DATE Lab Chats: AGE-WELL Hackathon
The AgeTech@Home Hackathon was a competition that took place during the month of November hosted by AGE-WELL & VHA Home Healthcare. This competition engaged older adults, caregivers, trainees and researchers in various challenges involving market research and innovate thinking to come up with a new business model and solution to address a variety of identified needs in the aging community.
Eight groups of six individuals competed in these challenges and later presented their creative solutions to a panel of expert judges from various disciplines.
Lab member Maria Acenas and her team took home the 2nd place prize and we sat down this month to chat with her about her experience. Former undergraduate research student volunteer Sukriti Sachdev also participated in this competition where she took the first place prize with her team.
Congratulations to both Maria and Sukriti for their achievements in this international competition!
Read their interviews below!
Maria Acenas, Research Analyst
What was the target area/challenge of your project?
Our challenge area was 'Hack Healthy Aging at Home', specifically using technology at home to support older adults maintain their independence and age in place.
How did your group come up with a solution?
Our solution was an app called HeartyStripes. We wanted to target seniors with mild cognitive impairment living in rural areas in Canada. Our goal was to help increase the physical activity and socialization of seniors in rural Canada through our web-based app.
Have you participated in this event before?
No, it was my first time!
Can you describe your experience of participating in this year’s hackathon?
I was really lucky to have diverse team members that made the challenges very doable. I don't have much experience in the business aspect of developing an app so that was quite challenging, but my team and I received a lot of support from AGEWELL, and VHA. We were provided with webinars that were very interactive which was really helpful in creating our solution. I learned a lot in creating a business model and participating in a pitch so the month-long experience was amazing.
What advice would you give to a new participant interested in next year’s event?
Don't be nervous and have fun! I was nervous about joining because I wasn't sure if I had enough experience to participate in this event. But everyone on my team was so welcoming and open to new ideas/thoughts. It is such a great opportunity to connect with new individuals across the country (and even internationally!) and to learn new skills and knowledge.
Follow Maria on Twitter to learn more about her projects and role in the lab: @MariaAcenas
Sukriti Sachdev, HMB student
What was the target area/challenge of your project?
The challenge was "How might we use technology at home to support older adults maintain their independence and age in place?"
How did your group come up with a solution?
Our group came up with Livio after discussing our target population and the type of solution we wanted to develop!
Have you participated in this event before?
No, this was my first time!
Can you describe your experience of participating in this year’s hackathon?
I had a great time, I learned a lot and enjoyed meeting new people from various disciplines!
What advice would you give to a new participant interested in next year’s event?
Be open-minded!
Follow Sukriti on Twitter: @sukisach