What’s a Hackathon? Advocates lead Social Impact Challenge
Dementia Advocates Kevyn Morris, Natalie Ive and Isabelle Burke participated in a two-day Hackathon with students from the University of Melbourne.
A Hackathon is an event where groups of people engage in a rapid and collaborative problem-solving in a short period of time.
Advocates developed a challenge for students to create a video or infographic that Dementia Australia could use to increase GP engagement, with the aim of improving GP understanding and care practices.
Kevyn, Natalie and Isabelle introduced the challenge to students and shared their experiences of a lack of awareness among GPs of dementia. They also mentored students with further context during the students’ brainstorming session.
On the final day, the Advocates, along with Consumer Engagement Coordinator Kerri-Ann Tipping and industry representatives from the University of Melbourne and Victoria Police, judged the students’ pitches to decide on a winning team. The winning team developed an engaging roadmap, along with office accessories including mouse pads and mugs.
The Dementia Advocates were very impressed by the collective enthusiasm of the students in listening to their stories and their innovative approaches to tackling the challenge.
Photo (L-R): Dementia Advocates Isabelle Burke, Kevyn Morris and Natalie Ive