The Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat has delivered a speech during the closing ceremony of the climate change hackathon, Climathon.
The hackathon was organized by Egypt University of Informatics (EUI), in cooperation with Amazon Web Services (AWS), under the auspices of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) and the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.
Climathon was aimed at innovating tech-based solutions and building prototypes for creative ideas, using IT, to reduce the risks of climate change and its negative impacts on the planet. The hackathon was organized as part of the preparations for hosting the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Sharm El Sheikh, in November.
In his remarks, the ICT Minister commended the efforts of Climathon’s participants in developing solutions to overcome the challenge of climate change, which comes at the forefront of the global community’s priorities.
Talaat pointed to the interest of all state sectors in harnessing all their capabilities to create a better environment and protect the environment. He referred to MCIT efforts with regard to all its activities in clean energy, including replacing copper cables with fiber optic ones to reduce thermal emissions, as well as cooperating with mobile network operators (MNOs) to use clean energy in running cell towers and landing stations.
Talaat explained that MCIT is currently cooperating with the Ministry of Environment with regard to e-waste management to protect the environment.
The ICT Minister explained that EUI is a top university thanks to its multiple advantages. The University addresses several issues, has distinguished students, and carries out activities to serve society. Activities include Climathon, which deepens EUI role in devoting innovative abilities to serve significant issues.
The ICT Minister also hailed the partnership among the government, the academic community, the private sector, and the civil society in the hackathon, to overcome the challenge of climate change.
Talaat added that Climathon is a regional platform that brought together Egyptian, Arab, and African university students to share and think together and come up with a collective action to combat the repercussions of climate change.
For her part, EUI President Reem Bahgat emphasized that Climathon is the first event organized by the University for Egyptian, Arab, and African university students to compete in creating innovations to combat climate change. The Hackathon culminates the end of EUI first year. She added that the event comes in line with COP27, to be organized in Sharm El Sheikh, in November.
President of the Organizing Committee for Climathon and Head of Business Development at EUI Amani Eissa thanked MCIT for its vital role in supporting innovations, research projects, and effective competitions to improve the quality of life, in parallel with the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
It is worth noting that Climathon was held on August 28- September 29. Its cash prizes amounted to one million EGP and many other prizes were presented by Egypt Post, Intel, and the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA).
During the ceremony, the ICT Minister bestowed prizes on the winning teams and congratulated the distinguished participants. He pointed out that all participants of the hackathon are also winners as they gained experience and honed their skills.
More than 1,500 students from more than 80 universities in 33 Arab and African countries participated in the Hackathon in four climate change-related themes: Sustainable Cities, Empowering Communities, Clean Energy, and Water Stewardship.
Climathon phases included several qualifiers leading to the selection of 12 winning teams from Egyptian, Jordanian, and Mauritian universities. The hackathon also included the Start-Ups Competition for Egyptian startups, in climate change and sustainable development.
The Scarab team of students of the Faculty of Engineering, October University for Modern Sciences and Arts (MSA) won first place in the Water Stewardship theme. They built a prototype for an atmospheric water generator (AWG). Access Denied of Polytechnics Mauritius won the second-place trophy for developing an innovative solution for the water crisis, that involves reusing water resources such as rainwater. The third-place winner was Water Cache, a team from Princess Sumaya University for Technology (PSUT) in Jordan. The team build a water management and consumption forecasting model to reduce water waste.
In the Clean Energy theme, ASC of Misr University for Science and Technology (MUST) won the first-place trophy. They developed a waste treatment solution to protect the environment and address climate change, capitalizing on Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), data science and biotechnology. The runner-up was Earthians, a team of students from Mansoura University. They created a solution for investing in roads to produce clean energy by building a smart road and using solar energy in road lighting, in addition to smart pedals. MUSTIANS from MUST won third place for creating a solution to preserve the environment and deal with climate change by transforming buildings into green ones.
In Sustainable Cities, first-place winner was Go Green from PSUT. The team’s Save the Blue project is aimed at reducing water waste. In the second place came ZRMS of New Mansoura University; they focused on generating electricity using solar energy and transforming regular road networks into eco-friendly smart ones based on clean energy. Third-place winner was the Oxidizers team from Zagazig University, for devising a shared mobility system that serves new sustainable cities using Machine Learning and AI.
As for the Empowering Communities theme, Together, a team of students from Zagaziq University, won first place for developing a mobile application that helps raise awareness of how human activities contribute to climate change. The second-place winner was Egypt Sustainable Minds of MSA. The team’s project, Integrated Air Quality System, helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions, raise awareness of carbon footprint calculation, and encourage people to limit their carbon footprint by changing their lifestyles. In third place, the Elite team of Zagaziq University won for creating an application through which consumers can manage their bills and consumption.
In the Start-Ups Competition, Sun Pave was selected as the best start-up.
Climathon closing ceremony was attended by Former Minister of Scientific Research and Member of EUI Board of Trustees Sherif Hammad, and Ambassador of the Republic of Mauritius to Egypt Datakarran Goburdhun.
From MCIT, Deputy Minister for Institutional Development Ghada Labib, Assistant Minister for Global Information Infrastructure (GII) Mohamed Nasr Eldin, and Director of the National Telecommunication Institute (NTI) Iman Ashour attended the ceremony.
It was also attended by President of the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology (ASRT) Mahmoud Sakr, Head of the National Press Authority (NPA) and Member of EUI Board of Trustees Karam Gabr, President of New Mansoura University Moawad El-Khouly, Rector of MUST Ashraf Haider; CEO of the Science, Technology and Innovation Funding Authority Walaa Sheta; Head of Education, Middle East and Africa (MEA) at Amazon Web Services (AWS) Herve Marchet; Intel Egypt Country Manager Nour-Eldin Zaki, Professor Said Megahed, Member of EUI Board of Trustees Mohamed Hammady, and Jordanian cultural counselor Abdullah Youssef Harahsheh.
