All posts tagged: Hackathon

The Waterloo Region’s Connector

In Canada, Kitchener-Waterloo is often described as the Silicon Valley of the North as an incubator for technology. Despite the accolades, we operate within a fragmented health tech siloed ecosystem. Waterloo Region has many incredible incubators, entrepreneurs, research bodies, and healthcare systems. Yet, inefficient communication leads to duplication and missed opportunities for growth.

Our vision for Hacking Health Waterloo is to be the recognized connector for health tech innovation and improvement in the Region. We facilitate or enable conversations. We endeavour to create a bridge and conduit for more than 1,000 members to seek help and explore the unmet needs in health.

Our vision is to be the recognized connector for health tech innovation and improvement in the Region.

 

Kitchener-Waterloo is bustling with health tech-related conferences and Hackathons. Through 2018, these included Hack4Health 4.0 at St Paul’s Greenhouse, Waterloo MedTech conference and an AGE-WELL workshop on technology solutions to social isolation in older adults. May’s True North conference at Lot42 attracted more than 2,000 delegates considering Tech for good. Transformative innovation starts by connecting technology creators, healthcare professionals, and health consumers across the Waterloo Wellington Local Health Integration Network (WWLHIN).

Acting as a regional connector extends behind the geographic boundaries to plug the local community into the broader Ontario and Canadian health tech ecosystem. To that end, the Hacking Health Waterloo members have participated in the Hacking Health Ottawa HIP613, Hacking Health Toronto Ideathon, and new Hacking Health YGK chapter (Kingston, ON).

We can learn from each other through the Hacking Health network.

We have work ahead of us to engage more clinicians and engage patients to collaborate on realistic, human-centric solutions to front-line problems. We can learn from each other through the Hacking Health network. There are few situations that one of the other chapters have not previously encountered.

It has never been easier to start a business says HubSpot, while at the same time acknowledging that scaling a business is becoming harder than ever. Anthony Lacereva notes that Canada is possibly the best place to start a business and the hardest place to grow one. An exemplary illustration is the HHOttawa HIP613.

In 2019, Hacking Health Waterloo has collaborated with the Regional Innovation Centre, Communitech, for a hackathon in conjunction with True North. This event has engaged local health players while inviting partners from across Ontario. The theme was focused on Aging, Social Isolation, and Health. More details about this dual-city hackathon will be shared in a future post.

Our hackathons, therefore, must not just create the best ideas but provide a journey to scale profitable growth.

 

—–

About the author: John Gregory is Partner Lead of the Hacking Health Waterloo chapter and Head of Global Growth at the Hacking Health Foundation.

Follow John on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Delphine DavanThe Waterloo Region’s Connector
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Swiss Hacking Health: The Secret Of An Amazing Longevity

After five successful editions, Arkathon, the Hacking Health Switzerland-Valais‘ hackathon is one of the most important health hackathons in Switzerland. A must for the country’s disruptive minds!

How does such an event work? Immersed in a medical facility over a weekend, participants meet with health professionals and patients to develop innovative solutions to solve their health challenges. At the end of these 48 intense hours, the objective is to present a jury of experts concrete digital solutions to address health issues. Each year, the three winners are followed by an acceleration program offered by The Ark Foundation and Swiss Digital Health.

>> Discover the after movie of the last Arkathon’s edition

A robust ecosystem: a work over the years

In the tradition of Hacking Health’s events, Arkathon infused its spirit of innovation and create strong synergies between very diversified stakeholders: academics, institutes and health professionals, patient associations, industry, start-ups,… Partnerships have been created over the years between the actors of digital health innovation: The Ark Foundation, Swiss Digital Health, the Clinique Romande de réadaptation, the Valais hospital site, the HES-SO Valais/Wallis, EPFL Valais/Wallis, GRIMM, the Institut de Recherche en réadaptation, etc.

>> Discover the interviews of the jury about the last Arkathon’s edition

This type of events accelerates projects and immediately detects their technical feasibility and economic potential,” explains Sébastien Mabillard, organizing member of Arkathon HH Switzerland – Valais. ” For the past 5 years, acceleration programs have been offered to hackathon winners by Swiss Digital Health and the Ark Foundation. It’s a way to get these nuggets to market quickly. Our objective is to encourage the emulation of projects with our partners and to support solution providers to “feed” the innovation cluster with viable prototypes to quickly respond to the needs of the field.

