Calling all healthcare coders & programmers! Forge Academy, South Africa’s first fully-inclusive 4IR laboratory, is partnering with Nokia, Ozone Connect and the GCRA (Gauteng City Region Academy) to host a Health-Tek hackathon on World Telecoms Day, 17 May 2022.
The Health-Tek hackathon will be held at the Forge Academy & Labs building at the Gantry, Fourways, and online for those unable to attend in person.
A hackathon is a sprint-like brainstorming and software design event in which participants collaborate intensively on the development of software projects. The hackathon is open to anyone in the healthcare industry and IT specialists interested in coding and development. Attendees will conceptualise how health professionals can better use robotics in the healthcare sector.
Robotics improve performance in surgery, streamline supplier delivery of much-needed healthcare goods, and allow medical professionals more time with patients.
“During COVID-19, hospitals and clinics used robots to perform basic human tasks which reduced exposure to pathogens. The reduced exposure directly impacted the spread of the virus through less human interaction. We will explore how else this technology can benefit citizens in combatting disease and improving healthcare efficiencies,” said Arthur Wade Anderson, CEO of Forge Academy.
The hackathon will focus on four main priorities:
Identify how healthcare can use robots to improve patient experiences
How robots can improve the administration of and assistance with patients
Integrating IoT (Internet of Things), AI, VR and AR (Augmented Reality) to improve service delivery and healthcare training.
How can technology advance the support needed by elderly in healthcare?
Hackathon participants will be in teams, and will be exposed to the current Robotics, AR, VR and IoT technology at Forge Academy. This technology will be used to achieve the hackathon objectives. The teams will brainstorm how technology can be better used in healthcare and present their ideas and solutions to a panel of judges. The ideas need to be affordable and sustainable, not to drive up the cost of healthcare. They also need to eliminate current bottlenecks within the healthcare system making services more widely accessible, especially to low-income areas.
“Hackathons have a way of igniting and merging creativity, innovation and problem-solving. We are always amazed to see the concepts and ideas presented at the end of our hackathons, and I look forward to seeing what the participants will ‘hack’ up for this event,” said Craig Clutty, COO of Forge Academy.
Anyone who is in the healthcare industry or that has software development skills can join the hackathon here and apply before end of day, 15th May 2022.
Forge Academy prepares students with theoretical, laboratory and on-the-job training for careers in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Forge Academy is privileged to extend this invitation to individuals and businesses who are in the healthcare industry but also have interest in robotics and problem solving using technology.
COVID-19 regulations.
For the safety of all participants and staff, strict COVID-19 protocols will be implemented and adhered to during the event. Sanitisation stations will be around the venue with clear signage. The wearing of masks will be mandatory for the duration of the event.
