Winners share Dh1m prize for creating AI-powered art, code and games

Giraffes on the Dubai Metro and digital karak tea among the winning pieces using generative artificial intelligence

Winners at the Global Prompt Engineering Championship 2025, from left: Ibrahim Helmy, Yahya Kaddoura, Abdul Rahman Almarzooqi and Ibrahim Hajjo. Antonie Robertson / The National

Four digital creatives in the UAE won a combined prize of Dh1 million ($270,000) on Wednesday after outshining competitors in a global championship that tested the limits of artificial intelligence.

They won first place across four categories of the Global Prompt Engineering Championship, including art, video, gaming and coding.

The two-day contest was part of Dubai AI Week, which is taking place until Friday.

Competitors generated videos, games, artwork and coding using advanced AI prompts within 30 minutes.

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, presented the winners with their trophies.

Syrian university student Ibrahim Hajjo, 20, won in the video category after impressing judges with his AI-generated videos of "animals in unexpected locations".

“I didn’t expect to get first place because there were some good competitors,” Mr Hajjo told The National. “The challenge was to create videos of animals in places they wouldn’t normally be. I generated a giraffe in the Metro and a penguin in the desert.”

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed with one of the competition winners Ibrahim Hajjo. Antonie Robertson / The National

Generative video tools, such as Sora by OpenAI or Runway, are pushing the boundaries of digital storytelling.

They offer possibilities for filmmakers and educators, but have also drawn scrutiny because of deepfakes that can mislead viewers.

Mr Hajjo, who works as a filmmaker for a media company alongside his studies at the Canadian University Dubai, said AI-generated videos look “really realistic”.

“There are some imperfections if you look closely but some are too good to be noticeable,” he said. "I think in a year’s time it’ll improve even more because new versions of models are being released every month."

In the gaming category, Canadian resident Ibrahim Helmy, 28, wowed the judges with his quick thinking and creative game design under pressure.

A cloud solutions architect at Microsoft, Mr Helmy channelled his AI expertise into game development.

“The first round didn’t go smoothly,” he told The National, recalling how the tool he was using went down for maintenance mid-challenge. “But I had nightmares about that exact scenario so I came prepared.”

Despite the rocky start, Mr Helmy created a side-scrolling game called Jumeirah Runner, in which players dodge obstacles while jogging along Dubai’s beachfront.

He then built a second game called The Karak Protocol, where users had to follow random steps to make the perfect cup of karak tea – a spiced milk tea infused with cardamom – a staple in South Asian and Gulf food culture.

Sheikh Hamdan with another winner Ibrahim Helmy. Antonie Robertson / The National

“You could be a spoon, a cup or any random kitchen item trying to make tea. It was chaotic but fun,” he said.

Mr Helmy said his share of the prize money will go towards launching one of several side ventures he is planning.

“I plan on going back to the drawing board,” he said. "I have a bunch of different ventures and ideas, but I’ve been waiting for the right opportunity to bring them to fruition."

In the coding category, Emirati student Abdul Rahman Almarzooqi, 23, demonstrated speed, accuracy and an expert understanding of machine-learning tools.

He used tools such as ChatGPT and other coding assistants to develop fully functional websites and applications in less than 30 minutes.

“I felt proud of myself because this is a global championship and I represented my country,” said Mr Almarzooqi, who is pursuing a master's degree in machine learning at the Mohammed bin Zayed University for Artificial Intelligence in Abu Dhabi.

The fourth winner, Yahya Kaddoura, took first prize in the art category.