His Highness Sh. Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, First Vice President of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports (SCYS), Chairman of the Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC) has issued directives to begin preparations for the third edition of the Khalid bin Hamad Competition for Innovation in Artificial Intelligence. The Supreme Committee of the competition, headed by Sh. Ali bin Abdulrahman Al Khalifa, Bahrain Polytechnic’s Deputy CEO of Resources and Information Affairs, held its first meeting in cooperation with the media office of His Highness Sh. Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa to officially announce the registration period, which will begin on 4th January 2021 and end on 5th February 2021, noting that the competition will be held digitally.
The competition is open to both university and high school students, provided that they do not exceed 25 years old. Students wishing to participate in the competition can register by visiting the website: https:\\hackfest.polytechnic.bh.
The competition tests the participants’ abilities to create innovative projects using one of Microsoft’s cloud computing services. The participants, consisting of 2 to 4 members, will have five weeks to work on the project, in addition to guiding workshops to support the participants during these weeks. Afterwards, each team’s project will be judged by an evaluation panel during an exhibition event, and winners will be announced at the award ceremony.
On this occasion, Bahrain Polytechnic’s CEO, Dr. Jeff Zabudsky, extended his sincere thanks, appreciation and gratitude to His Highness Sh. Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa for his sponsorship and support for this competition, in a way that would contribute to the development of the educational movement and the formation of a society based on knowledge and innovation, noting that Bahrain is rich with creative young people who want to learn and seek to present ideas that contribute to the development of various areas of life.
Dr. Zabudsky added, “This competition is a great opportunity to showcase talented individuals in the field of AI. At the Polytechnic, our goal is to constantly update our programs to meet the latest trends in the market, and organising such an event with Microsoft reinforces this goal. I would like to wish all participants the best of luck throughout the duration of this competition.”
On his part, Sh. Saif Hilal Al Hosni, Country Manager of Microsoft Bahrain and Oman said, “These unprecedented times that we are witnessing today with the pandemic have increased the need for digital transformation and the skills that would enhance the knowledge economy of the Kingdom. This collaboration is in line with the Kingdom’s 2030 Vision which aims to prepare a promising generation capable of facing current and future challenges. This partnership will be a fundamental in advancing our efforts to empower them to achieve more.”
The competition comes in a strategic partnership with the Information and eGovernment Authority (iGA), Microsoft, and AlMoayyed Computers Middle East, with support from Ahli United Bank as platinum sponsors, and with silver sponsorship by Banagas and Ithmaar Bank, and support from Bahrain FinTech Bay and ThinkSmart.
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