NYU Abu Dhabi Hackathon for Social Good: Three days of successfully completing difficult challenges, networking with people and having a good time. Excitement peaked with the announcement of team Qudra as the winner, whose goal was to bring quantum advantage to distributed and renewable energy systems for improving energy security and sustainability.

The Gazelle sat down with two members of the winning team, Sarthak Malla, Class of 2025 and Nurgazy Seidaliev, Class of 2022, to reflect on and learn more about their experience, as well as with one of the organizers of the event, Sana Odeh, Faculty Liaison for Global Programs of Computer Science and Clinical Professor of Computer Science, to reflect.

“I could not resist taking part in the first ever Quantum Computing Hackathon in the Middle East, especially when NYU Abu Dhabi was organizing it,” said Seidaliev. He appreciated the technical knowledge he gained from the workshops, which made him realize how complex and fascinating quantum computing is.

Malla did not know what to expect and how to prepare. “As a freshman and [as] someone who has comparatively less experience with computer science and quantum computing, it was scary in the beginning,” he shared. Luckily, over the course of the event, he made connections with other participants, danced with everyone at the Louvre Abu Dhabi during the DJ Spooky performance and explored ideas and discussed solutions while working on the group project. Seidaliev concurred, saying that the Hackathon was intense yet fruitful in learning new things and making new friends.

“Hackathon is not only about coding and coming up with a solution to a problem, but also enjoying the process with the team, sharing laughter and making memories,” said Malla. Seidaliev shared that sentiment, stating that the Hackathon reminded him of Candidate Weekend due to its scale and positive environment.

Photo courtesy of NYU Abu Dhabi.

The majority of the participants did not have prior knowledge of quantum computing. However, Malla and Seidaliev stated that the organizers held a five-day-long workshop to help participants prepare and build skills in using quantum algorithms and libraries. Mentors even suggested textbooks to easily digest the acquired knowledge.

“The most prominent advantage of quantum computing technology is its prospects on speed,” explained Malla. “[Our project] looked at data from various power plants to generate an energy grid optimized for environmental impacts and power generation.”

What would have taken a classical computer hours to process, took the quantum only a few minutes. “Quantum computers can easily factorize large numbers…our team leveraged quantum advantage to optimize distributed energy grids for energy sustainability,” Seidaliev added.

Malla and Seidaliev encouraged students to take part in such events to overcome challenges and get out of their comfort zones. “My approach was not goal-oriented, rather [it was] process-driven. This way, I could reduce mental pressure and truly enjoy the experience,” Seidaliev concluded.

“The event was a big success and it exceeded our expectations on many levels,” emphasized Professor Odeh. The applications had a strong impact, some teams solved complicated algorithms. “The solutions were all impressive [taking] in consideration that most of the participants had no quantum computing experience,” she added. “I also love[d] the intersectional diversity of the participants — we had people participate from more than 35 countries.” She is confident that the networks the students created with other professionals will launch their careers, similar to past Hackathons.

For Odeh, it was hard to say how the event could be improved, as it exceeded everyone’s expectations. Though she said:, “I would like to see more engagement and participation from different disciplines outside of the sciences in the future.”