(Riffa, Bahrain) – In celebration of the International Day of Education, the American University of Bahrain’s College of Engineering and Computing concluded a three-day AI Generative Hackathon held from January 21st to 23rd, centered around the revolutionary theme of Generative AI and its transformative impact on education. The hackathon was powered by Amazon Web Services, and sponsored by iWorld Connect, Reboot Coding Institute, NorthStar Technology, and Business International.
Al Salam Bank has also proudly announced its partnership with the American University of Bahrain for the Generative AI hackathon. As a solid supporter of innovation and talent development, Al Salam Bank is pleased to collaborate in fostering an environment of creativity and technological advancement.
Generative AI has emerged as a transformative technology with vast potential in various fields, including education and innovation. Students from several universities across Bahrain with the aim of equipping participants with the skills and knowledge needed to harness the potential of this groundbreaking technology. The AI Generative Hackathon included insightful training workshops about Generative AI and its diverse applications within the educational landscape, hands-on training on AWS services for building generative AI models.
Students formed teams to ideate, innovate, and develop web applications utilizing Generative AI. Over the course of three days, students were presented with a unique platform to collaborate, receive mentorship from industry experts, and turn their visionary ideas into tangible projects.
The final day witnessed the culmination of creativity and hard work, as teams presented their projects to a panel of distinguished judges. The first-place winners of the hackathon were Basel Malalla, Hamad Aljassmi, Layla Kashif Naseem, and Noor Hamdan; second-place winners were Akbar Saleh, Zainab Saeed, Lulwa Almuraisi, and Ali Madhoobh; and the third prize winners were Huda Hasan, Adnan Jaberi, Afham Haleema, and Amr Osman respectively. Winners received a range of prizes from the hackathon sponsors who expressed their enthusiasm for the creativity and innovation displayed through the projects.
On his end, Mahmood Qannati, Head of Marketing and Communications and ESG Officer at Al Salam Bank, said: “We are pleased to be partnering with the American University of Bahrain to support this initiative which will provide the ideal platform for students to showcase their talents in the field of Generative AI. The Bank strives to uplift the next generation of innovators as we hope to welcome these visionary talents to the organization.”
Dr. Hasan Kadhem, Interim Dean of the College of Engineering and Computing commented, “This Generative AI hackathon gathered students from 6 universities across Bahrain, thus aligning with our mission of enhancing education and technology amongst the youth of Bahrain. We were impressed by the spirit of collaboration and innovation among students and their passion in exploring the intersection of artificial intelligence and education.”
Aligning with the National Higher Education strategy, educational events help position Bahrain as a regional hub for quality higher education, producing graduates with the skills, knowledge, and behaviors required to succeed in the global knowledge economy awhile contributing to the sustainable and competitive growth of Bahrain.