Many success stories around the Arkathon of Hacking Health Valais

Recently, a start-up company, Transcend, created by three Valais computer science students, has developed an innovative training tool for high-tech rescue, based on virtual reality technologies. Another hat off to the start-up Eyeware, which has just raised a significant sum of €1.9 million for its eye-tracking system. These two solutions have hatched during previous editions of the Arkathon and are now shining on national and international markets!

>> Discover the interview of three winners’ teams of the last Arkathon’s edition

Join the community and hack tomorrow’s health !

Curious about our event? Do you want to participate in the 2020 edition and contribute its extraordinary longevity with us? Click here to find more information.

Our team of 4, Sébastien Mabillard, Nadia Mottier, Joël Rossier and Frédérique Décaillet, is looking forward to welcoming you to the Valais Alps!

 

Delphine DavanSwiss Hacking Health: The Secret Of An Amazing Longevity
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Hacking Health Hackathon, by Besançon (France)

—– Retrouvez l’article original en français —–

On October 2018, the Hacking Health chapter of Besançon organized its second health hackathon (open innovation marathon). This event confirmed the enthusiasm raised by the first edition, and highlighted three strong trends:

A vast majority of students participated in the marathon: 75% of the 309 participants came from the local university or the “grandes écoles” (renowned engineer and business schools). This massive mobilization of students generates extraordinary energy, creativity, and generosity.

– The expertise of the local ecosystem is well represented: Microtechnology and miniaturization, a specialty inherited from the watch industry of which Besançon is a leader. Thus, many highly skilled engineers have joined teams composed of digital developers, electronic specialists, and designers.

– An important fablab (Fabrication Laboratory) gathering all the material and human resources of two fablabs and two engineering schools allowed to prototype operational devices in less than 48 hours.

extraordinary energy, creativity, and generosity

In this context, all the 24 health professionals and patients who came to pitch their issue have found a team. No team gave up during the weekend, and the quality of the solutions was terrific. This may explain that, two months after the marathon, two project holders are about to create their startup. Since this cannot be done overnight, we created a 3-month incubator program after the hackathon to assist teams in the maturation of their projects and help them connect with the right partners.

Another novelty in 2018: the creation of a showroom, in parallel with the innovation marathon. Seventeen French and Swiss Hacking Health project leaders came to present their innovation to the public, share their experience, and expand their network.

Join the 2019 hackathon in Besançon

– Or find the nearest Hacking Health event

Would you like to participate in the 3rd Open Innovation Marathon of Health in Besançon? Would you enjoy prototyping solutions to respond to real problems posed by health professionals and patients? What about an exciting and entertaining weekend based on cooperation and exchange?

Join the Hacking Health hackathon in Besançon from 18 to 20 October 2019 and imagine tomorrow’s healthcare solutions!

———- Author: Christophe Dollet, Leader of the Hacking Health chapiter in Besançon and Coordinator of France-based chapters. Christophe works at Smart City, a project of the city of Besançon.

Watch this video to get a feeling of the 2018 hackathon in Besançon.

 

 

Delphine DavanHacking Health Hackathon, by Besançon (France)
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#HIP613 Dual City Hackathon | HH Ottawa

The #HIP613 hackathon brings together patients, healthcare professionals, physicians, technologists, designers, entrepreneurs, decision-makers, business leaders, researchers, administrators, and governments to collaboratively break down barriers to innovation in healthcare. If you aspire to help transform the access and delivery to healthcare for the better, join us! If not you, who?

Our 2019 Judging Panel

Mari Teitelbaum, B.Sc.H MHA, Vice President of Provincial Programs and Chief Innovation Officer, CHEO

Her unique background and her passion for applying technology to improve health care systems make her an asset to CHEO’s team.

Mari started her career as an electrical engineer, where she recognized the value of technology to enable efficiency and effectiveness. After ten years in the high tech industry, she decided to go back to school and get her Masters of Health Administration at the University of Ottawa. As the daughter of a CHEO physician and a mother herself, she passionately believed that she could use her technology skills to help clinicians care for kids in this community.

