GE recently hosted a group of more than 60 Saudi entrepreneurs and developers in the region’s first digital industrial hackathon.
For 30 hours at the GE Saudi Technology & Innovation Center, located in Dhahran Techno Valley, 16 teams explored and coded on Predix, GE’s platform for the Industrial Internet of Things. The platform has the capabilities to connect machines, data and people to power the digital industrial companies of the future. It is the foundation that enables industrial businesses to securely collect and analyze data in real time so that they can operate faster, smarter and more efficiently.
During the hackathon, teams were challenged to use the Predix platform to create a digital solution focused on Saudi Arabia’s health care industry. They were provided real, anonymized data about doses of radiation that certain machines such as CT scanners expose patients to at different hospitals around the country.
The developers were then challenged to create a digital application on Predix, to compare the levels of radiation between facilities. This type of analysis would highlight where patients were receiving higher or lower than usual levels radiation, and where further training for technicians might be warranted.
Throughout the hackathon event, GE, digital partner Tata Consulting Services, and Saudi-founded innovation organization Hobby District, led the teams through workouts, ideation, training, and strategizing.
Ali Saleh, senior vice president and chief commercial officer, GE Digital Middle East, Africa & Turkey said: “We are proud of the talented young developers and entrepreneurs who came forward for this real-world challenge in the health care industry. Using digital solutions and GE’s Predix platform, these brilliant teams were able to work on solutions that truly matter to the Kingdom. This event encapsulates what GE Digital is all about — lean problem solving, an agile software platform, and solutions that impact the community at scale.”
Hisham Al-Bahkali, president and CEO, GE Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, said: “It is fitting that the first Predix hackathon in the Middle East took place in Saudi Arabia. We have a robust pool of young, digitally minded talent who are taking the Kingdom into the digital era. They are university graduates, undergrads, entrepreneurs, and professionals who all share a drive to work in the digital space, on challenges that matter for their country.”
The winning team was Data Scroungers, a group of four juniors from KFUPM. They were awarded an SR18,750 ($5,000) cash prize.