Students create virtual applications for social issues

New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) hosted computer science students, academics, and technology experts from around the globe to participate in the first ever International Hackathon for the Social Good in the Arab World, in Abu Dhabi. During the three-day event, more than 50 students worked in teams to create mobile and web applications designed to tackle real-world social issues in the region. The first prize went to Hamza Al Kofahi and Ahmad Malkawi, students from the Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST), for their KineTherapy application. The duo previewed a demo of a “physical therapy game” using Microsoft’s Kinect technology to monitor a patient’s actual movements against an animated guide directing the therapy programme.  In second place, Max Stoller and Tengchao Zhou, students from NYU New York, teamed up with Monir Abu Hilal from Princess Sumaya University for Technology (PSUT) in Jordan, to develop OpenMena, a web-based resource designed to provide government data in an accessible format for computer programmers. The team noted that while extensive data from UAE government sources is available online, the current excel sheet format for downloading this information is not the easiest format to use for programmers. OpenMena, which can be accessed online at OpenMena.org, provides a platform for a dynamic data feed that can be used by developers to create relevant applications that leverage this open data.  Third place went to The Makindu Children’s Centre Database Project, which created an application designed for NGOs to increase efficiency in submitting reports to donors. The team comprised: Katy Blumer, Alice Tessen, Ali Taqi, Nishant Mohanchandra, and Halim Lagrid.