Showing Up for AI Sprint

AI Sprint had the kind of energy you only get when a room full of students has a few hours to turn an idea into something they can put in front of people.

We joined the hackathon, run by Google Developer Groups on Campus at the Egypt University of Informatics, as a silver sponsor. The practical part of that was helping fund the prize money. The more important part was showing up and taking the students' work seriously.

While the teams built, we spent time talking with students about their ideas and what they were trying to make. A short sprint forces decisions quickly, and it was good to see those ideas move from conversation to something people could present.

We also got on stage to introduce Softworks and talk about who we are and the work we do. It was a chance to share a little of what we are building from Cairo and meet students who care about making things.

Later, we joined the judging and looked at what the teams had managed to put together in those few hours. We helped judge the final ideas, with the prize money we funded there to reward the work.

What stayed with us most was the people. We met students, organizers, and others from the community, had conversations we would not have had from the studio, and came away with new connections.

That was the point for us: fund the prize, share what we know, listen, and be present where the next group of builders is already doing the work.