Doha: Ooredoo, region’s leading enabler of digital business innovation, yesterday announced Qatar’s first 5G Virtual Hackathon, in partnership with universities and technology leaders, to develop Ooredoo’s entrepreneurship programme, lead and develop 5G and ICT innovation, and educate local institutions on Ooredoo’s 5G investment and market potential.
Ooredoo 5G Hackathon is a virtual hackathon designed to give the brightest thinkers and innovators a platform through which entrepreneurial ideas can be developed.
Educational partners include Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, Hamad Bin Khalifa University’s College of Science and Engineering, and Qatar University’s College of Business and Economics and College of Engineering.
Business partners are Ericsson, Microsoft, Qatar Business Incubation Center (QBIC), Thales, MADA, Oracle, Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy – Challenge 22, Google Development Group - Doha, Qatar Financial Centre (QFC), WISE Accelerator, Zoom, and Seventh.AI.
The 5G Virtual Hackathon, being held from November 12 to November 14, is set to host hundreds of university students, industry professionals, startups and Ooredoo employees.
Participants will develop solutions across four focus areas: Smart X, including smart energy grids and energy management, health, ports and logistics, transport, and Agro Tech; Sports Tech with eSports, wellness and coaching and Challenge 22; Media and Entertainment including Ooredoo tv, advertising and content, gaming, Fintech and digital challenges for a vertical market; and EduTech with corporate learning, STEM innovations, post COVID-19 and environmental awareness.
Each of the four winning teams will receive a pre-seed investment of up to QR25,000 to develop a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) and run a validation sprint.
Winning teams will be integrated into the Lean Start-up Programme (LSP 14) to further validate and develop their MVP and pitch at the Final Demo Day in December 2020.
Winners will also have the opportunity to be incubated by Ooredoo’s Digital & Beyond Incubator, and gain access to additional funding and in-kind support of up to QR 250,000, as well as getting the opportunity to fast-track to piloting of their MVP with Ooredoo ecosystem partners.
Ooredoo Chief Executive Officer, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulla Al Thani, said: “5G is a rapidly evolving mobile technology that can supercharge Qatar’s nationwide digital transformation economic diversification. Our 5G Virtual Hackathon aims to develop our entrepreneurship programme, continue our 5G leadership and educate local institutions on the potential of 5G.”
Prospective participants can learn more about the 5G Virtual Hackathon, and also learn more about use case examples from partners, at a series of awareness sessions from October 11– November 10.
“Our 5G Hackathon will support business and innovation by enhancing our ICT leadership and developing new 5G service capabilities. We will also share insights with Qatar’s local institutions on how 5G can transform the market, and identify talents to join our entrepreneurship programme,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulla Al Thani added.
Participants can learn more about the 5G Virtual Hackathon and register by visiting https://www.ooredoo.qa/5g-virtual-hackathon. Registration closes on November 1, with the Virtual Hackathon going live on November 12–14.
