Success Story

College of Computer Science students participated in the KAUST Ignite Challenge, which was held by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) from February 10 to 12, 2022 AD. Where the challenge aims to find creative and innovative solutions in the paths (Hajj, water, aviation)

Ten students from the College of Computer Science were nominated to participate in the challenge from more than 200 participants at the level of universities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The challenge lasted for 3 days, in which male and female students participated with creative and innovative ideas that serve the sectors of Hajj, water, and aviation.

The Biscuit team won first place in the Hajj track, and student Ahmed Sami, from the Department of Computer Engineering, spoke with the team, saying:

Participation in this challenge was very wonderful, I learned a lot from it and participated with my colleagues from other universities of different disciplines, and I feel that I gained a lot of knowledge and experience during that simple period, and I am very proud that I and my team got first place in the Hajj path with our innovation Biscuit, which is A system to solve waste management during the Hajj season, and replace plastic and water bottles with containers made of biscuits that can be used as a spoon or plate, and then eaten as dessert after completion, or disposed of easily compared to plastic.

The student Ibrahim Saber Elnawasany, Department of Computer Engineering, who won second place in the Hajj track, said:

Very proud of this experience, I participated in many similar experiences, but this experience was very special, as I was the only bachelor student in the team and my colleagues were all in the postgraduate, I was a bit apprehensive, but when the challenge ended, I felt very proud of myself when I designed Our solution, which won the admiration of the team, and he was more proud of us. They told us that we are candidates to move to the second stage, "the presentation stage." At that time, my confidence increased in myself, and my team and I resolved to give our best to obtain an advanced position, and indeed we got second place in the Hajj path, our project was:

Managing the delivery of food and beverages to pilgrims during the Hajj season, especially at critical times within the holy sites. In our solution, we relied on replacing food delivery from unknown providers with trusted restaurants within the vicinity of the holy sites for all the camps in the vicinity of the restaurant according to schedules distributed over the number of days, to ensure the pilgrim has a meal Healthy, safe, and varied.

Finally, the student Saad Qobti from the Department of Computer Science, who won second place, spoke with his team, and said:

An unforgettable experience, I can't forget that I worked with my team for continuous hours for 3 days to get the best out of us. We were working as a beehive, for everyone in his field and specialty, but we all have one goal and that is to find a solution to keep out the birds that hurt the engine of the plane before, during, and upon landing, which can cause humanitarian and catastrophic accidents that cause hundreds of deaths annually. I worked with my team to devise a technical solution using artificial intelligence algorithms to identify bird species and transmit sound waves that cause annoyance to these birds without harming them, making them completely tens of kilometers away from the plane, so that the passenger flight remains safe from takeoff to landing.

Student Ahmed Sami concluded his speech:

I advise all my colleagues to take part in those challenges that make you go out of your comfort zone and make you feel like an extraordinary person. You can do so much in a very short time and discover your abilities and talents. Don't stop at just studying in class, get out and fly away.