Doha, September 30 (QNA) - Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar (CMU-Q), a Qatar Foundation partner university, hosted Reboot the Earth, a four-day hackathon.
Led by the United Nations Office of Information and Communications Technology (UN OICT) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the event drew 110 participants on 22 teams to engage in intensive collaborative sessions. 
The teams comprised a diverse group of high school students, university students, and industry professionals from across Qatar. 
This year's theme, "Sustainability and Environmental Innovation," included two core challenges: to find an AI solution to evaluate and recommend site and crop suitability, or to find an AI solution for cold-chain monitoring and food-loss reduction.
"One small spark of an idea has led to every new advancement, invention, or innovation in history. Hackathons encourage intelligent, skillful and thoughtful people to find those sparks that may one day make a big impact," said dean of CMU-Q Michael Trick. "The Reboot the Earth hackathon was a great starting point, and I sincerely hope each participant will continue to nurture these ideas for technology to enhance sustainability."
In turn, open-source adoption consultant at UN OICT Mithusa Kajendran said, "The Reboot the Earth initiative provides a unique platform for young innovators to tackle the most significant challenges of our time."
"The creativity and dedication demonstrated by these participants give us hope for a sustainable future driven by technological advancement," she added. (QNA)