Etisalat participates in ‘Together Apart Hackathon’

Etisalat has participated at the ‘Together Apart Hackathon’ that engaged innovators, entrepreneurs and disruptors of the UAE to identify innovative and viable solutions showcasing how technology and connectivity facilitate the challenges and provide solutions inspired by UAE Vision 2021 themes showcasing the power of 5G.

Under the patronage of the UAE Ministry of Economy and empowered by Ericsson the ‘Together Apart Hackathon’ kicked off on 22nd April 2021 concluding on 31st March 2022. The event is aimed at attracting new ideas and stimulate innovations in the target verticals aligned to the UAE vision 2021.

Participants at the event included eminent speakers from Etisalat, namely Mahmoud Al Bannay, Vice President 5G, Mobile Network & AI; Khalid Ghaloua Adine, Head of Digital Health Care; Dr. Tamer El Toni, VP Digital Services and Devices; and Dr. Abdelkader Houssaine - Head of Digital Education and eGovernment.

Al Bannay was part of a panel discussion focusing on ‘Changing the conversation with 5G-Role of 5G’. “In our quest to drive the UAE government’s ICT vision Etisalat has continuously invested in deploying advanced technologies that has led to positioning the network as the fastest on earth. We began this journey with a planned and strategic infrastructure building approach fusing the capabilities of cloud, AI and machine learning to build a 5G network. This has become a stimulus for innovation and development in the UAE,” he said during the session.

Adine participated in a panel title ‘World Class Healthcare’ while Dr. El Toni shed light on the ‘Competitive Knowledge Economy’. Dr Houssaine shared insights on the ‘First Rate Education System’ during his session.

At the end of the hackathon a total of six winning teams will be chosen – one winning team from each focus area in UAE Vision 2021. The six winning teams will receive support in testing their solutions and will also be given the chance to showcase their solutions at the Swedish Pavilion in Expo2020. One team will receive the grand prize to visit Ericsson’s headquarters in Sweden to pitch the team’s solution and interact with the entrepreneurial community.