If your child has ever come home buzzing from a school competition, imagine doing it three times in one season. Code Battle 2023 was the first year iCodejr’s free inter-school hackathon left Dubai. Schools first competed in chapters in Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi. The winning teams then met at DTEC in Dubai Digital Park on 27 January 2024 for the UAE national final.
Khaleej Times covered the results on 30 January 2024: read the Khaleej Times story. They were also reported by Edarabia and MENAFN.
The 2023 season at a glance
| Dubai chapter | 25 Feb 2023, DTEC, Dubai Digital Park: 311 students, 108 teams, 22 schools |
| Sharjah chapter | 28 Oct 2023, Sheraa, American University of Sharjah campus |
| Abu Dhabi chapter | 21 Jan 2024, online, with 42 Abu Dhabi |
| National final | 27 Jan 2024, DTEC, Dubai Digital Park |
| Divisions | Cadet (Grades 1–4), Captain (Grades 5–8), Colonel (Grades 9–12) |
| Entry | Free |
How a team reached the final
Every chapter ran the same format. Teams of two or three got a theme on the day, built for two hours, then gave a 2–3 minute pitch with a live demo to the judges. The best teams from each chapter earned a place in the national final, where they did it all again against the winners from the other emirates.
Judges scored five things equally, at 20% each: code, user interface, creativity, teamwork and presentation. The season’s judges and mentors were:
- Arsalan Nawazish (Grades 1–4)
- Almas Q and Maksym N. (Grades 5–8)
- Mohammed Faz, Mita Srinivasan and Jad Salhani (Grades 9–12)
Taking it to Sharjah and Abu Dhabi
Code Battle started in Dubai, where the February chapter alone brought in 311 students in 108 teams from 22 schools. 2023 was the year it reached more of the UAE. The Sharjah chapter ran with Sheraa at the American University of Sharjah campus. The Abu Dhabi chapter was planned with 42 Abu Dhabi as an in-person event, and in the end it ran online in January 2024, so schools across Abu Dhabi could still take part. More schools could compete close to home, and the national final became a genuine meeting of the emirates.
The national champions
| Division | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cadet (Grades 1–4) | Collision Coders, Winchester School, Jebel Ali | pps, Pamir Private School | Girls Power, GEMS Modern Academy |
| Captain (Grades 5–8) | Decorous, The Indian International School, Dubai | GLS Code Warriors, GEMS Legacy School | GMA Coders, GEMS Modern Academy |
| Colonel (Grades 9–12) | GEM Group, Al Mawakeb School | Code Crafters, Sharjah Indian School, Juwaiza | Code Warriors, Regent School |
Two teams did the double. Decorous and GEM Group both won their division at the Dubai chapter, then went on to take the national title.
"More than a competition"
“Code Battle is more than a competition; it’s a platform for young minds to innovate and prepare for a technology-driven future.” — Hannan Moti, Founder and CEO, iCodejr
Hannan said the team was immensely proud of every participant, not only for their coding but for how they thought creatively and worked together, and called that year’s talent and enthusiasm “truly inspiring”.
Thank you
Thank you to DTEC, Dubai Digital Park and Dubai Silicon Oasis for hosting the final, to Sheraa and 42 Abu Dhabi for the Sharjah and Abu Dhabi chapters, to UniHawk for sponsoring the Grades 9–12 category, and to every teacher who brought a team.
What came next
Updated 17 October 2026.
Code Battle kept growing: 450+ students from five emirates took part in Code Battle 2024, and Code Battle 2025 brought in 53+ schools. Code Battle 2026 takes place on 21 November 2026 at Heriot-Watt University Dubai, and schools can register on codebattle.tech.
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