RIYADH — Judges of the first OXAGON Hackathon, held in partnership with the Ministry of Education, shortlisted Blindline’s solution (the team from Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University) that enables learning Braille by using AI.
3D & IOT Integrated Construction System’s (the team from Princess Nourah Bint Abdul Rahman University) proposal to use drones to monitor construction phases; and Savetro’s ideation (the team from King Abdulaziz University) to convert petrol cars to electrical cars, were the other two teams to complete the top three winning innovations.
Powered by local accelerator Blossom, the three-day sprint took place between Oct. 6 – 8 in Riyadh, fostering collaboration and inclusivity across the Kingdom’s burgeoning start-up community. The judging panel of five judges comprised top specialists and leaders from the Ministry of Education, OXAGON, and Blossom.
Sixty one teams made the shortlist to the competitive program with submissions developed around the following industries: technology in the service of people; innovation to address water scarcity challenges; renewable energy solutions including green hydrogen and e-fuels.
“We’ve seen widespread interest in developing homegrown solutions with over 600 applications from researchers, university students, SME’s and more,” commented Lisa Norcross, director of Industrial Innovation — OXAGON.
“Narrowing down the submission shortlist to the final three wasn’t a simple undertaking; ultimately, the three winning teams best achieved the criteria set,” she added.
OXAGON, home to advanced and clean industries in NEOM, launched the Hackathon as one of several initiatives designed to empower local talents and create new technologies.
The initiatives will enable OXAGON to support NEOM’s wider ambitions of tackling humanity’s most pressing challenges and create clean industries.
The winning three teams will be fast-tracked to the OXAGON Accelerator program, which will be held at the end of the year, providing them with access to global experts, specialist resources, and a go-to-market toolkit to transform their ideas into investor-ready companies. — SG
