KUWAIT: In continuation of the company’s efforts to raise cybersecurity awareness in the community and encourage aspiring Kuwaiti coders, Zain on Monday announced its partnership with the Kuwait Hackathon, the nation’s biggest cybersecurity competition. The company supports this nationwide initiative in collaboration with its strategic partners at CODED Academy and the National Cybersecurity Center (NCSC).
The contest comes under the patronage of First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Talal Al-Khalid Al-Sabah. CODED launched this competition in response to the parliamentary initiative proposed by several members of the National Assembly, which was adopted by Sheikh Talal Al-Khalid. The competition is the biggest of its kind in Kuwait and aims to increase awareness of cybersecurity and the protection of data, test the efficiency of sensitive government systems, and upskill national talents in cybersecurity.
The competition offers large cash rewards for the winners to encourage aspiring Kuwaiti coders and programs to participate. Zain is proud to be one of the top strategic partners of CODED Academy throughout the years, a partnership that has contributed to empowering thousands of aspiring programmers and developers into the local market. The company partnered with CODED yet again for this initiative to solidify the cybersecurity ecosystem of government systems and offer world-class training for national talents.
Many of Zain’s corporate sustainability initiatives center around youth and education development, and as digital skills are gaining accelerating importance in the future of education and the economy, the company has put the development of programming and digital competencies of the youth at the forefront of its priorities. Zain is keen on contributing to preparing the next generation of local talents with the skills required by modern markets, most important of which are cybersecurity skills.
The Kuwait Hackathon competition aims at increasing awareness of protecting data and digital systems, as well as encouraging local programmers to develop their skills in order to competently face the highly increasing cybersecurity threats. The competition offers optional workshops for those who wish to refine their skills before entering and competing.
The competition offers large cash prizes for winners to encourage every Kuwaiti programmer and coder to participate in defending the nation’s cybersecurity ecosystem. The first-place winner will receive KD 20,000, while the second-place winner will receive KD 10,000, and the third-place winner will receive KD 5,000.