Ministry of Digital Technologies of the Republic of Uzbekistan

From September 20 to 22, 2024, the President Tech Award, in the special category of Hackathon, concluded at the Turin Polytechnic University. This event brought together developers, entrepreneurs, and IT specialists to create innovative solutions in the field of digital technologies. The competition attracted over 260 participants, forming 70 teams, all competing for the grand prize of $100,000.

The President Tech Award is a competition initiated by the President of Uzbekistan with a total prize pool of $1,000,000. It unites the most talented and creative software developers across Uzbekistan, offering them the opportunity to establish their own startups with financial backing from the state. The Hackathon was a special track of this competition.

The Hackathon was organized by IT Park Uzbekistan with the support of the Ministry of Digital Technologies of the Republic of Uzbekistan. It was aimed at accelerating the digitalization of key sectors, including education, healthcare, artificial intelligence technologies, agriculture, green energy, and financial technologies. Throughout the event, participants worked on the development of prototypes and minimum viable products (MVPs) under the close guidance of leading industry experts and mentors.

Each day, 10 mentors have worked closely with the participants of the hackathon:

- Sarvar Abdullaev, PhD in Computer Science, King's College London, UK, Co-founder of Amudar IO

- Khojiakbarkhuja Boboev, with over 5 years of experience in product management and marketing (Fintech, BNPL, payments, e-commerce, and Edtech), Senior Product Marketing Manager at Alif Uzbekistan

- Ruslan Yuldashev, Founder and Product Lead of MARS, one of Uzbekistan’s foremost IT schools for children, and MODME, a leading B2B SaaS CRM platform for education

- Liniza Fatkullina, Expert in finance and product management, CFO at Kash application

- Natalya Klemenko, Founder of STEMIO, mentor for Technovation

- Shakhzod Umurzakov, Graduate of 500Global 2023, Plug&Play, AI Council, Co-founder, Innovator in retail

- Shukhrullo Lutfullaev, Owner and CEO of several successful businesses, including a taxi service and a pharmacy network, CEO of Royal Taxi

- Akmaljon Musaev, Cloud application specialist, Founder and CEO of HyperAPP

- Dilnoza Nasrieva, Experienced IT Product Manager at Uzum Market

- Semyon Morgunov, utilizing innovative technologies and business models to lead in the food e-commerce sector, Chief Product Officer at Korzinka GO

- Saidalikhon Tojihonov, Head of Trade Marketing, with prior roles at Korzinka Go, PepsiCo, and Deloitte

- Talibjon Mirzakulov, Founder of Jett.uz, Expert in digital transformation

- Iskandar Kurbanov, entrepreneur and project manager with over 3 years of experience. Specializes in marketing, media, and IT projects. Venture Partner at Plug & Play.

- Azizakhon Ortikhujaeva, Strategic manager with outstanding skills in communication, problem-solving, and execution, adept at motivating staff and leading cross-functional teams, Program Manager at Plug & Play

- Azizbek Kurbanov, Co-founder and Co-CEO of Sug'urta Bozor, entrepreneur

- Mahtob Asadova, Product Manager specializing in machine learning and the integration of AI into business solutions, as well as natural language processing systems

- Sanjar Adilov, with 6 years of experience in software development, primarily focused on machine learning solutions

- Azizkhoja Mirzaev, seasoned software developer with over 20 years of experience in .NET technologies

- Muhammad Zakirov, Product Manager | Startupper | Founder and CEO of beon-app.com

- Alikhon Hashimkhudzhaev, Former Co-founder and CTO of Point AI, mobile developer at Beeline

- Bekzod Turdaliev, Development of reliable solutions, performance optimization, and implementation of best practices in coding standards and design patterns

- Maruf Saidov, Team Leader and .NET Developer at Alif Shop

- Samandar Khojiev, Software Engineer and Product Owner at Road24

- Shukhrat Shakirov, Software developer with over 4 years of experience in Go programming. Specializes in creating high-performance solutions for financial systems and optimizing business processes.

- Farrukh Maksumov, Partner Relations Manager at Plug and Play Uzbekistan.

The event unfolded in three stages. During the opening ceremony and speaker presentations, participants were introduced to current IT trends and the potential applications of technology across various sectors. This was followed by mentorship sessions and project development, where hackathon participants received expert guidance to develop MVPs (Minimum Viable Products) within a 24-hour timeframe. Finally, during the closing presentations, teams showcased their solutions before a jury panel.

The development of projects officially commenced on September 20th. The hackathon was structured into several stages known as checkpoints, where teams were evaluated based on their performance. Through this process, the most efficient teams were selected, with 15 out of the initial 70 teams advancing to the final pitch before the jury. These teams included MIRAI TEKU, AqlliScan, ScoreX, eL, Consultant.AI Tech, Al XORAZMIY, 103 ai, ICMedAI, ASTRA CODERS TEAM, Digital Star, Lorem Ipsum, Cura Team, PentaDevs, NoName1, and Sunny Devs.

The winning project of the hackathon was Focuscore AI, developed by the Lorem Ipsum team. Their innovative platform converts entertainment content into educational material, designed based on research into generational differences in content perception. The platform supports 35 languages, including Uzbek and Chinese, and is set to launch in four countries: Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, China, and India.

The panel of judges included Milena Stoycheva, Minister of Innovation and Growth of Bulgaria; Sebastian Suika, Managing Director of Redsquirrel Ventures; Mohammed Hatata, CVO and Founder of Nawah AI, Director of Digital HEPA; Nargis Dusmatova, Chairperson of the Fintech Association; and Davron Parmanov, Managing Partner at Aloqa VC.

The competition for the five main categories is still ahead. Participants will try their skills in the following areas:

- Artificial intelligence-based technologies;

- Development of computer or mobile games;

- Technological solutions in Micro-SaaS and AdTech;

- Digital technologies in the social sphere;

- Entrepreneurship and financial technologies.

Each category offers three prize-winning places:

- 1st place – $100,000

- 2nd place – $50,000

- 3rd place – $30,000

The Demo Day for participants in the main categories is scheduled to take place from November 5 to 15, with winners to be announced on December 10.