The University of Newcastle will invite innovators, problem solvers, tech heads and designers to create technical solutions to help alleviate the world’s ageing population crisis at the New Futures Hackathon for Aged Care.
During the two-day event, held at the University’s NeW Space city campus, participants will have the opportunity to learn from aged care experts and technical mentors before embarking in teams on a 10-hour hack to evolve their ideas into a viable, technological solution.
University of Newcastle’s Siobhan Curran, Manager of the Integrated Innovation Network (I2N), said the New Futures Hackathon was a health-focused creative problem-solving challenge aimed at addressing the implications of the world’s ageing population.
“The number of Australians aged 75 years or older is expected to rise by 4 million by 2060. Consequently, health systems are predicted to face an array of challenges to meet an increasing demand for aged care health services,”
“The University is excited to host the hackathon as an opportunity for people of all backgrounds and experience to learn new skills, unite their ideas and build innovative work in an effort to consider technological solutions for some of the aged care challenges.”
The winning team with the best technological solution – a website, app, or anything in the tech realm – will receive $3,000 and a three-month residency at the University’s Three76 Innovation Hub with specialist mentorship. The runner-up will receive $2,000 and the Rising Star award will acknowledge a standout team with a $500 reward.
The New Futures Hackathon from 11-12 May is open to people from all backgrounds with no technical expertise required.
The University will host a free warm-up event at Three76 Hub, Newcastle for those looking to get a taste for and learn about hackathons. The Ideas Collider, kicking off at 5pm on Tuesday 17 April, will challenge participants to prepare and pitch an idea to a panel of judges in 60 minutes.
IMAGE | University of Newcastle’s Three76 Innovation Hub where the Ideas Collider will he held and the winning Hackathon team will receive their specialist mentorship.
