As part of the Oman Innovation Festival, the Energy Hackathon was launched, organized by the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation in collaboration with Ouj Innovation. This is the first event of its kind in the Sultanate of Oman, spanning two days with the participation of 80 young men and women, including students and graduates from various universities, employees from startups, and officials from government institutions in Oman and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. The hackathon featured 20 ideas representing different teams, focusing on developing innovative projects in the energy sector. One of the hackathon’s goals is to identify entrepreneurs and pioneering ideas that are investable and applicable in real-world scenarios, whether at a local, regional, or global level.

Saddam bin Hussein Al-Hadabi from the Technical and Applied Sciences University mentioned that the project on innovative green hydrogen production using artificial intelligence started immediately after the festival’s opening ceremony. We discussed ideas and are preparing to present our project to the judging panel on Wednesday. This hackathon has motivated us to compete and foster a love for learning, utilizing our expertise in artificial intelligence for energy production.

Abdulmohsen Al-Juhani from Saudi Arabia highlighted that the energy hackathon features Gulf-wide participation to compete for the best idea to address environmental issues and innovate in the energy sector. Our idea involves a program designed to neutralize harmful emissions and ensure easy implementation. This project targets entities with above-average emission levels. Our project, “Muhaid,” monitors buildings to determine energy consumption, facility efficiency, and carbon emissions, thus facilitating government agencies in monitoring compliance with environmental regulations.