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 The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) announced the launch of the ‘Youth Hackathon for Justice and Innovation’ program, bridging the gap between AI and the modern rule of law, a first-of-its-kind initiative organised in partnership with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) to harness the potential of young legal talent across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and adroitly develop practical, innovative solutions to the vastly formidable challenges confronting the justice sector.  The initiative aims to harness the potential of young legal talent from Qatar and across GCC nations, equipping them to address contemporary challenges through responsible innovation and practical solutions. The hackathon forms part of MoJ’s efforts to strengthen the rule of law, advance responsible digital transformation and significantly boost legal and technical capabilities, in accord with its 2025-2030 strategic plan to elevate the quality of legal services, entrench institutional excellence, build a future-ready workforce, and foster innovation, continuous development and effective institutional partnerships.  The two sides called on young legal talent to participate in the program, which Doha will host from March 21-28, 2027, bringing together specialised training, expert mentorship and collaborative work across multidisciplinary legal teams. The program is anchored in an integrated training framework designed to empower GCC talent to develop innovative legal solutions through practical learning.  Participants will learn to identify and analyse challenges facing the justice sector, select the most appropriate technologies to address them, and apply their newly internalised knowledge and skills to develop practical, deployable solutions and prototypes under the guidance of legal and technical experts.  The hackathon focuses on four priority areas: the responsible use of AI in the justice sector; providing clear, accurate and reliable legal information; leveraging technology to facilitate access to digital legal services and substantially improve their efficiency; and developing multilingual solutions to help get past barriers that may impede understanding of or access to legal information.  Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of Justice for State Lawsuits Affairs and Chairman of the Youth Hackathon for Justice and Innovation, Dr Jassim Saleh al-Kuwari, said the ministry gives youth empowerment an overriding strategic priority and intends to operationalise digital transformation programs in the justice sector as part of its commitment to fostering the rule of law, elevating the efficiency of justice institutions and facilitating access to legal services in a streamlined, secure and reliable manner. The MoJ-UNITAR partnership embodies the ministry’s commitment to nationalising legal expertise and forging partnerships that materialise the strategic objectives outlined in the executive plan of the MOJ’s 2025-2030 strategy, particularly its pillar concerning training, rehabilitation and national capacity-building, al-Kuwari highlighted.  Al-Kuwari said the initiative reflects several key implementation pillars of the ministry’s strategic plan, foremost among them developing capabilities, strengthening institutional partnerships, significantly enhancing the efficiency of legal services through modern technologies, entrenching a culture of innovation and continuous learning, and developing reliable digital solutions centered on beneficiaries’ needs.  He added that, through organising this regional hackathon, MoJ seeks to propel legal co-operation among GCC ministries of justice toward broader horizons, including attracting developing talent from across the GCC, fostering an interchange of knowledge and expertise, and developing practical solutions that contribute to modernising Gulf justice systems, while upholding the principles of trust, transparency and legal accountability.  For her part, Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of UNITAR Michelle Giles-McDonough said the program represents a prime opportunity to attract talent from across GCC member states and invest in human capital and regional cooperation. She highlighted that empowering young people to turn their ambitious ideas into responsible, practical solutions would help cultivate a new generation imbued with the skills to tackle challenges, facilitate access to justice and help chart the future of justice systems.  Applications will be accepted through Dec 31, subject to the program’s eligibility criteria and established assessment and selection procedures, with due regard for balanced and equitable representation of participating countries.  

Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) has successfully participated in the ‘BIG Quantum Hackathon Qatar 2025’, a national event organised by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT). The event was hosted by Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), sponsored by the Ministry of Defence (MoD), and supported by knowledge partners QuantX and Boston Consulting Group (BCG).Bringing together major entities and leading organisations across key sectors, the hackathon represents an important milestone in advancing Qatar’s capabilities in quantum technologies and accelerating the country’s digital transformation journey.As part of the challenge structure, each participating organisation developed a real-world use case relevant to its industry. QIB’s Data Science & AI team mentored a group of students participating in a hackathon on a pioneering AI use case titled ‘Enhanced Retail Credit Risk Scoring using Quantum Machine Learning (QML)’.The team demonstrated the potential of quantum-based algorithms to enhance credit evaluation models, improve risk segmentation accuracy, and unlock more efficient and data-driven decision-making. Over the coming years, emerging quantum capabilities are expected to complement traditional modelling techniques.By integrating QML into their risk assessment pipelines, financial institutions will gain a competitive edge through more accurate, fair, and explainable credit decisions. Constantinos Constantinides, QIB Chief Strategy and Digital officer, said: “Exploring the potential of quantum technologies is a natural extension of QIB’s strategy to strengthen our digital and Artificial Intelligence capabilities.The BIG Quantum Hackathon enabled our teams to work closely with emerging quantum tools and evaluate their long-term relevance to financial services.” Held for the first time in Qatar, the BIG Quantum Hackathon introduced practical applications of quantum computing across finance, energy, telecom, aviation, and defence.The event enabled cross-sector collaboration, knowledge exchange, and hands-on experimentation with next-generation quantum platforms. It also supports Qatar’s vision to build a strong and sustainable technological ecosystem aligned with Qatar National Vision 2030.

The Shafallah Center for Persons with Disabilities, one of the centers under the umbrella of Qatar Social Work Foundation, concluded the Al Shafallah Hackathon 2025 under the theme: "Innovate: For an Accessible World." The event was attended by a select group of officials and representatives of partner organizations, along with participants from various schools and universities. Commenting on the occasion, Executive Director of the Shafallah Center, Maryam Saif Al Suwaidi, said that the Shafallah Hackathon represents more than just a technical event, it servs as a national platform aligned with the goals of Qatar National Vision 2030, which emphasizes human and social development. The event demonstrated how innovation can drive progress and how youth can play a leading role in fostering a more inclusive and empowered society. Al Suwaidi added that organizing the hackathon coincided with World Cerebral Palsy Day, emphasizing the role of the Shafallah Center in supporting global issues from a local perspective and raising community awareness of the importance of facilitating access and improving the quality of life for people with disabilities. The event included a short documentary film showcasing the hackathon's highlights and the stages of development of the participating projects. The judging panel and the specialists involved in supervising the teams were also honored for their valuable contributions in guiding the teams through all stages of the hackathon. The Qatar Scientific Club was also recognized for its active partnership and key role in the success of the event. The organizers of the Shafallah Hackathon confirmed that these projects will be pursued within the initiatives of the Center. To embrace outstanding ideas and transform them into practical applications that contribute to serving people with disabilities and promoting social innovation in the State of Qatar. The event saw widespread participation from school and university students, who presented innovative technical and humanitarian solutions covering various fields such as inclusive education, smart mobility, and enhanced communication, reflecting the spirit of initiative and social awareness among the rising generation.

Qatar Youth Hostels (QYH) has concluded its "Your Game is My Idea" hackathon.Held in partnership with the Studio 5 Initiative, the five-day hackathon from September 14-18 targeted those aged 13-17, with the participation of 22 young men and women."We witnessed the conclusion of the 'Your Game is My Idea' hackathon for the 13-17 age group, in a successful and fruitful partnership with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) through the Studio 5 Initiative,” the QYH said yesterday."The hackathon focused on video game design through programming and interactive design, with the aim of promoting Qatari culture and innovation,” it continued. “This exceptional edition witnessed diverse participation and creative ideas from participants to create innovative tourism and heritage games aimed at promoting tourism and technology culture."During the first three days, participating teams were engaged in understanding the process and environment of creating and designing games and characters.On the fourth day, they entered the programming phase of the approved game ideas.On the final day, the teams completed their game development and submitted them to the testing phase.Each team presented and explained their game to the judging panel headed by Nouf Abdulaziz al-Haddad, the chief of the Digital Competencies Department and director of Studio 5 at the MCIT.The *Peninsula game was selected as the programme's winning game.During her speech at the closing ceremony, al-Haddad emphasised that "Studio 5's participation in organising the 'Your Game is My Idea' hackathon falls within the MCIT’s efforts to develop digital skills among Qatari youth by providing an interactive learning environment that enhances their capabilities”.“The hackathon enables participants to gain practical experience in developing digital games that reflect Qatari identity, from concept design to implementation, strengthening their technical capabilities and preparing them for a promising digital future,” she said.The QYH concluded that "through these programmes, we aspire to encourage children to become more involved in the fields of tourism and technology, discover their talents, and harness them in projects that help develop their skills so they can become leaders in various areas of life”.