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Nasa’s space app-oriented hackathon, which sought out local enthusiasts with skills in ICT, app development, engineering and design to create new tools to make life in space - and on earth - better for humanity, has wrapped up with Qatar University (QU) students winning the top three local awards. |
Teams Karak (Binary Edu Robot app), Cool it Seniors (Astronaut Health Monitoring app) and Q-Team (Virtual Ground Station app) will now see their space app concepts move into the Nasa global judging realm against teams from over 50 nations.
The International Space Apps Challenge, a non-stop 48-hour “tech marathon”, was produced by the Arab Youth Venture Foundation, supported by the US embassy in Qatar and mentored by Alexandre Sutra of BeMyApp.
Participants chose a challenge representing Nasa mission priorities across Earth Watch, Technology in Space, Human Spaceflight, Robotics, and Asteroids, or were free to choose their own.
Dr Rashid Alammari, dean, College of Engineering at QU, said: “The Nasa Space Apps Challenge provides a great opportunity for the young talent at QU to compete globally and build up the necessary engineering knowledge, skill base and confidence levels that will enable them to succeed in their future careers, which ties with the university goal of preparing competent graduates.”
Kristen Aanstoos, of the US embassy, said: “This challenge brought together some truly talented young engineers and computer scientists, who used their skills and teamwork to create several impressive apps that address global problems relevant to both space and earth.”
Qatar’s event was the only GCC-based global challenge location.
