Hunterhackfest quickens the digital pulse of local judges

HunterHackFest was such a good opportunity to meet other passionate and talented members of the local community. It's fantastic to see so much energy being channelled in such a short amount of time to generate some incredible ideas. Big thanks to Laughing Mind and all of the partners who made HunterHackFest happen!
​
Fantastic event. Professionally run. Support always available throughout the event. Well worth the travel for me to experience working and collaborating with others.

Yesterday I participated in one of my top "out of comfort zone" moments. The entire process from start to finish is loaded with unique experiences that only a process like this could offer. I can't wait for the next one.
​
This hackathon was particularly inspiring and engaging because of the variety of people there (hipsters, hustlers and hackers). It made for a really amazing vibe and was super fun. I'd encourage anyone who wants to expand their horizons, or even just meet cool people to come along!

UoN Student Teams win >$120k incentives in local Hackathon for new HealthTech ventures

Media Release: Thursday, 21 April 2016​ Students, UoN Alumni and Tech Industry professionals from local and international firms converged at University of Newcastle’s Auchmuty Library on 15-17Apr2016 to participate in a locally designed and run Hackathon to simulate a Health Technology startup experience. In a Crucible + Catalyst event format, teams worked with platforms from Atlassian and IBM to develop new HealthTech ideas with the support of experienced mentors and UoN Alumni. The winning team took home $1500 in cash and $120,000 in IBM service credits to pursue venture potential for their AnxietyData wearable integration using biodata from Microsofts Band to improve users personal health. Runners up were focussed on improving access to 3d-printed prosthetics for amputees; and nutrition support from IBMs ‘ChefWatson’ Artificial Intelligence platform.

“UON has for many years developed a strong track record of producing medical and allied health professionals who do great work in regional, rural and remote Australia. It’s also gaining a strong reputation for quality ICT grads, who are getting snapped up by companies like Atlassian, rated as Australia’s Best Place to Work in 2015. As an Allied Health Professional, UoN Alumni and founder of a Tech consulting firm, I wanted to see what happens if we merge those capabilities in Health and ICT by giving students exposure to leading edge tech platforms, experienced mentors and a way of connecting to regional Australia to solve our most pressing population health challenges. 

By using a Lifestyle Medicine focus, enabled by tech platforms and wearable technologies like FitBit or Apples ResearchKit and CareKit platforms, we are seeing how global scale health research and interventions are now possible. It’s up to nimble, emerging players like our local grads to see those possibilities and respond to them, with the chance to create their own tech products and ventures in our local ‘Ideas Boom’. I’m delighted to be putting this event on with Uni of Newcastle - the support of IBM, Atlassian, Blue Chilli, Laughing Mind and Forsythes Recruitment helped us put together a prize pool of more than $124,000 in startup support, which is humbling and gives our local grads a great kick-start in building their own ventures for local hi-tech options. It’s an important part of our local ‘Silicon Coast’ ecosystem initiatives and the broader development of a new technology-enabled economic base for the Hunter."

Atlassian's mission is to unleash the potential in every team. Our software helps teams organize, discuss and complete their work. All of our product categories are focused on teams and the work teams do together.

Our mission? Grow the capacity of UoN ICT, Design, Business and Health students to collaborate on joint technology projects, with the guidance of experienced clinicians, mentors and carers/consumers for well targeted + responsive initiatives, leveraging contemporary technology platforms.

More from Atlassian on #chatops

Product Experience Canvas - sample.

Balsamiq Mockup sample

Hackathon Outcomes

5min Q+A - views from the team

Aware if it, but almost no experience using it.

None. On the projects I worked we use platforms such as Slack. 
We were more communication oriented. But I had never heard of Atlassian before, 

Some familiarity with Jira (ticketing, change management) – no real experience of Confluence UX.

Having a single place in which to deposit all information, The ease of sharing information, Confluence’s ability to manage multiple edits.

The platform in general is pretty cool.

I was surprised at the degree of effectiveness..Confluence.. introduced..how quickly it brought us together collaboratively ie. there was no need to go looking for things, there was a place and space for new content which was immediately shared (by doing nothing further) with everyone involved.

Make sure you get at least 10 minutes worth of overview / training before jumping in.

I like it. I use it for all my projects. BUT be patient in learning how to use it. 
Yet, as I used it, I needed to learn how to use it. Not 100% intuitive.
Once you know the tricks that can be really complicated it's better. 

I think it is a fantastic opportunity. What I’m looking for is enterprise reliability and a great user experience, the Atlassian platform seems to address both. There would appear to be a number of ‘hidden gems’ and talking to someone who knows the product back to front to help would be my recommendation. I’m quite comfortable trusting the platform...would be comfortable recommending to peers.