Emirates Islamic, one of the leading Islamic financial institutions in the UAE, today announced the launch of the ‘EI Appathon’, a challenge that calls on students and professionals from around the UAE to develop unique and innovative apps. The competition is being held by the bank on November 25 and 26, 2015, as part of the UAE Innovation Week, announced earlier this year by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai.

Participants are required to register their interest on Emirates Islamic’s website before November 18, 2015. Shortlisted entries will be announced by November 22, 2015. The EI Appathon will include fifty teams of three members each, wwill be given 36 hours to develop actual apps – iOS, Android or Windows – based on themes announced on the day of the competition.

The judging panel comprising senior management of Emirates Islamic will select winners for a grand prize of AED 30,000 for professionals and AED 15,000 for students. Commenting on this initiative, Jamal Bin Ghalaita, Chief Executive Officer, Emirates Islamic, said: “Emirates Islamic is proud to announce the launch of the EI Appathon, a competition to uncover hidden talent in the UAE. Through this unique event, we are reaching out to the youth in the community – the real driving force behind new ideas and innovations today. Personally, I am looking forward to see the ideas generated through the event, which I am sure will be a testament to the talent within our community.

“The EI Appathon is the latest in a series of community-focused innovation events introduced by Emirates Islamic. Previously, we have worked with university students on developing marketing and social media innovations and have organised several crowd-sourcing initiatives to create solutions for our customers. Our initiative in fostering innovation underlines our commitment to fulfil the vision of the nation’s leadership to transform Dubai into a smart city. I wish all those teams taking part in the competition the very best of luck and urge them to come up with the best in innovation.”