What is the CU-AI Nexus 2025 Hackathon?

And who can join?

Cairo University is inviting all undergraduate students who are currently enrolled at one of its twenty faculties to develop AI-solutions that tackle one of the sustainable development goals that align with either

Egypt's Vision 2030 (https://mped.gov.eg/Files/Egypt_Vision_2030_EnglishDigitalUse.pdf)  or the UN Sustainable Development Goals (https://sdgs.un.org/goals).

 Students who graduated in May 2025 and wish to participate in CU-AI Nexus 2025, can apply through our special Graduation Project track: https://bit.ly/cuainexus25-gp

The Competition Journey

Milestone 1:

Faculty Competition (August 3rd - September 25th, 2025). Interested students should:

• • Team-up: 3-6 students /team
  • Brainstorm for AI solution for one or more of the SDG’s
  • Register through Faculty AI coordinator and Youth Care Department
  • Attend the orientation session 
  • Choose the topic, refine the idea and build the prototype

The top 3 teams from each faculty will advance to milestone 2

Milestone 2:

Winners from all faculties will come together on September 30th, 2025, at CU Main Hall to:

• • Network with other talented teams
  • Learn from each other's projects
  • Prepare for the final showdown

Milestone 3:

The Grand Finale  (October 18th-19th, 2025) at CU-AI Nexus 2025 Startup Pavilion!

• • Present your project at the CU-AI Nexus 2025 Startup Pavillion
  • Get mentorship from academia and industry experts to refine your pitch
  • Win prizes and get noticed by industry experts and potential investors for opportunities to launch your project!

How You'll Be Judged

Projects will be evaluated by a committee that includes experts from academia and industry based on the following criteria, with a strong emphasis on practical and industrial applicability over purely theoretical concepts

Faculty Level (Milestone 1):

• • Sustainable Impact (30%) – How well does your project tackle real sustainability challenges?
  • AI Innovation & Practicality (30%) – Is your AI solution creative AND actually workable?
  • Market Potential (20%) – Could this become a real business or be adopted by organizations?
  • Technical Demo (10%) – Show us it works!
  • Presentation Skills (10%) – Pitch like a pro!

Grand Finale (Milestone 3):

• • Scalability & Feasibility (40%) – Can your solution grow and be implemented widely?
  • Innovation & "Wow" Factor (25%) – Blow the judges away!
  • Methodology and sustainability (25%) – Having a clear methodology and measurable sustainability plan
  • Team Strength & Vision (10%) – Show your passion and long-term thinking!

Competition Categories:

AI for Arts, Linguistics & Humanities

• Arts
• Dar Al-Uloom
• Archaeology
• Specific Education
• Education for early childhood

AI for Social & Administrative Sciences

• Commerce
• Law
• Mass Communication
• Economics & Political Sciences

AI for Healthcare & Life Sciences

• Medicine
• Dentistry
• Pharmacy
• Physical Therapy
• Nursing
• Veterinary Medicine

AI for Natural Sciences, Engineering & Technology

• Engineering
• Agriculture
• Science
• Computer & AI
• Urban and regional planning

What You Can Win

The Winning Team from each of the four categories:

• Monetary prize of 50,000 EGP per team
• Seed funding opportunities for further development
• Incubation support to turn your project into a startup
• Industry mentorship from leading experts
• Recognition at the biggest AI conference at CU
• Network access to investors and industry leaders

Key Dates to Remember

Date - What's Happening

August 3rd - September 25th Faculty-level competitions

September 30th Winners' meetup at CU Main Hall

October 18th-19th Grand finale competition day / Awards ceremony at conference closing