Manama, The National Space Science Authority (NSSA) held an award ceremony to announce the winning teams of the 2024 Space Apps Hackathon. The event was attended by officials from the organising entities, judges, and participating students from universities and schools.
The seventh edition of the competition saw the participation of 51 teams from various educational institutions. Organised by the NSSA, the event was supervised by NASA in collaboration with the University of Bahrain, Bahrain Polytechnic, and the Bahrain Society of Engineers.
Dr. Mohammed Ibrahim Al Aseeri, CEO of NSSA, expressed his gratitude to the organising partners, highlighting their role in the success of the hackathon, which raised awareness of space sciences and their applications for the benefit and prosperity of humanity.
He also commended the efforts of the Bahrain Space Team, the judging panel, and the volunteers involved in organising this annual event, which coincides with World Space Week and is considered one of the largest
global scientific events. Dr. Al Aseeri praised the enthusiasm and passion displayed by the participating teams.
On the sidelines of the ceremony, BNA interviewed Dr. Noha Al Zayani, Head of the Civil Engineering Department at the University of Bahrain and one of the judges. She emphasised the high scientific standards of the participating teams, which included both university and secondary school students.
Dr. Al Zayani noted that the teams excelled in their scientific approach, proposing solutions and developing tools to address the challenges presented in the competition. She explained that the judging process followed a clear evaluation framework provided by NSSA, which resulted in valuable student proposals for addressing these challenges.
She further explained that competitions like this are crucial for students, as they offer opportunities to tackle challenges, promote teamwork, and refine their ideas. She pointed out that NASA’s vast database provided participants with valuable resources for genera
ting project ideas and solving environmental problems to improve quality of life.
NSSA announced the winners in three categories: ‘Best Use of Data’ went to the teams (Earth Protectors) and (ASB), ‘Best Use of Technology’ was awarded to (Pixels) and (Astro Bros), and ‘Local Impact’ was won by (The Marvelous Team) and (Climate Odyssey).
BNA also interviewed the winning teams. (Earth Protectors) shared their experience of working on an environmental project focused on reducing greenhouse gases in Bahrain, using data from NASA and local resources.
The (ASB) team explained that their project involved creating a data model connected to multiple global programs and over 50,000 types of data, while the (Astro Bros) team from the University of Bahrain described their project, which explored planets within the Milky Way, completed under tight deadlines.
(Pixels), winners in the Best Use of Technology category, expressed their excitement and confirmed their intent to participate in future hackathons, despite challe
nges such as limited access to key data, which they plan to overcome next time.
Finally, (The Marvelous Team), winners of the Local Impact category, spoke about their project aimed at addressing climate change without relying on electricity, instead using clean energy. The team, consisting of five students from Muharraq Secondary School for Girls, designed their product using computer programs and data provided by NASA and the NSSA.
Source: Bahrain News Agency
