New Delhi: With WeSchool’s partnership with Tel Aviv University to develop bridges between the Indian and Israeli innovation ecosystems, the Healthcare Hackathon is a step forward in its collaboration with the University’s Pears Program for Global Innovation. The Hackathon is also supported by a conglomerate of prestigious bodies like : Start-up Nation Centre (Tel Aviv), The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE, Mumbai) ,T-HuB (Hyderabad),10,000 start-ups(A NASSCOM Initiative, Hyderabad) , and Creators (Tel Aviv).
Med4Dev India-Israel Affordable Healthcare Hackathon will convene innovators, entrepreneurs, healthcare professionals, designers, engineers, programmers and business professionals to develop innovative ideas and prototype solutions (hardware and software) to address healthcare challenges of low and lower-middle income communities in India.
The events will take place parallel in 4 locations for 3 days in, Mumbai, Tel Aviv, Bangalore and Hyderabad, on 22nd-24th July 2016. Pre-Hackathon will be held on 18th July whereas the finale will be held during 22- 24 July at the WeSchool (Mumbai) campus.
“WeSchool has been at the forefront in providing students with reputable platforms to participate in various initiatives that help in contributing towards nation building through international collaborative efforts. Equality to having access to effective healthcare solutions is important for country like ours. The Urban poor are unable to afford health care and the rural population is faced with accessibility and affordability challenges. Innovation in healthcare needs to address this fast and effectively. Through this Hackathon, WeSchool will combine energies with the Tel Aviv University and other partners such as TiE to complete the circle from Identifying the problem to actually bringing out affordable healthcare solutions into the market. Technology that can disrupt the current inequalities that endanger human life is our aim. The Hackathon is a starting point. With the Healthcare program at WeSchool and the capabilities of Tel Aviv University we hope to create an ecosystem that will truly contribute to improving healthcare in India.” – Prof Dr Uday Salunkhe, Group Director, WeSchool.
The winners of the Hackathon will receive 1 lakh (US$ 1,500) cash prize for each sponsored challenge, 45-day mentoring package for the best team ideas, Trip to Tel-Aviv for a 1 week fully paid acceleration package , a spot at the best, newest, friendliest accelerators in Israel and India and a Pitch for next investment to India’s leading VCs
There will be 2 tracks to source the challenges viz. a sponsored track where Indian healthcare providers will provide prizes for innovations in various areas and an adaptation track for Israeli companies that will work with Indian participants. Various challenges of the Hackathon being Anemia Diagnostic Test for Young Girls, Food Monitoring System for Infants, Hearing Impairment Screening and Diagnosis for Rural Populations, Real-Time; Personal Monitoring Device for Pregnant Women in Remote Areas, Managing the Side Effects of Chemotherapy for Patients in Remote Areas,Improving Access to Funding for Cancer Treatments and Psychological Counseling Platform for Cancer Patients.
This hackathon is a significant step towards innovation as India is the world leader in frugal innovation and its Two trillion dollar economy growing at a rate of 8 per cent per annum. The healthcare sector is estimated to grow to $280 billion by 2020 and the Hackathon will be instrumental in addressing the challenges faced by lower and middle income groups in India.
