Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — On 9 November 2024, a hackathon organized by Technovation Girls, Uzbekistan’s largest STEM program for girls, was held in partnership with Yandex Uzbekistan in Ferghana.

A total of 83 participants, aged 14 to 25, divided into 18 teams, competed to develop mobile applications or projects using artificial intelligence (AI) in the following areas:

- Road safety

- Urban accessibility

- Smart City initiatives

The participants worked on presentations and interactive prototypes, grouped according to task complexity.

Among the winning projects were:

- A solution for creating equal mobility access for people with disabilities and enhancing public transport safety.

- An app for smart parking.

- “Smart” e-bins to keep cities clean and improve waste recycling.

- A social service app for motorists.

- An app that alerts drivers to road hazards, featuring facial and voice recognition, geolocation, and radar for the safety of people and animals.

- An AI app for optimizing traffic and public transport, focusing on the safety of children and individuals with disabilities.

All participants received certificates, and six teams were awarded prizes from the organizers.

Saida Yusupova, director of the NGO Tech4Impact, noted: “This is our first time hosting a Technovation Girls hackathon in Ferghana, and we were thrilled to see such interest from the youth. Within the 10-hour timeframe, the teams, many of whom had never worked together, showed great synergy and came up with fascinating ideas. We look forward to seeing these teams in the new season of the program.”

Izzat Shukurov, head of Yandex Uzbekistan, emphasized: “Supporting educational initiatives is a priority for us. We’re launching free coding schools, organizing lectures, and running internship programs. Hackathons give participants from different regions the chance to build tech skills and foster an IT community.”

Vitaliy and Safina, members of Team Black Star, shared: “This is the first hackathon of this scale in Ferghana that we’re taking part in.

Our team developed an electronic timetable for public transport. This experience has been amazing, allowing us to connect with like-minded people.”

The hackathon also included practical workshops on:

- Generating social ideas

- Preparing for presentations and pitches

- Using AI to accelerate app and startup development

Yandex staff served as mentors, sharing insights on the company’s social and educational projects in Uzbekistan.

Registration for the new season of Technovation Girls Uzbekistan will open in January 2025, inviting participants and mentors from all regions of the country.