The Meera Kaul Foundation, an organisation focused on gender-equality and creating entrepreneurial opportunities for women has announced its second All-Women Hackathon to be hosted in Dubai next month.
The second edition of the Women in STEM (WiSTEM) Hackathon will focus on ‘Smart Cities for Women’, challenging participants to develop applications that present innovative solutions for women in smart cities.
The hackathon will be held at the AstroLabs tech hub in Dubai on 19-20th February, will bring together women entrepreneurs and innovators, as individuals and teams, to participate in the challenge. The event is supported by partners including AstroLabs and Arab Women in Computing.
Commenting on the event, Meera Kaul, Global Chair and Founder of the Meera Kaul Foundation, said: “By investing in this Hackathon, we aim to provide a platform to encourage more women to opt for STEM careers. We look forward to uniting inspiring talent from all over the region under one roof, learning from their collective pool of experiences and creating something useful in the bargain.”
Registrations for the Hackathon will be open from January 5th 2016, either as individuals or as teams. On-site team formation is also encouraged to allow participants to meet new people and collaborate with those who may have different skills sets. Winners will receive incubation support as well as mentorship opportunities facilitated by The Meera Kaul Foundation, along with other exciting prizes. The aim is to bring together wannabe women tech-entrepreneurs and innovators from across the MENA region, to hack in 48 hours in an exciting race to the finish line. For more information please visit http://hackathon.womeninstem.com/dubai2016/
Talking about their partnership, Ahmad Abugosh Learning and Development Manager at AstroLabs Dubai, Hackathon 2016, said: “We are excited to be a part of the All Women WiSTEM Hackathon this year. Together we need to highlight more women role models, women entrepreneurs and women in executive positions. People need to hear success stories and achievements by women in tech to believe that we can do it and we can do it right.
“The region compared to other parts of the world has more women in tech start-ups participating as a percentage based on the programs we’ve seen, even in comparison to Silicon Valley. In this scenario, our main endeavour, being the only Google-partnered Tech Hub in the MENA region, is to provide a vibrant space for like-minded tech enthusiasts and a community network of support through our mentorship program. And this is where we feel our synergy lies with the Foundations Women in STEM objectives.”
Leanne D’souza, last year’s participant and winner of the Hackathon added: “Since my participation with the 2015 WiSTEM Hackathon by the Meera Kaul Foundation, which happened to be my first Hackathon, I have been highly motivated and inspired to further be a part of similar platforms. The WiSTEM Hackathon gave me the confidence to participate in more such events, either as a developer or a designer and win several prizes.”
