The Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT) and EDGE Group PJSC have completed the first ‘Pioneers 4.0’ Hackathon series – a part of several initiatives to accelerate digital transformation in the country.
This follows the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by the two parties in August 2022, which aims to expand EDGE’s offerings to the UAE’s industrial ecosystem, and to collaborate on the establishment of an Industry 4.0 enablement centre.
The hackathon series will host two challenges per year. Each challenge will have a unique problem statement that addresses industrial pain points to encourage digital transformation and operational excellence in various factories setups, and to enable participants to better predict and prepare for the industry’s needs and future requirements.
The inaugural challenge of ‘Pioneers 4.0’ took place from November 21 to 22 November in Abu Dhabi, and enabled 15 students from some of the UAE’s leading universities to collaborate in teams and to propose an innovative solution for the chosen problem statement.
The challenge required participants to leverage data from sensors and manufacturing execution systems to develop a solution using artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies to enhance predictive maintenance. It aimed to enhance maintenance threefold: firstly, to predict machine outages and unplanned downtimes; secondly, to predict energy consumption and anomalies in sensors during a manufacturing process; and thirdly, to analyse manufacturing data of the production line during production cycles, and to assess the quality of the manufacturing process with the current available data.
On the second day of the challenge, students pitched their solution to a jury of subject matter experts.
Zhaksylyk Kazykenov, Aidana Nurakhmetova, and Samar Fares from MBZUAI, and Shaikha Al Athmani from the University of Manchester won the first Hackathon challenge.
Tariq Al Hashmi, Head of Technology Development and Adoption at MoIAT, said: “Through initiatives such as the Champions 4.0 Network, the ministry is committed to bringing partners together to support the digitalisation and competitiveness of the UAE’s industrial sector. This hackathon is a prime example of how leading national companies can work together with global corporations – and academic institutions – using the UAE’s industrial ecosystem as a platform to support not only one another’s objectives, but also the upskilling of national talent. We congratulate the winners of the first Pioneers 4.0 cohort and look forward to witnessing the longer-term impact of the initiative.”
Mohittin Milen Kourtev, Head of EDGE Learning & Innovation Factory, EDGE, added: “The Pioneers 4.0 Hackathon series is a key Industry 4.0 initiative that will promote the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies and encourage digital transformation in operations. In collaboration with MoIAT, EDGE is striving to bring together some of the nation’s brightest minds to solve current and future challenges within the industry, and help shape the future with smart and practical solutions.”
