The Tank, Umniah’s Entrepreneurship Incubator, Hosts a Virtual Hackathon with Impact Leaders to Combat Coronavirus

The Tank, Umniah’s Entrepreneurship Incubator, Hosts a Virtual Hackathon with Impact Leaders to Combat Coronavirus April 28, 2020 – Amman, Jordan: The Tank, Umniah’s entrepreneurship incubator, sponsored the Virtual Impact Leader Hackathon, organized in cooperation with the German Jordanian University, IBTECAR, and the German Impact Week program. The hackathon sessions, which were held between April 5 and 20, 2020, were organized to explore possible solutions for challenges various sectors due to the coronavirus pandemic. The hackathon sessions took place over two phases, one that collated the challenges facing society as a result of the pandemic and a second that saw the formation of teams that brought together more than 250 students, teachers and entrepreneurs who have offered innovative ideas. More than 250 people participated in the hackathon, forming 35 teams from different age groups. During the final stage, the 28 qualifying teams were evaluated by a panel of judges based on video pitches of each project, among which three were selected as finalists. The Optimizers won the JD300 first prize for an application that helps teenagers deal with feelings of depression due to the current conditions, offering them motivation techniques and activities. Second place, worth JD200, was won by the Team Breaker project, which an e-education program that simulates a classroom environment by designing avatars in the images of students. The Thinker team placed in third, capturing the JD100 prize, with an app that uses a movement monitoring system via Bluetooth technology to ensure better social distancing, also identifying possible carriers of the virus by using various indicators including how often they leave their house, time spent outside, and their area of residence, all while respecting a person’s privacy. Umniah Corporate Communications Manager Nicole Shahin spoke of The Tank’s sponsorship of the Virtual Impact Leader Hackathon, which is directly in line with Umniah’s significant efforts to mitigate the coronavirus’s negative effects on Jordanian society and the country’s economy. She added that the hackathon focused on young Jordanian entrepreneurs and innovators working together to find practical and smart solutions that harness scientific and technical resources to confront the pandemic. Shahin announced that The Tank will provide full incubation services to the competition’s first winning idea, supporting it through its launch. She went on to applaud the efforts of the German Jordanian University, IBTECAR, as well as the German Impact Week program in supporting entrepreneurship and innovation in the Kingdom. Shahin highlighted The Tank’s role in encouraging entrepreneurs and innovators to find creative solutions to the challenges, offering them integrated training and incubation services that help them establish, finance, manage, and expand their startups. Director of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program at the German Jordanian University and the founder of IBTECAR Jamil Al-Khatib said that the hackathon is the leading virtual event in Jordan, focusing on training and innovative design, with this iteration including more than 12 virtual workshops and sessions led by 25 specialized trainers from Jordan and Germany. This is The Tank’s second hackathon, the first having been held in 2019 and that was attended by more than 150 people. Held over the course of two weeks, the hackathon focused on the effects the coronavirus has had on the education sector and the need to implement distance learning tools, as well as social isolation, self-help, entertainment, and the digitization of public services. -END-