Etihad Aviation Group has awarded the winners of a special ‘Hackathon’, which it hosted in partnership with Cognit, a joint venture between Mubadala and IBM Watson, as part of the UAE’s nation-wide Innovation Week celebrations last week. The Hackathon, which took place at Etihad Airways’ state-of-the-art Innovation Centre, saw more than 20 computer science and engineering students from leading Abu Dhabi based universities compete over three days to create innovative travel and aviation applications using IBM Watson’s cognitive technology. 

A team comprising four female students from the Higher Colleges of Technology won for developing an app that gives reminders on when to hydrate, exercise and rest – helping passengers to prevent and recover from jet-lag.

A second team of five students from New York University Abu Dhabi won for developing a door-to-door travel concierge app allowing passengers to get in touch with flight attendants in-flight.

Each member of the winning teams was awarded an Etihad Airways Business Class round-trip ticket to New York to visit IBM Watson’s headquarters at Astor Place, and a New York City sightseeing tour.

PHOTO 1: Hareb Almuhairy, Senior Vice President Corporate and International Affairs at Etihad Aviation Group (second from left) handing a certificate of appreciation to Etihad Innovation Week Hackathon winner Salma Matar Mohammed Hudaily Almansoori (third from left), together with Robert Webb, Etihad Aviation Group Chief Technology and Innovation Officer, and Amal Al Jabri, General Manager for Cognit.