Five teams have been announced as winners after 48 hours of intense hacking at the Flatter the Curve hackathon held over Easter weekend.
More than 2,400 competitors from 10 different time zones formed teams and set out to solve some of the biggest challenges our nation and world face during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hosted by The Australian Computer Society (ACS), the professional association for Australia’s technology sector, the online Flatten the Curve hackathon was larger than any previously held in the APAC region and was supported by 40 partners.
Teams competed across five challenge categories for the total $50,000 in prize money with first place taking $5,000; second place winning $3,000; and third place picking up $2,000.
Challenge categories were education, wellness and mental health, future of work, assisting healthcare workers and protecting the vulnerable. All of the entries can be viewed at the ACS Hackathon YouTube page.
Steve Nouri, organiser of the hackathon and Head of Data Science at ACS, said “the scale was larger than any held in APAC before, with so many competitors, mentors and partners from so many backgrounds and time zones.
“With the hackathon totally online, we anticipated challenges in forging trust between teams, communications, accountability and team creation, but the mentors and teams rose to the occasion and delivered a great result.”
Ellen Cresswell, lead mentor for the hackathon, added “the energy and creativity from the teams and mentors seemed endless. Many people worked incredibly long hours to complete their submissions.
“For me, it was really rewarding to see diverse teams tackle solutions for the social challenges that we now face as a result of COVID-19. This event wasn’t tech for the sake of tech, it was about finding innovative approaches that could be enabled with creative use of technology, and that’s inspiring.”
Participant Dipam Patel was also impressed by the positive approach taken by the teams and mentors, saying, “thanks so much for the consistent support and words of motivation. We were about to give up but then read a lot of people’s positive comments and suggestions and we decided, even if we lose this battle, we’ll at least fight for it. Thanks again for organising such a wonderful hackathon.”
ACS Chief Executive Officer Andrew Johnson said “we recognised that Easter was shaping as a pivotal moment in combating COVID-19. Many workers and students had been displaced, compounded by employers being encouraged to work from home wherever possible. After working from home for a month, we were heading into a four-day Easter Holiday where it was critical to spend the next four days at home.”
“This hackathon had a 9-day preparation window and provided an opportunity to put great minds to constructive use over the holiday period. A big thanks to our 40 corporate partners for their support,” Mr. Johnson said.
“We had 15 winners across the categories, but there were many other great ideas. I’m looking forward to seeing which ones come to fruition in the coming months as we get the spread of COVID-19 under control.”
Winners by Category
Education Challenge:
Winner: Idea 11
2nd place: SkyCap
3rd place: Hacklings
Helping Health Systems:
Winner: in-it-to-win-it
2nd place: TeamFAST
3rd place: Healthcare Hackteam
Protecting the Vulnerable:
Winner: UC Engineering Society
2nd place: Covid Crashers
3rd place: Team Carebubble
Future of Work:
Winner: Team U Space
2nd place: BackToLife
3rd place: LSNB
Wellness and Mental Health:
Winner: VIP Party
2nd place: Care Bears
3rd place: Project X
