SRTI Park launches global virtual hackathon

Sharjah - The top 15 ideas will take part in a virtual 48-hour hackathon that will accelerate opportunities in sustainable energy and move the UAE forward to the next 50 years

The Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park (SRTI Park) has announced that it is looking for participants to take part in a 48-hour global hackathon to co-create innovative solutions to urgent energy challenges.

Participants can take part in teams of up to four people or individually, and come with innovative ideas in one or more of the following categories: Decarbonization, Renewable Energies, Energy Efficiency, Energy Storage, Sustainable Mobility, Circular Economy. A total of 15 of the best ideas will be chosen from among all participants to go through to the 48-hour hackathon. A panel of experts will guide the finalists in the development of a prototype business model for their ideas. The climax of the hackathon will be a pitching session, where all participants will showcase their prototypes before a jury, which will decide the three best projects winning prizes of $5,000 for first place; $3,000 for second place; and $2,000 for third place.

All hackathon participants will be part of the SRTI Park ecosystem and will join the incubation program in September. They can also be a speaker in one of the monthly events to showcase their solutions to smarter, more efficient, and more sustainable energy.

Interested parties can sign up at the MEA Energy Innovation Hub website. Registration of ideas is until May 27, 2021. The 15 selected ideas will be announced on June 7 and the 48-hour virtual event will happen on June 22-23 this year. The call is open to university students and professors around the world.

MEA Energy Innovation Hub is supported by the UAE Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure. Based at SRTI Park, the MEA Energy Innovation Hub is the regional gateway to innovation and business growth, where all players in the energy ecosystem collaborate and accelerate opportunities in the energy, low carbon, and oil & gas sectors.

Hussain Al Mahmoudi, CEO of SRTI Park, said: “MEA Energy Innovation Hub will scale up technology ventures through initiatives such as accelerators and collaboration programme. It will also develop human capital and foster the triple-helix engagement among the government, private industries and academia.”

“The MEA Energy Innovation Hub is a unique platform that boosts the UAE’s position as a pole of innovation. The partners and stakeholders of the MENA Energy Innovation Hub are corporates belonging to the energy sector and allied sectors. The academia and research centres also benefit from the innovation by means of knowledge transfer, new collaborative projects as well as positioning and creating R&D initiatives. The pole of innovation will result in the growth of the sector, resolution of challenges, public- private partnerships, demand generation, job creation and attraction of investment to the territory,” he said.

rohma@khaleejtimes.com