UAE students challenged to come up with new ideas for sustainable living

DUBAI // More than 150 students from 30 universities across the UAE will battle to come up with the best ideas to support sustainability and green technology in the UAE.

The Student Hackathon project launched by Dubai Water and Electricity Authority aims to promote creativity and environmental initiatives in the brightest young minds of the nation.

Final judging on the competition takes place on April 8 at the Raffles Hotel, Dubai, and will bring together students from many fields to show off the latest developments in energy, technology and sustainability.

Organisers hope the best ideas will attract further investment, so students can see their plans become reality.

“Dewa will analyse the possibility of adopting these innovations, to transform them into projects that support Deaw’s efforts to enhance the energy and water sectors,” said Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, managing director and chief executive of Dewa.

“Dewa takes priority in developing the creative and cognitive abilities of future generations, to support the objectives of the Dubai Plan 2021 and make Dubai home for creative citizens.”

Judging is split into four segments - business value, innovation, user experience and readiness.

Ideas must be relevant to the challenge and respond to a business need for Dewa in terms of revenue, cost savings and brand.

The concept must be original, or offer a fresh perspective. Teams are asked to deliver a simple, complete, working prototype.

Students retain ownership of the intellectual property of their ideas, and must be pursuing graduate or undergraduate programmes in any UAE university to qualify.

“The Dewa Student Hackathon supports our continuous efforts to promote innovation as an institutional value, to enhance the efficiency and performance of government work,” said Marwan bin Haidar, executive vice president of innovation and the future at Dewa.

“We work to encourage innovation among the youth, to help us anticipate the future. This event has become an important platform to engage the youth, and society as whole, to develop creative solutions that can be transformed into smart applications, and projects and initiatives.

“This will play an important role in the development of the energy and water sector, in adherence with the highest standards of sustainability, to ensure a brighter future for generations to come.”