 

Heidi Sveistrup, CEO and Chief Scientific Officer of the Bruyère Research Institute and VP, Research and Academic Affairs

Heidi is an active investigator at BRI whose research focus is in stroke rehabilitation and the use of technologies to support wellness, engagement and long life. She is also the academic lead for the Bruyère Centre for Learning, Research and Innovation in Long-Term Care (CLRI).

 

 

Kevin Grignon, Design Lead for IBM Business Analytics, and Director of IBM Studios Ottawa

Kevin is a designer with over 20 years of experience designing and delivering software and service experiences. Kevin has led design organizations to deliver simple, elegant, and compelling product experiences to market for clients including Coca-Cola, Bank of China, Huawei, Corel, Nortel Networks and others.

Timon LeDain, Director of Emerging Technologies, Macadamian Technologies

Timon is the Director of Macadamian’s growing business in connected health and the Medical Internet of Things (MIoT). Responsible for Macadamian’s IP strategy, partnerships, and emerging technology development initiatives, his areas of focus include healthcare, voice experiences, and consumer products.

 

 

Prizes

This year’s 2019 hackathon features the following prizes:

    • Win an opportunity to pitch your solution directly to the Innovation decision-makers at the Bruyere Hospital. In return, they will provide your team with advice, feedback, and potential for piloting within the hospital. Sponsored by Bruyère Hospital.
    • Win an opportunity to pitch your solution directly to the Innovation decision-makers at CHEO. In return, they will provide your team with advice, feedback, and potential for piloting within the hospital. Sponsored by CHEO.
    • Two teams will be awarded travel and accommodation for two participants to pitch at the June 18 Hackathon Finale Showcase in Kitchener. Sponsored by AGE-WELL.
    • Up to $10,000 in student and faculty support to assist a project that addresses technology related to aging. Sponsored by the Garbarino Girard Centre for Innovation in Seniors Care at Algonquin College.
    • Three 1/2 day studio sessions with the team at IBM Studios Ottawa to help the winning team bring their concept from napkin sketch to market ready. Prize winners will get access to IBM Studios designers for guidance on research methods, user experience design, user interface design, design systems, and user testing. Sponsored by IBM Ottawa.
Hacking Health Ottawa#HIP613 Dual City Hackathon | HH Ottawa
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True North Hackathon | HH Waterloo

We invite healthcare professionals, designers, patients, developers, innovators, students and entrepreneurs to take part in building useable solutions to frontline healthcare problems. Join us Friday, May 31 to Sunday, June 02 for Hacking Health Waterloo’s Hackathon in conjunction with True North taking place at Kitchener City Hall.

Register officially here

Why participate in the Hacking Health Hackathon and what to expect…

Our hackathons are a fun, hands-on, intense, 3-day hackathon that breaks down barriers to healthcare innovation in Kitchener-Waterloo. Our goal isn’t just to organize hackathons, it’s to have a long-term impact on our healthcare system. This hackathon in conjunction with True North will take place simultaneously in Ottawa and Kitchener-Waterloo. We can’t wait to see you contribute to a hackathon project that can be brought to market for the benefit of communities everywhere – we have the resources to help you get there!

At the hackathon, teams will pitch ideas, get advice from experts and build solutions that can be integrated and implemented into our healthcare system. We are excited to see the projects you’re dreaming up come to life!

The rules of the hackathon are available here that we encourage you to read. 

