A team of students from the Department of Data Science at Princess Sumaya University for Technology (PSUT) won first place in the “Quantum Computing Hackathon”, organized by Bibliotheca Alexandrina in collaboration with the Quantum Computing Organization affiliated with the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and IBM, with wide participation from researchers, students, and innovators.The event was held in Alexandria, Egypt.

The “Quantum Computing Hackathon” aimed to encourage researchers, students, and innovators to explore the applications of quantum technology across various fields.

The hackathon was divided into two tracks: one conducted in person in Alexandria and the other remotely (online). The PSUT team achieved first place in the online version in the field of Quantum Machine Learning.

The winning team included students Nasser Al-Bas, Kinda Mishaal, Yousef Reyhani, Rama Bashar, Khaled Abu Qutaish, and Noor Abu Ghazaleh, under the supervision of Dr. Siren Atiani.

PSUT President Prof. Wejdan Abu Elhaija commended this outstanding achievement, praising the students for their excellence and determination. She emphasized that this accomplishment reflects the true academic and intellectual caliber of PSUT students and their spirit of perseverance and innovation.

Prof. Abu Elhaija noted that this was the university’s first participation in the field of quantum computing, and their victory demonstrates their capacity for innovation and their ability to keep pace with global trends in computing by integrating them into data science and artificial intelligence. She added that, under the guidance of HRH Princess Sumaya bint El Hassan, Chair of PSUT’s Board of Trustees, the university continues to empower its students to excel regionally and internationally, support their development, broaden their academic horizons, and encourage them to contribute to solving societal challenges.

For her part, Dr. Siren Atiani, the team’s supervisor, expressed her pride in the students’ dedication to learning quantum computing concepts and applying them in combination with artificial intelligence models. The team presented quantum machine learning models that offered solutions in the healthcare sector, such as predicting Parkinson’s disease.