Prof. Mohamed Hussein, President of Tanta University, announced the results of the university’s internal hackathon, which was launched to select the best student projects to represent the university in the “University Waste Management – Green Loop Competition.” The competition is held under the auspices of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and is organized by the Innovators and Talents Welfare Fund in cooperation with the Leadership Development Institute. The judging results led to the qualification of three student projects to represent Tanta University in the competition at the level of Egyptian universities, under the slogan: “Reuse… Innovate… Build.”

    Prof. Mohamed Hussein emphasized that the qualifying projects reflect the creative capabilities of the university’s students and their growing awareness of environmental and sustainability issues. He noted that the winning ideas move beyond the traditional concept of waste management by introducing models that seek to transform waste into a resource and resources into sustainable and scalable economic and environmental value.

    The University President added that Tanta University places the support of innovation and student entrepreneurship among its top priorities. The university seeks to provide an academic environment that encourages students to transform their ideas from conceptual stages into practical solutions and applied models, while linking academic knowledge to the actual challenges facing society. He further emphasized that the diversity of disciplines represented by the participating teams highlights the importance of integrating science, engineering, design, economics, and technology to develop solutions capable of generating a meaningful real-world impact.

    For his part, Prof. El-Sayed El-Agouz, Vice President of Tanta University for Education and Student Affairs, explained that the hackathon witnessed the participation of 36 student teams from various academic disciplines. The teams presented projects and ideas in the fields of waste management, reuse and recycling, environmental sustainability, and the application of technology to address environmental challenges.

    He noted that the evaluation stages resulted in the qualification of seven teams, comprising 32 male and female students, for the internal judging stage, before the three best projects were selected to represent the university.

    The internal hackathon was held under the patronage of Prof. Mohamed Hussein, President of Tanta University, and under the leadership of Prof. El-Sayed El-Agouz, Vice President of the University. Executive supervision was provided by Prof. Yasser Mohamed Abdo, Coordinator of the Innovators and Talents Welfare Fund’s activities at the university and Executive Director of the Center for Gifted and Innovative Students, together with the hackathon’s executive team.

    The event was also supervised by Prof. Mohamed El-Quseir, Director General of Student Welfare at the university. Committees comprising faculty members and specialists from various fields were responsible for judging and evaluating the qualifying student projects and selecting the top-performing entries.

Hackathon Results

First Place: “Rebekia”

    The project was developed by a multidisciplinary student team from the Faculties of Commerce, Science, and Engineering, comprising Hisham Mohamed Mohamed Barakat, Alya Reda Mohamed Shebl, Abla Abdel-Raouf Mohamed, and Mohamed Ahmed Fouad Agina.

    The project presents an integrated vision for transitioning toward a Zero Waste Campus through a system that combines low-cost waste-sorting stations, bottle-return machines, and a student application based on QR codes or student identification, incorporating a points and rewards system.

     The proposed system also includes a dashboard for monitoring the quantities and types of waste, identifying the locations where waste is generated, and organizing collection operations. In addition, the system aims to connect recyclable materials with recycling facilities and relevant organizations, while measuring the environmental and social impact of the initiative.

    The project also seeks to engage students in promoting a culture of recycling through student ambassadors and inter-faculty challenges.

Second Place: “Second Form – Giving Materials a New Form”

    The project was developed by a team from the Faculty of Applied Arts comprising Israa Yasser Mubarak, Basant Bassem Atef, and Hager Hamdy El-Beheiry, under the supervision of Dr. Amira Mohamed El-Amir of the Department of Ready-Made Garments at the Faculty of Applied Arts.

    The concept focuses on repurposing waste and leftover materials generated through educational and practical activities at the university’s faculties. These materials include fabric remnants, textile materials, leather, burlap, paper, and cardboard.

    The project seeks to transform these materials into innovative products with artistic, functional, and marketable value, including bags, accessories, artworks, clothing items, and theatrical and performance costumes.

Third Place: “REPLASTOIL”

    The third-place project was developed by students from the Department of Chemical and Petrochemical Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering. The team comprises Rodina Mohamed Mahmoud Abu El-Yazid El-Nabrawy, Atheer Ismail Abdel-Rahman Ismail Mohamed Osman, Ahmed Alaa Ali El-Sayed El-Naggar, Basel Mohamed Ali Mohamed Kamel, and Hassan Soliman Hassan Soliman El-Boreigy.

    The team worked under the supervision of Assistant Professor Dr. Wafaa Ahmed Hammad Mohamed, Acting Head of the Department of Chemical and Petrochemical Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering.

    The project focuses on one of the most prominent environmental and economic challenges associated with the increasing accumulation of single-use plastic waste. It addresses the resulting environmental pollution and the loss of the inherent value of such waste, while also seeking to mitigate the negative consequences of unsafe disposal practices.

    The project therefore approaches plastic waste as a resource whose value can be maximized and utilized, rather than being disposed of indiscriminately.