Hamad Bin Khalifa University’s (HBKU) Qatar Computing Research Institute (QCRI) successfully concluded its Generative AI Hackathon, inviting teams from across Qatar to create robust applications of this AI technology.Held over two days, the Hackathon brought 20 teams composed of developers, data scientists, and AI enthusiasts from across Qatar to gain hands-on experience in diverse generative AI projects.With guidance from QCRI staff, the teams collaborated to construct their own AI models, experiment with existing ones, and explore groundbreaking applications for this cutting-edge technology.It also gave participants the opportunity to learn from their peers, network with fellow AI experts, pursue potential collaborations with one another and strengthen the country’s generative AI community.Commenting on the success of the Generative AI Hackathon, Dr. Sanjay Chawla, chief scientist at QCRI, said, “This event surpassed our expectations, bringing together a community passionate about pushing the boundaries of generative AI. Such events demonstrate QCRI’s commitment to nurturing a knowledge hub in Qatar that retains, attracts and develops top talent in computer science.”Shell, Microsoft, Google, Mannai Corporation, LogRythm, UNICEF, and Talabat supported the event as sponsors.QCRI is a national research institute supporting Qatar in building its innovation and technology capacity by tackling large-scale computing challenges that address national priorities and positively touch upon people’s everyday lives.Dedicated to the needs of Qatar, the Arab region and the world, QCRI conducts cutting-edge, multidisciplinary applied computing research in four focus areas: Arabic language technologies, social computing, data analytics and cyber security.