Artificial intelligence is changing quickly. Learning about it through online courses is one thing. Building AI solutions under pressure with other people in the room is something else entirely.
That was the idea behind the latest DEWA AI Hackathon, where Dubai Electricity and Water Authority gathered young employees for three days of workshops, practical challenges, and hands-on experience centered on one of the fastest-growing areas in AI: agentic AI. The event was organized to mark World Youth Skills Day and reflects a broader effort to prepare the next generation of professionals for an AI-first workplace.
What Happened at the DEWA AI Hackathon?
Hosted at Al Shera’a, DEWA’s new headquarters, the hackathon brought together 50 young employees from across the organization.
Instead of listening to presentations all day, participants worked through practical AI exercises, collaborated on projects, and developed solutions using advanced AI technologies. Much of the attention went toward agentic AI, a new generation of AI systems designed to reason, plan, and perform tasks with greater autonomy than traditional chatbots. Specialized experts reviewed the ideas and challenged participants to think beyond simple automation.
The format says a lot about where enterprise AI training is heading. Companies are beginning to treat AI less like software employees learn once and more like a skill that improves only through repeated practice.
Why Agentic AI Matters
For years, businesses focused on AI that answered questions or generated content after receiving a prompt. Agentic AI shifts the conversation.
These systems can break complex objectives into smaller tasks, make decisions during execution, interact with different software tools, and adjust their actions as conditions change. They still require human oversight, but they move much closer to functioning as collaborative digital workers than traditional AI assistants.
That explains why governments, utilities, and large enterprises are investing so heavily in this area. The technology is becoming less about generating text and more about completing real work.
Part of Dubai’s Bigger AI Strategy
The hackathon fits into a much larger transformation happening across Dubai’s public sector. According to DEWA Managing Director and CEO Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, the authority is supporting the UAE’s ambition to become the world’s first government to broadly deploy agentic AI models across 50% of government sectors and operations. He also noted that DEWA has already introduced agentic AI within its own operations and continues expanding AI capabilities across the organization.
This was not an isolated event. Over the past several years, DEWA has steadily expanded AI across customer service, digital operations, and internal productivity. The organization has repeatedly positioned itself as one of the earliest utility providers globally to embrace emerging AI technologies.
Investing in People, Not Just Technology
One detail stands out. The participants were not outside developers or university students competing for prize money. They were DEWA employees. That changes the purpose of the event.
Rather than scouting external talent, DEWA is building AI capabilities inside its existing workforce. Employees gain practical experience with technologies they may eventually use in their day-to-day roles, creating a workforce that evolves alongside the technology instead of struggling to catch up later.
Aysha Mohammad Alremeithi, President of DEWA’s Youth Council, said the organization has focused on involving young employees in AI, innovation, and digital transformation since beginning its AI journey in 2017.
The Bigger Picture
Governments around the world are racing to adopt artificial intelligence. The difference is becoming increasingly clear. Success will depend less on who buys the latest AI software and more on who develops people capable of using it effectively.
Hackathons like this may not grab headlines in the same way as billion-dollar AI investments or new model launches. Even so, they address a challenge many organizations face: turning AI ambition into practical capability. Training people to build with AI could end up being just as valuable as deploying the technology itself.
Sources:
- TechX Media – DEWA AI Hackathon Boosts Youth Agentic AI Skills
- Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA): DEWA empowers young talent through AI agentic