University of Newcastle announces the best “hack” for ageing in place
iCare.Support - a mobile based application, dedicated to helping Australians proactively manage their health, wellbeing and social connection to friends, family and service providers who matter most has been awarded the Best Tech Solution at the University of Newcastle’s New Futures Hackathon for Ageing in Place.
The winning team – Christina Zalud, Ian Cox, Isobell Allanson and Jessica Bradbery – comprised of a multi-disciplinary dream team of University of Newcastle alumni and community members in engineering, marketing, data analytics and education – was awarded $3,000 and will each receive a three-month residency at the University’s I2N Hub Honeysuckle with specialist mentorship to continue development of their idea.
Three engineers and a finance professional joined forces for their project DTK^2 which was awarded Runner-Up Tech Solutions, receiving $2,000. Kate McAlpine, David Summers, Tanishqa Nayyar and Kudzai Beta developed a platform that connects local events and opportunities to our aged community by making helpful suggestions to combat social isolation and negative mental health.
Awarded the Rising Star Award, and receiving $500 was a team that went above and beyond, pulling together a robust front-end and back-end prototype which was demonstrated live to the judges – Friyo.
An overview of the seven projects included in the New Futures Hackathon is available at https://new-futures-hackathon-aip.devpost.com/project-gallery
Background:
The New Futures Hackathon was an ageing in place focused creative problem-solving challenge aimed at exploring the barriers around ageing at home and how our elderly community can remain independent, in control and at home while they age
Organised by the University’s Integrated Innovation Network (I2N), the event aims to build enterprise skills among the community.
During the two-day event on 21-22 October, held online, 16 participants formed four teams and had the opportunity to learn from aged care experts from Uniting, Sheda and University of Newcastle before embarking on a 10 hour “hack” to evolve their ideas into a viable, technological solution.
For further information or interviews, contact Siobhan Curran on 0407 867 643.
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The University of Newcastle acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands within our footprint areas: Awabakal, Darkinjung, Biripai, Worimi, Wonnarua, and Eora Nations. We also pay respect to the wisdom of our Elders past and present.