Thirteen teams competing at Product Forge’s hackathon, Public Health Product Forge, presented their prototypes at the weekend to overcome obstacles within public health.
In a surprising twist and for the first time in Product Forge history, two teams were chosen as joint winners of the hackathon; ViaLact, an app providing support for the initial six months of breastfeeding, as well as mapping breastfeeding friendly locations, and Docmetrics, a platform developing real time health analytics for general practitioners.
Both teams’ projects were crafted using a wealth of data available and the expertise of many mentors providing guidance and knowledge over the weekend. With an increase in the amount of data being made available, the goal of the event was to seek out new ways to utilise the information and ultimately improve the health of individuals and communities.
Lorna Jackson, of NHS Public Health & Intelligence, worked closely with Product Forge leading up to the event, said: “It’s a big learning and development opportunity, and also working with people from industry with other skills to create something new to answer some of the big questions around improving public health.”
The three day event, at The Biscuit Factory in Edinburgh, took participants through processes such as team formation, ‘ideation’, market research, and prototype development.
It culminated in Sunday’s presentations to a judging panel consisting of Phil Couser, of the NHS National Services Scotland, Marion Bain, of the Scottish Government, Graham Watson, of Scottish Health Innovation Ltd, and Aileen Keel of IHDP.
The hackathon began last Thursday evening with dinner and introductions from several mentors, including Chris Oliver, of The University of Edinburgh, Liam Cavin, of The Scottish Government, Robert Rea, of Scottish Health Innovations Ltd, Catherine Stables, of The University of Edinburgh, and Scott Heald of NHS Information Services Division.
Over the weekend participants had access to talks, guidance from mentors with a diverse range of backgrounds, as well as variety of data from the Scottish Government, Urban Big Data Centre, NHS Information Services Division, and the Scottish Public Health Observatory, to determine gaps where digital innovations could aid public health.
Watch the highlights video here.
Related posts
Interviews
Comment
Please mind the gap… or healthcare may fall
Imagine sharing a lengthy train journey with others. From beginning to end, imagine how often you might hear ‘mind the gap’ messages about embarking and disembarking safely. Picture how navigating…
Women Lead: My journey from Dragons’ Den to Silicon Valley
Following her appearance on Dragons’ Den, Sheila Hogan, serial entrepreneur, founder and chief executive of digital legacy vault, Biscuit Tin, shares her experience of her time in the Den and…
Look anywhere – the future is ‘aged tech’. But Scotland needs to be more adventurous
Scottish Care, as the representative body of independent social care providers of care home, care at home and housing support services, has been working over several years with colleagues in…
Women Lead: Engineer turned entrepreneur
We are always fascinated by other people’s stories. It’s how we connect, grow and learn from each other. Until very recently I always felt like I didn’t have a story to tell. Who…
‘Women – together we will change the dynamic in tech’
I was inspired to start a career in technology when personal computers were in their infancy and the internet decades away. My childhood dream of becoming a scientist was shaped by…
It’s time to change the future of tech apprenticeships – and we need your help
In his latest exclusive column for Futurescot, Ross Tuffee, chair of the Skills Development Scotland (SDS) Digital Economy Skills Group, calls on tech employers to get involved in shaping the…
What AI difference a year makes
Amazingly, it’s been one year since the publication of Scotland’s AI Strategy. And what a year it has been. Demanding but rewarding, with good progress made and great foundations laid…
International Women’s Day: It’s time to harness power of women in technology
As we celebrate International Women’s Day, I hope to be part of a future where barriers that prevent women from competing on a level playing field in the work environment…