Success At Yale Healthcare Hackathon For Santander Mobility Award Student

A Cardiff Met student was recently honoured at a global event run by Yale. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Alex Hirst, who is a postgraduate Product Design student, took part in the Yale Healthcare Hackathon 2017 – organised by the Yale Center for Biomedical Innovation & Technology (CBIT) and the Yale School of Medicine Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Alex worked in a small team with students from Yale and an employee from biopharma company Bristol-Myers Squibb to tackle a brief on how to help asthmatic children communicate key health information to their parents. The team pitched the idea of a smart bracelet and won the hackathon’s $500 ‘Careers, Life and Yale’ prize. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Alex received funding from a Santander mobility award to attend the event – the awards are up to the value of £5,000 and designed to encourage research collaborations with institutions in the Santander Universities Network. Cardiff Met became a member of the network in 2012 and our staff and students have received over £200,000 so far in funding. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The Hackathon, which this year looked in-depth at the theme of re-engineering patient experience and provider engagement, ran over three days with approximately 200 attendees from across the globe. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Speaking about his experience, Alex said: “The Healthcare Hackathon was overall a very positive experience where I learnt a lot about the global healthcare market and how my skills are applicable in a wider setting. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“I attended talks from a variety of industry and academic leaders including Dr Ayesha Khalid, Clinical Director of the Yale Center for Biomedical Innovation & Technology.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Director of Enterprise at Cardiff Met, Matthew Taylor added: “As part of the Santander Universities Network, we work closely with students and staff to offer unparalleled opportunities that enhance their research and study. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“We are delighted to see Alex honoured at the Yale Healthcare Hackathon and wish him all the very best with the remainder of his research work.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​