When you put more than 500 smart technological-savvy students, enthusiasts and experts in the same room after giving them an intellectual challenge, you can expect that the tension will be high. Dangle a prize money, the bragging rights to be named the smartest amongst dozens of teams, and the opportunity to be nurtured and mentored by the best banking technological innovation team in the country and you will have a fight that no one wants to lose. On November 10 and 11, these students were sequestered and given a task to imagine what the future is like and how they would want it to be. They were given 24 hours to develop an idea. School and university students sat side by side with computer programmers, developers, designers, interface specialists, and subject matter experts.
The clock ticked and the future was waiting to be visualised and imagined. The burden was heavy. What do smart cities of the future need exactly and what are the pressing problems that haunt banks and customer service today? What can make life easy and better? The headquarters of the National Bank of Oman was a dizzying scene of activities in that two days. The second year of the said Hackathon, the vast majority of the participants are under 25 and there was a good split of women and men participants.
One of the teams under the School Challenge category imagined a future where cars have gotten so smart you can pay things from within the comfort of your vehicle and tapping into the smart system of the car. They called it Pay Wheels. Another team imagined Oman with lesser vehicular accidents proposing an idea that better monitoring systems can be put in place by tapping into an information grid already in existence today.
This team pointed out several issues. Muscat and Oman, in general, having disconnected cities with so much technology but terrible management of the information system, infrastructure as well as energy efficiency.
Several of the shortlisted teams embraced the blockchain that the country recently focused on and from this shared network of information, other teams wanted to simplify loan applications, and other government as well as public services.
All in all, many of the teams imagined a futuristic Oman where the services are efficient, the people connected with a few taps of a button and all possible and executable within a few years’ time given the right support, development, and focus.
Out of the about 200 ideas and projects proposed, three winners emerged from the three different categories.
In an interview with NBO Acting CEO Sayyid Wasfi bin Jamshid Al Said, he said that “The competition itself is a once in a lifetime experience. The 24-hour marathon provided participants with two key life skills — it trains them to think creatively and demonstrates the importance of teamwork.”
He added, “We hope that they will begin to understand that even if they might not change the world today, they are able to change themselves and achieve something they can be proud of.”
He pointed out that this year’s winners win cash prizes and are provided with internship opportunities at NBO.
Asked what the “big plan” is for the Hackathon, Al Said said that “Beyond academic performance, the development of the youth needs to come from more than just book learning. Practical initiatives such as the NBO hackathon and internship programmes allow us to do our part in supporting youth in developing the practical skills they need to become well-rounded adults who can contribute positively to society.”
“Last year’s Hackathon was a first for the country. This year was even bigger, with over 500 participants. We broadened the categories to include futuristic banking, superior customer service experiences and how technology can play a role in creating smart cities,” he shared.
He promised, “An even bigger hackathon [will happen next year] but it isn’t about making the same thing bigger. It’s about creating different kinds of platforms, where people and especially youth can come together and collaborate and understand the power of teamwork and positive energy to change things.”
“My experience with my own children has shown me that when we were young, we were very idealistic, and it’s easy to be told what not to do. But it is the people who believe in themselves from early on, the ones who persevere, the ones who transform their ideas into reality who are the ones changing the world. If NBO can play a role, even a small part in generating and harnessing this kind of energy, then we have done a good job, and a good service for our community and for our country,” Al Said said. As for his advice to the youth, Al Said said, “Stay young. When you are young, you are fearless and have tremendous amounts of energy, and that kind of energy changes the world.”
YERU EBUEN & TITASH CHAKRABORTY
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
