DOHA: Qatar Foundation Research & Development’s (QF R&D) Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP) has invited students, clinicians, programmers, athletes and entrepreneurs to participate in Qatar’s first Sports Medicine Hackathon, being hosted in partnership with the world-renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
The hackathon begins today at Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC) and ends on Saturday.
It is a problem-solving session where teams will work together and brainstorm to create solutions for the most pressing challenges in sports medicine.
Hackathons are a new global trend in innovation, whereby companies and individuals create ideas in a collective framework.
They have been praised by experts as high-impact, high-energy drivers of meaningful technology innovation.
Top sports medicine and health care leaders in Qatar will guide and direct the teams throughout the event.
“QSTP is committed to supporting Qatar’s aspiring innovators by launching new programmes, creating knowledge, and enhancing technology management skills,” said Hamad Al Kuwari, Managing Director, QSTP.
“By launching the Hackathon challenge, we are continuing to inspire Qatar’s entrepreneurs and those in its emerging field of sports medicine.”
QSTP has joined forces with MIT’s Hacking Medicine initiative to launch the event, which is the first of its kind in the Middle East and the first to focus on sports medicine.
Aided by healthcare professionals and global innovation experts, small teams will be presented with real world scenarios that can be addressed through technology innovation.
Teams will devise, test and pitch their solutions to a panel of expert judges.
Winning teams will receive special recognition from QSTP and the event’s partners.
According to a study released this month by A T Kearney, a global management consulting firm, the sports industry is expanding globally at a rate higher than GDP growth.
The study found that the Middle East is experiencing the fastest growth in terms of revenues, which are projected to rise at 10 per cent annually over the next three years.
The Peninsula
