Build the Future of Riyadh with AI, Data & Smart City Innovation

Riyadh Urban Intelligence Lab

Join a high-impact 4-day hackathon bringing together students, researchers, developers, consultants, urban planners, data professionals, and government innovation teams to solve real urban challenges facing Riyadh.Participants will work in teams to design MVP solutions that can be tested, piloted, and scaled with future government and industry partners.

In-person

Format

4 Days

Duration

Team-Based

Participation

Pilot Opportunity

Top MVPs

  • In-person
  • 3 Hours
Apply Now
Explore Hackathon Agenda

About the Hackathon

The Riyadh Urban Intelligence Lab is a smart city hackathon designed to turn Riyadh’s most important urban challenges into practical, technology-enabled solutions.

Over four days, participants will learn, ideate, build, and present MVPs using AI, geospatial intelligence, data analytics, low-code tools, and Microsoft Azure technologies. The hackathon focuses on real-world problem solving across mobility, walkability, air quality, public services, heritage experiences, and sustainable urban development.

The goal is not just to create ideas, but to build solutions that can move toward pilot-readiness and support Riyadh’s transformation journey.

  • WHY ATTEND

Participants will get the opportunity to:

  • Build real MVPs for Riyadh’s urban challenges
  • Work with Microsoft Azure tools and smart city datasets
  • Collaborate with mentors, experts, and multidisciplinary teams
  • Strengthen practical skills in AI, analytics, geospatial tools, and low-code development
  • Present solutions to judges, mentors, and potential implementation stakeholders
  • Contribute to Riyadh’s transformation and Expo 2030-aligned innovation themes

Challenge Areas

Public Transport

Improve access, reliability, and last-mile connectivity across Riyadh.

Walkability

Design safer, shaded, and more connected pedestrian routes across districts.

Traffic Congestion

Use data and AI to forecast bottlenecks, reduce delays, and improve daily mobility.

Air Pollution

Identify pollution hotspots, analyze emissions, and support cleaner urban planning.

Innovation begins where real challenges meet the right technology.

  • Hackathon Tracks
1. Transformational Technology

Build smart mobility and city intelligence solutions such as congestion forecasting, parking prediction, and mobility dashboards.

2. Prosperous People

Create solutions focused on livability, 15-minute city planning, walkability scoring, and district-level digital twins.

3. Sustainable Solutions

Develop urban sustainability solutions such as emissions analysis, pollution hotspot mapping, and green corridor planning.

4. Culture

Design technology-enabled cultural experiences including AR wayfinding, crowd routing, and heritage event simulation.

  • HACKATHON FOCUS

Creating data-driven solutions
for the future of Riyadh.

The Riyadh Urban Intelligence Lab will focus on building practical smart city MVPs using Microsoft Azure and related geospatial technologies.

Participants will explore how data, AI, maps, IoT, digital twins, and dashboards can be used to understand urban systems and design better city services.

  • Core Tools & Technologies
Microsoft Azure Maps

For base maps, geocoding, location intelligence, and urban data visualization.

Esri ArcGIS on Azure

For geospatial analysis, mapping, and service-area planning.

Microsoft Power Apps

For low-code applications, forms, and service dashboards.

Power BI + Azure Maps Visual

For spatial dashboards, live urban reporting, and decision-making views.

Azure Digital Twins

For modeling city systems, infrastructure, districts, and service networks.

Azure IoT Hub

For connecting and monitoring real-time city data sources.

Microsoft Fabric

For managing, integrating, and analyzing urban datasets.

Azure Machine Learning

For building ML pipelines using urban, mobility, satellite, and service data.

  • FROM IDEA FORMATION TO FINAL HACKATHON PRESENTATION

4-Day Hackathon Agenda.

Four days to transform real city challenges into practical prototypes.
Explore city challenges, design solutions, and present pilot-ready ideas.

Participants will be introduced to smart city concepts, AI fundamentals, urban data use cases, and Microsoft tools for MVP development.

Key focus areas:

  • Smart city context
  • AI and data for urban innovation
  • Microsoft Azure tools overview
  • Challenge understanding
  • Team orientation

Teams will explore problem statements, finalize ideas, form solution concepts, and start designing their MVP approach.

Key focus areas:

  • Problem statement refinement
  • Azure AI for smart cities
  • Team formation
  • Design sprint activity
  • MVP planning

Teams will spend the day building their MVPs with guided support from mentors and technical experts.

Key focus areas:

  • Prototype development
  • Data and tool integration
  • Dashboard or app creation
  • Mentor feedback
  • MVP testing and refinement

Teams will present their MVPs to judges and mentors, receive feedback, and discuss pathways for pilot-readiness.

Key focus areas:

  • Final MVP presentations
  • Judging and feedback
  • Pilot-readiness discussion
  • Expo-linked next steps
  • Shortlisting of top MVPs

Learning Outcomes

  • By the end of the hackathon, participants will be able to:
  • Work in teams to build a functional prototype or MVP
  • Use Microsoft tools to design and develop MVPs for city challenges
  • Translate real urban problems into structured solution concepts
  • Present an MVP clearly to judges, mentors, and stakeholders
  • Receive feedback to improve the solution toward pilot-readiness or deployment
  • Understand the smart city context and how technology can support urban transformation
  • Use AI, maps, dashboards, data, and low-code tools for practical problem solving
  • WAY FORWARD

From Hackathon
to Pilot

The Riyadh Urban Intelligence Lab is designed to go beyond a one-time innovation event.

Top MVPs will be shortlisted for further review and potential pilot development. Selected solutions may be refined with stakeholder input to improve feasibility, impact, and implementation readiness.

The long-term goal is to convert promising ideas into practical urban solutions that can support measurable and scalable impact across Riyadh.

Apply for Riyadh Urban Intelligence Lab

Be part of a 4-day smart city hackathon where AI, data, maps, and low-code tools come together to solve real urban challenges.

Whether you are a student, researcher, developer, consultant, planner, or public sector innovator, this is your opportunity to build practical solutions for the future of Riyadh.

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