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Dubai: Sheikh Mohammed launches $1 million Coding Challenge

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Dubai - Five runners-up will receive $50,000 each. In addition, four of the best trainers will win $25,000 each.

Published: Sun 18 Jul 2021, 6:32 PM

Updated: Sun 18 Jul 2021, 7:19 PM

  • By
  • Wam

The Ruler of Dubai has announced a coding challenge with a grand prize for graduates of the One Million Arab Coders initiative.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Sunday called upon graduates of the initiative to develop projects and solutions using the skills they acquired during the programme.


The grand prize for the most innovative coding project is $1 million, while five runners-up will receive $50,000 each. In addition, four of the best trainers will win $25,000 each.

Interested graduates can submit their projects through the official website of the One Million Arab Coders initiative: www.arabcoders.ae.

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The entries will be evaluated by a jury of experts in coding, technology, and entrepreneurship from the UAE and abroad. Winners will be announced at a ceremony held at the Expo 2020 Dubai venue towards the end of the year.

Led by the Dubai Future Foundation (DFF), One Million Arab Coders was the largest initiative of its kind in the world that aimed to teach one million young people from the Arab world how to code.

Despite the obstacles and logistical challenges posed by the coronavirus outbreak in 2020, the initiative successfully achieved its goal within the set timeframe of three years.

In a series of tweets posted on his official Twitter account, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum praised the achievements of the One Million Arab Coders initiative, saying, "One million Arab coders from 80 countries joined the most important programme to train them in the language of the future... through five million working hours, 76,000 training workshops, 100,000 successful graduation projects and 1,500 scholarships for outstanding students... a great achievement for our Arab youth in three years."

He added, "The process of development and digitalisation in the region continues under the leadership of the UAE. The graduates of the One Million Arab Coders are invited to participate in the biggest coding challenge announced from Dubai to the Arab world create tangible impacts for their societies and building a brighter future for their countries."

Announcing the new challenge, Sheikh Mohammed said, "We welcome the graduates of the One Million Arab coders initiative to compete for the title of the Top Coder in the Arab world. We look forward to projects that serve humanity, enhance quality of life, and further contribute to building stable and prosperous societies."

He added, "Our Arab youth are the wealth of our nation, and they are the pillars of its development. They are the ones who will put their countries on the path of a future proof nation. Programming, technology, and advanced sciences are the building blocks of this future."

In closing, he said, "The future is full of endless opportunities awaiting disruptive ideas. The One Million Arab Coders challenge opens its doors and welcomes talents who seek to jump on the digital transformation wave to push their boundaries by developing themselves further, and actively developing their nation’s digital economy as a whole."

Sheikh Mohammed also announced recently launch of the National Programme for Coders in partnership with Google, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Cisco, IBM, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), LinkedIn, NVIDIA, and Facebook. The scheme seeks to train 100,000 coders, establish 1,000 digital companies that will go global, and increase start-up investments from Dh1.5 billion to Dh4 billion.

The One Million Arab Coders initiative was launched in October 2017. It provided an opportunity for young Arab talent to learn a wide variety of coding skills and apply them in website and mobile application development, blockchain, artificial intelligence, data, and cloud computing.

Since its launch, the initiative has awarded over 1,000 nanodegree certificates to distinguished coders. More than 3,600 certified trainers from around the world were at hand to help the participants with the technical aspects and provide support in converting their ideas into practical projects.



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