Sheikh Mohammed invites Arab Coders graduates to take part in $1 million challenge

Winners will be announced at Expo 2020 Dubai

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, launches the initiative to train a million young Arabs to program and code. Ministry of Cabinet Affairs and the Future

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, has invited graduates of the One Million Arab Coders initiative to take part in a $1 million Coding Challenge.

The sum is offered for the most innovative coding project developed using skills acquired on the programme.

“We look forward to projects that serve humanity, enhance quality of life and further contribute to building stable and prosperous societies,” Sheikh Mohammed said.

“Our Arab youth are the wealth of our nation and they are the pillars of its development, and they are the ones who will put their countries on the path of a future-proof nation. Programming, technology and advanced sciences are the building blocks of this future.”

Five runners-up will receive $50,000 each and the four best trainers will win $25,000 each.

One Million Arab Coders was launched in 2017 by Sheikh Mohammed to equip a million young people with the skills needed to succeed in the 21st century.

Three years later, Sheikh Mohammed announced a new challenge for One Million Arab Coders graduates to compete for the title of Top Coder in the Arab world.

“The future is full of endless opportunities awaiting disruptive ideas,” he said.

“The One Million Arab Coders challenge opens its doors and welcomes talents who seek to jump on the digital transformation wave to push their boundaries by developing themselves further, and actively developing their nation’s digital economy as a whole.”

Interested graduates can submit their projects through the official website of the One Million Arab Coders initiative, www.arabcoders.ae.

The entries will be evaluated by a jury of experts in coding, technology and entrepreneurship from the UAE and abroad. The winners will be announced at a ceremony held at Expo 2020 Dubai towards the end of the year.

He congratulated the graduates of the programme, which involved training coders from 80 countries.

“Three years ago, we launched an initiative to train one million Arab programmers,” Sheikh Mohammed said.

“Today we celebrate their achievement. One million programmers from 80 countries have joined the programme, which is led by Dubai Future Foundation.

“One hundred thousand successful graduations were achieved and 1,500 scholarships [were distributed] for the outstanding graduates.”

The programme, which was supported by 13 international partners, involved five million hours of study and 76,000 workshops.

In its first week, it attracted more than half a million applications from 22 countries. Most of the applicants applied to study rather than become trainers.

More recently, the UAE signed a deal with a host of technology giants, including Google and Amazon, to train 100,000 young people in computer programming.

Sheikh Mohammed said that, within five years, he wants to train 100,000 programmers and coders, create 1,000 digital companies to boost the Emirati economy and increase government support for start-ups from Dh1.5 billion ($408.4 million) to Dh4bn.