What is a hackathon?
A hackathon is an event where individuals from different backgrounds collaborate over the course of a few days, such as a weekend, to tackle problems in a specific domain space.
Who can attend?
We’re opening the door to all engineers, designers, business experts, and healthcare professionals - students and faculty - passionate about healthcare innovation!
What if I’m not a coder or engineer?
Fret not! health++ is working to bridge the gap between technical and non-technical. We welcome individuals of all skillsets. Healthcare is interdisciplinary, and we hope our “hackers” will be too! Whatever your interest or specialty, we’d love to see what you can think up and create!
Why health++?
We hope health++ will be the start of a larger movement to increase inter-departmental collaboration in the realm of healthcare. This event is our first step towards creating a long-lasting community of innovators, and we hope the weekend will spark future collaborations!
What makes an ideal team?
You're welcome to bring friends, but a big part of health++ is forming cross-disciplinary teams - engineers, designers, business experts, and clinicians - and that means meeting new people! Each group brings a unique skillset critical to creating meaningful solutions. From our experience, multilateral teams like these have seen the greatest success.
How do I find a team?
On the morning of the first day, we’ll be opening the event with a keynote, panel, and then a live problem pitching session. Team formation will be taking place directly afterwards.
Will travel funds be reimbursed?
In our second year, health++ will not be reimbursing travel funds. In future years, this is something we definitely hope to do.
What makes a health hackathon unique?
There is a large disconnect between engineering & design students who want to work on meaningful problems and healthcare professionals that understand how technology can be effectively applied to an unmet need. A health hackathon bridges this gap. The environment of a hackathon empowers students and faculty in healthcare with technical resources and engineering talent to push their ideas through the prototyping process.
At the end of the weekend, what should a finished project look like?
We’re looking for a prototype, business model, or ideally, a combination of the two! We love technical hacks, but we also want to emphasize the importance of delivery and cost. How will your project get into the hands of patients? How can you ensure affordability? We want to see ideas and prototypes that have the potential to become reality.
How do I pitch a need?
The problem pitching session will take place on Saturday morning, the first day of the event. Fill out the pitching
form to get involved! Note that only participants and mentors will be eligible to pitch.
What should I bring?
Bring your laptop and any accessories (charger, surge protector, personal hardware) that you might need. We’ll be providing some hardware to work with, as well as supplies for ideation (lots and lots of post-its, markers, etc). Also, food will be provided!
Do I need to stay the whole time?
You’re free to come and go as you please, and work remotely! However, we expect attendees to be present for the opening keynote and panel, as well as the closing awards ceremony.
How much do I have to pay to participate?
Nothing, nada, zero, zilch.
