Regn opens for Khalid bin Hamad Innovation, AI competition

Under the patronage of His Highness Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, First Deputy President of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports, and Bahrain Olympic Committee President, Bahrain Polytechnic, in cooperation with the Media Office of HH Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, announced that registration is open for the third edition of the “Khalid bin Hamad Innovation and Artificial Intelligence Competition”, which takes place at Bahrain Polytechnic in Isa Town. The final date for registration has been set on February 28, 2020.

The competition comes in partnership with the Information and eGovernment Authority, Microsoft and Al Moayyed Computers Middle East, and is supported by Al Ahli United Bank as a platinum sponsor, BanaGas as a silver sponsor, Bahrain Bay for Financial Technology.

The competition is open for participation for all university and secondary schools’ students, who can register online through www.hackfest.polytechnic.bh.  

Participants' capabilities to create innovative projects, using one of Microsoft's cloud computing services, will be tested in the competition. The participating (one to three member) teams will be allowed five weeks to work on their projects. Throughout this period, several workshops will be organised to support the participants. Each project will be evaluated by a jury and winners will be honoured in the closing ceremony.

On the occasion, Bahrain Polytechnic CEO Dr Jeff Zabudsky stated: “This competition is a great opportunity to showcase talented individuals in the field of artificial intelligence. At Polytechnic, our goal is to constantly update our software to meet the latest trends in the market, and to organise such events with Microsoft that further support achieving this goal. I wish all the participants good luck at all stages of the competition, and I hope this platform will allow them to show their creativity to the public.”

For his part, Microsoft Bahrain and Oman General Manager Shaikh Saif bin Hilal Al Hosni affirmed that the company continues its efforts that are dedicated towards enabling national competencies and talented individuals in the Kingdom , noting that this approach is in line with the Kingdom’s ambitious economic vision 2030 to achieve economic growth that is based on knowledge.

He also stressed on the crucial role such initiatives play in enabling and rehabilitating the youth so they can cope with the requirements of the fourth industrial revolution, and take leading future positions in the competitive labour market, guaranteeing them jobs in both the public and private sectors in the Kingdom.