Hackathon Schedule

True North Hackathon, Hacking Health, Social Isolation, Ottawa, Waterloo

Friday, May 31

5:00 – 6:00 PM Registration Opens, Food & Networking

6:00 – 7:00 PM Local speakers with mentors table available

7:00 – 7:15 PM Opening Ceremony

7:15 – 8:00 PM Pitch Clinic

8:00 – 8:30 PM 1-minute pitches

8:30 – 10:00 PM Team Formation & Networking

10:00 PM End of Day 1

Saturday, Jun 01

8:00 AM Breakfast

9:00 AM Hacking Starts

12:00 PM Lunch & Judging Criteria Presentation

1:00 PM Hacking

5:00 PM Dinner

9:00 PM End of Day 2

Sunday, June 02

8:00 AM Breakfast

9:00 AM Hacking

10:00 AM Pitch Clinic

12:00 PM Lunch

12:30 PM Hacking Ends

1:00 PM Final Pitching to Judges

2:00 PM Judges Deliberate

2:30 PM Announcement of Hackathon Winners

2:45 PM Closing Remarks

2019 Theme

Social Isolation, Aging, and Technology is our theme for this dual-city hackathon. Social isolation affects many people, particularly the aged, and links with the Tech for good theme for the True North conference. The hackathon aim is to break down barriers to healthcare innovation by bringing together healthcare professionals, IT, designers, policy analysts, students, patients and entrepreneurs to collaborate, dream up & create solutions to real-world problems to improve healthcare. Read about the basics of Social Isolation here. These basics will help you frame the inspiration for your project.

What is Hacking Health?

Hacking Health is an international movement designed to improve healthcare by inviting technology creators and healthcare professionals to collaborate on realistic, human-centric solutions to front-line problems. It is a grass-roots, bottom-up movement. Learn more about Hacking Health.

Who can participate?

Anyone – you don’t have to be a developer to participate!

What if I don’t have a team?

There are many opportunities to meet potential team members, and connect a mix of skills to bring together a team in the first couple hours of the hackathon weekend.

Can I start before the event?

We understand that you are excited to solve problems but please refrain from developing the solution before the Hackathon. Feel free to ideate, design, post, update, review, join a project on Sparkboard once you’ve registered!

Are you interested in sponsoring our hackathon?

Hacking Health Waterloo is powered by an incredible group of sponsors. We’d love to have you join us! Take a look at our sponsorship package if you are interested in sponsoring our hackathon.

Will food and drinks be provided?

Breakfasts and lunches will be catered for you this weekend, together with a food truck on Friday evening. Bring a refillable water bottle. If you have any dietary restrictions, please let us know: waterloo@hackinghealth.ca

What should I bring?

Your laptop, charger, your ideas and a refillable water bottle.

Be sure to register officially here

Hacking Health TorontoTrue North Hackathon | HH Waterloo
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Dutch Hacking Health: It’s All about the Mix (Janssen BeNeLux)

Making a breakthrough in the health care sector in just three days: It seems like an almost impossible task. And yet this is exactly what Dutch Hacking Health—an event that really can accelerate innovation—aims to achieve! The fourth Dutch Hacking Health was held in the first two weeks of April, with health care hackathons organized in five cities (Amsterdam, Maastricht, Nijmegen, Rotterdam, and Utrecht). I am proud to be contributing to the event on behalf of Janssen.

Creative Solutions

A hackathon works a little like a pressure cooker. For three days, driven, multidisciplinary teams work toward finding a solution to a challenge in the health care sector. On the last day, they present the end result to a local jury. The worlds of designers, IT specialists, health care professionals, and patients come together to create a fascinating mix.

With his bright red tee-shirt, M. Erik Gerritsen, Secretary-General of the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, is a fervent supporter of the Dutch Hacking Health ecosystem.

A hackathon starts with a specific problem. For example, how do you as a patient or a relative of a patient stay on top of what is going on during a hospital stay? Often, it can be difficult to form a complete picture based on the fragmented information you receive from nurses or doctors. Sometimes it can feel like you’re no longer in control. During Dutch Hacking Health 2018, this challenge was successfully addressed by a team at Bravis hospital. Since then, software company ChipSoft and the hospital have been working together to put the improved Mijn Zorgteam patient portal to the test. This is a result that will directly benefit patients and their relatives.

This year, Dutch Hacking Health will focus on specific themes at various locations. Participants in Nijmegen will tackle challenges relating to future-proofing the labor market in the health care sector and local health care provision. In Utrecht, personalized care is top of the agenda. Amsterdam will look at a mix of topics, including delivering the right care in the right place, as well as mental health. Rotterdam and Maastricht have opted for an open format, where participants will be able to look at challenges relating to various topics.

