Six undergraduate medicine and public health students from The University of Queensland (UQ) have won the inaugural ‘TIME for Change: Global Hackathon Weekend’ for their social enterprise, ‘A Bloody Injustice’.
The venture aims to prevent teenage girls in remote Indigenous communities from missing school due to lack of access to (and hygienic disposal of) sanitary products. A Bloody Injustice are implementing an open-source design for a pad-maker and disposal incinerator that can be sustainably operated by local communities.
Second and third place went to a surfing as therapy program, ‘The Green Room’, and a language app for refugees, ‘HealthLingo’.
The brain child behind the Hackathon was fourth year UQ medical student, Josh Case. He organised the competition to showcase UQ community’s innovative and entrepreneurial spirit – and to find the best health innovation with a global impact by students, and health practitioners.
Josh is the Treasurer of TIME UQ’s Executive Committee. Towards International Medical Equality (TIME) is a UQ global health society that is made up of more than 1200 medical and allied health students, as well as junior alumni doctors, to tackle global challenges of health equality.
“All seven teams who competed have great potential to take the skills they developed, and the relationships they formed, to go out and create the change we dreamt of inspiring, when we conceptualised TIME for Change,” Josh said.
As one of the four judges, UQ Ventures ambassador Ishara Sahama, said all teams exemplified empathy and dynamic problem-solving in their pitches, ideas and business modelling.
“These qualities are key to positive change in social enterprise and med-tech environments,” she said.
Josh and TIME UQ acknowledge the enormous support provided Idea Hub Director Mr Nimrod Klayman, ilab Director Mr Bernie Woodcroft, and the UQ Innovation & Entrepreneurship Society (UQIES).
Judging panel
Trent Dean (Royal Flying Doctor Service)
Professor Mieke van Driel (UQ Primary Care Clinical Unit)
Dr James Fielding (Audeara – headphones tailored to your hearing profile)
Ishara Sahama (Oxfam UQ, UQ Ventures Ambassador).
The winners
1st place – A Bloody Injustice: a venture aiming to prevent teenage girls in remote Indigenous communities from missing school due to lack of access to (and hygienic disposal of) sanitary products. A Bloody Injustice are implementing an open-source design for a pad-maker and disposal incinerator that can be sustainably operated by local communities. The team won $500 and five gym merchandise packs thanks to supporter MIPS (Medical Indemnity Protection Society). Congratulations to team members Eloise Yates, Alexandra Mediquiso, Daniel Tran, Jaya Kinhal, Simone Requena and Stefanie Adam.
2nd place – The Green Room: a program designed to provide therapy and social support to refugees through the power of surfing. Congratulations to team members Ed Stoios and Phoebe Bardsley.
3rd place – HealthLingo: a clinical communication app designed to cross the language barriers in general practice, especially at refugee clinics like the one operated by TIME UQ’s partner organisation the World Wellness Group in Brisbane. Congratulations to team members Clare Harris, Connor Vilaysack, Arathy Thirukumar, Chun Yuen and Utkarsh Kiri.
