed in 2019, incentivizes grocery stores to minimize food waste through discounting items that would otherwise be thrown away.
NYUAD Affiliated Faculty and Clinical Professor of Computer Science Sana Odeh, who organized the event, commented: “Our aim for this year’s Hackathon for Social Good is to empower a new generation of students with the necessary skills to make a positive impact on the future of our society. Quantum computers will perhaps solve some of our hardest computational problems, which will promote innovation in computer science, tech startups, and the development of innovative technology from climate, healthcare, finance, security, to the arts and of course the sciences.”
Keynote speeches, open to the public, include Mike Pell, Director of The Microsoft Garage; multimedia artist, composer, and writer, also a fellow at the center of Quantum computing at Yale, Paul D. Miller (DJ Spooky); Barry Sanders, Professor, Director, Institute for Quantum Science and Technology; Distinguished Chair Professor, University of Science and Technology China; Kanav Setia, CEO, and founder of Qbraid; Robert Wille, Full Professor at the Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria, and Chief Scientific Officer at the Software Competence Center Hagenberg GmbH, Austria, among others.