Janssen’s Role

Sponsors’ logos are displayed on all tee-shirts

Innovations that arise from a hackathon or start as an initiative within a hospital can often also be implemented in other hospitals. By looking at these kinds of innovations with the right partners from industry, we can generate additional power to give high-potential innovations that extra boost. Janssen is keen to play a role in this process. With our broad portfolio of innovative medicines, we see it as our responsibility to work together with hospitals, patient organizations, and, for example, tech companies to accelerate the learning process that’s involved in health care innovation and, through these partnerships, to contribute to improving the Dutch health care sector. With this goal in mind, Janssen has this year become a proud national partner of Dutch Hacking Health for the first time, alongside Deloitte, Vosko, Cisco, and the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport.

As a project manager, I will support the organization this year by helping to coordinate the local hackathons at a national level — which will be a great challenge! In the future, we also want to work with the various local organizers and national partners to create a more professional and sustainable national organization.

“With our broad portfolio of innovative medicines, we see it as our responsibility to work together with hospitals, patient organizations, and, for example, tech companies to accelerate the learning process that’s involved in health care innovation”

I know from my own experience how much positive energy there is buzzing around during health care hackathons. You work together with teammates from a wide range of backgrounds and truly learn about the people behind a specific challenge. This way of working helps you produce some truly creative and fitting solutions. At the hackathons, I met people with the same passion. Everyone puts all their effort into coming up with a solution to a challenge instead of focusing on problems. I brought this positive energy back with me when I returned to Janssen. Inspired by last year’s hackathon, I now focus even more on the person/patient in my day-to-day work.

Dutch Hacking Health 2019

Hacking Health Nijmegen organizers: Concha van Rissjel (left) and Robin Hooijer (right)

Early April is when it all begins: In Amsterdam, Maastricht, Nijmegen, Rotterdam, and Utrecht, a series of hackathons will take place over two weeks. At each event, you can see on a small scale what we need to do on a large scale to accelerate health care innovation in the Netherlands and to maintain affordability. To sum it up: It’s all about working together. If we take the time to really understand a problem and leverage each other’s strengths, I am convinced that we can find even more innovative and patient-focused solutions.

 

On our shared journey to the health care of the future, it’s all about the mix.

If you’re curious about the power of the health care hackathon, why not join in? More information about hackathons in the Netherlands can be found here. Click through to the various locations and sign up in your favorite city.

 

Original text from Sander van Nuland, Project Specialist, Janssen BeNeLux

Delphine DavanDutch Hacking Health: It’s All about the Mix (Janssen BeNeLux)
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Our Volunteers Break Silos And Borders

Hacking Health Windsor-Detroit is the first cross-border Hacking Health chapter in the world. It brings together two cities, which comprise a world-class automotive cluster that is reinventing itself as a global leader in health and mobility.

The 100-year-old Ambassador Bridge is iconic of this chapter’s determination to reach across divides and bring creative people together from the tech, health and automotive sectors to collaborate on innovative solutions to healthcare challenges on both sides of the Detroit River.

 

This chapter fosters innovation across the Canadian-US border

Now entering its fifth year – Hacking Health Windsor-Detroit has drawn over 1,000 participants, connected over 60 partner organizations, sparked a half-dozen start-up companies (CarePRN is one of them) and inspired a cross-border MedHealth Summit that annually matches health start-ups with investors .

There is also Kaitlyn Sheehan—a Registered Nurse— who had an idea for a mobile app that could improve health care on both sides of the Detroit-Windsor border. Read her fabulous story here and how she won a hackathon top award for mobile app design in this previous post.

Gathering automotive & healthcare sectors in the same place?

From left to right: Deborah Livneh, Zain Ismail and Yvonne Pilon, members of the HHWD chapter

After the lights dimmed on a successful MedHealth Summit in downtown Detroit in early 2018, one that featured an electric keynote by celebrated neuropathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu featured in the movie Concussion, the organizers gathered in a boardroom at the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy at Wayne State University.  Many of those gathered had been founders and leaders from Hacking Health Windsor-Detroit – which provided the spark for the Medhealth Summit.

In part, the organizers wanted to debrief on such a successful meeting and chart potential destinations for Medhealth in 2019.  This meeting raised the potential of bringing talent from the automotive and health-care sectors together.

A year later, we are happy to report that Hacking Health Windsor-Detroit IV will explore the theme of mobility in the fall. The potential for creative engineers and programmers from General Motors and Google and Lyft to talk healthcare is exciting.

