The National Academy of Information Technology for Persons with Disabilities (NAID) concluded the Assistive Technologies (AT) Hackathon, organized, on June 12- 19. Under the auspices of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), the Hackathon is held in collaboration with the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center at Ain Shams University, under the theme "Ideas by Exceptional Abilities".
The Hackathon was organized as part of the activities of the qualification program that aims to support entrepreneurship and Research and Development (R&D) in AT. The Hackathon also came within the framework of implementing NAID strategic plan in light of MCIT vision for supporting, empowering and including PwDs in the society, in fulfilment of Egypt Vision 2030.
A number of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) from different governorates participated in the Hackathon, where they were trained and mentored in developing assistive technologies.
During the closing ceremony, the representatives of the contesting companies pitched their proposed ideas to a five-member jury, in the presence of NAID Chairman, at MCIT headquarters in Smart Village. The jury discussed and assessed the ideas, and the winners were announced. Dream Soft ranked first, wining an EGP 100,000 cash prize, and Khalifa ranked second, wining an EGP 50,000 prize.
The Hackathon represented a great opportunity for SMEs to harness ICT to develop products and applications that help support and empower PwDs through creating an environment conducive to creativity and innovation, at the academy.
It is worth mentioning that NAID seeks to support PwDs inclusion in the society, develop their skills, and exploit their exceptional abilities in achieving economic and social development in Egypt. NAID vision is to become a regional hub for R&D in AT to make optimal use of ICT in empowering PwDs.
