Khalifa University students sweep m-Government Awards

Final session of the second annual Government Summit in Dubai Waiting in a queue to use government services will soon become a thing of the past as a group of students from Khalifa University Sharjah has developed a mobile application, allowing you to be in a virtual queue. The ‘IQ' app, which is available on all smartphone platforms, won top honours in its category at the first m-Government Services Award during the final session of the second annual Government Summit in Dubai.
Developed by a group of five postgraduate engineering students, Khalfan Al Marashda, Ahmad Al Tunaiji, Eisa Busaid, Hamad Al Marzouqi and Mohammad Al Za'abi, the app has the capacity to be used by any government department, but it's currently applicable only for Ministry of Justice services.
The group won Dh1 million in cash for the top app in the category of the best application developed by university students.
"We tried to build a simple application with simple representation. We brainstormed a few ideas and discussed with our supervisor Dr Khalid Mubarak and finally decided on the idea of developing the IQ app. We then tied up with the Ministry of Justice to build our app for their services. The application can be used to avail the ministry's service and wait in the queue without actually going there. This allows you to go to the ministry only when your it's your turn,” said Al Marashda, a member of the group who invented the app.
His Highness Shaikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, honoured the winners in five categories, including another group from Khalifa University, who also won Dh1 million for developing a mobile app that allows renewal and issuance of Ministry of Health (MoH) cards through your mobile.
One-stop shop
Built by a team of two, the app also allows you to book your appointments and keep a tap of your health like your calorie count and BMI level. It also has the directories and locators of all the MoH hospitals and doctors.
"The application is a one-stop shop for your health needs and it can be expanded to include other health authorities and private hospitals. People can store all their health data and monitor their health status through this app,” said Abdullah Al Khatri, who co-developed it with his friend Nasser Al Rayhi.
The other categories were: the best application at the local level, federal level, regional level and the best application at the international level.
The Ministry of Education's Abnaai app won in the federal category. The app is an integrated portal that provides an interactive environment, allowing parents to access services through smartphones such as registering children in school, applying for certificates, scores and academic activities.
The Centre for Regulation of Transport by Hire Cars (TransAD) app won in the capital, Dubai Police bagged honours for Dubai. The Department of Public Works won in Sharjah, the RakPay app won in Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah Municipality's SmartFujairah app scooped a prize in the northern emirates, while Ajman Municipality and Planning Department won in the UAE's smallest emirate.
In the Arab world, Kuwait's Ministry of Commerce and Industry won the honours for its mobile application, while at the international level Singapore's Land Transport Department won MyTransport application.
The inaugural Best m-Government Service Award received a total of 260 applications of which 200 were chosen for the arbitration phase. The award committee nominated 31 applications in five segments of the award to compete in the last phase.
An appreciation award was presented to the Higher Colleges of Technology for presenting the largest number of applications, 43.
Source: Gulf News