 

 

In the video below, Robert C. Brooks, III – a hackathon participant, talks about what the automotive industry can bring to healthcare:

Our Movement Builds Ecosystems of Innovation

At the Medhealth Summit debrief,  Stephen Konya, a Senior Innovation Strategist from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT with the United States Department of Health and Human Services, was invited to lead a discussion. He is exploring the growing network of health-related cluster initiatives across the United States – a cluster of clusters – and the opportunity to integrate the MedHealth Summit.

And that is the genius of Hacking Health – connecting thought leaders from health and tech regionally, opening up promising collaboration between previously sequestered sectors and looking beyond the horizon to connect creative problem solvers globally. That’s Hacking Health’s approach.

 

That’s the magic of a grass-roots movement

Want to support our movement? Join/build your local chapter or make a donation!

 

Original text from Dr. Irek Kusmierczyk,

City Councillor for Ward 7 in the City of Windsor

Director of Partnerships at WEtech Alliance

Leader of the Hacking Health Windsor-Detroit Chapter

LinkedInTwitterWeb

 

Delphine DavanOur Volunteers Break Silos And Borders
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HH Valais – Arkathon Hacking Health

5th Hackathon – Hacking Health Switzerland

48h pour faire avancer la gestion de la douleur chronique, les secours et l’interventions d’urgence et la médecine en milieu hospitalier
en immersion sur le site hospitalier du Valais à Sion.

Inscrivez-vous sur le site de l’event : arkathon.com


48h to bring forward chronic pain managment, aid and rescue interventions and healthcare medecine.
Immerse yourself within the Valais hospital campus in Sion.

Registration on the event : arkathon.com

Hacking Health ValaisHH Valais – Arkathon Hacking Health
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Hacking Health St. John’s Hackathon 2019

Hacking Health St. John’s Hackathon is a weekend-long hackathon that breaks down barriers to healthcare innovation by bringing together healthcare professionals with designers, developers, innovators, entrepreneurs & those with an interest in healthcare to collaborate, dream up & design apps, devices and solutions for patient-centric care.

Pitch ideas, form teams, get advice from experts and build a solution – all in one weekend. Present your finished product in front of a panel of judges for a chance of winning some fantastic prizes!

Hacking Health St Johns NLHacking Health St. John’s Hackathon 2019
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Hacking Health Athens

The inaugural Hacking Health Athens Hackathon will be held in downtown Athens on February 8, 9 &  10, 2019 and is organised by eHealth Forum and Biomimicry Greece Research & Innovation.

Co-organisers: Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry, GFOSS – Open Technologies Alliance, and Athens Startup Business Incubator (ThEA).

Supporters:  HL7 Foundation Europe & Trillium II, Health Level 7 International, HL7 Hellas, Hellenic Society of eHealth Services & Education, European Federation for Medical Informatics (EFMI), FORTH-ICS, CERTH & Information Technologies Institute, Biomedical Engineering Laboratory – NTUA, Computer Science Department-University of Crete, Hellenic Health Informatics Association (ESPY) and CEN-Health Informatics.

Under the auspices of the Department of Hygiene, Epidemiology & Medical Statistics, Medical School, University of Athens.

Hackathon starting point is the electronic Health record and International Patient Summary (IPS).

Hackathon participants will be looking for innovative solutions for fostering HEALTH DATA AND MOBILITY.

PRIZES

We are happy to announce three prizes to be awarded to the winning teams:
1st prize: 2000 euros plus the opportunity to participate in the “Digital Transformation Programme” by Roche Diagnostics – sponsored by Roche Diagnostics (Hellas) S.A.
2nd prize: 2000 euros – sponsored by Pharmaserve Lilly
3rd prize: 1000 euros – sponsored by Interamerican
All three winning teams are entitled to 3-6 months mentoring offered by the Athens Startups Incubator (ThEA), one of the co-organisers. Moreover, further developed ideas will be entitled to funding by Equifund, an NSRF 2014-2020 fund.

We invite healthcare professionals, scientists, patients, entrepreneurs, engineers, designers, developers, and others interested to team up for a long weekend and propel innovation in healthcare.

Find out more about the event here: https://hacking-health.org/hackathon-athens-2019/

On-line registration is no longer available.

Hacking Health AthensHacking Health Athens
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