Over two days, Westmead Health Precinct co-hosted the annual Harvard Health Systems Innovation Lab Hackathon alongside the University of Sydney, bringing together nearly 100 of the brightest minds in a quest to solve some of the complex challenges in our health system.

This global event had more than 1500 participants in 19 countries, with Westmead chosen as one of the international hubs, and the only one in Australia. From Westmead and beyond, clinicians, engineers, computer scientists, economists, political scientists and other professionals were involved, with experience ranging from students to early-mid career professionals.

Although in its sixth year, the Westmead Health Precinct was involved in the Harvard Hackathon for the first time. But it won’t be the last.

Westmead Health Precinct’s Dr Nathan Moore summed up its success.

“This was a fantastic two days. It was amazing to bring together so many people from across the Westmead Health Precinct - students, clinicians, researchers, professionals, and more. It really shows the power of working together and how technology will benefit the people that need it most - the patients.”

The event was opened by Western Sydney Local Health District’s Professor Peter Hockey, Executive Director Quality and Safety, who alongside the University of Sydney’s Professor Annemarie Hennessy, spoke about the importance of collaboration within healthcare and beyond, and the challenges faced by an emerging workforce.

In teams, the participants worked to create innovative solutions, addressing this year’s theme, ‘Building High-Value Health Systems: Leveraging Artificial Intelligence’.

They were supported by several hackathon mentors, including people from WSLHD, University of Sydney, Cicada Innovations, CSIRO, and more.

Late on the second day, the teams pitched their ideas to an esteemed panel of judges, featuring Dr Moore (Westmead Health Precinct/WSLHD), Prof Hockey (WSLHD), Dr Kim Sutherland (Executive Director, Office for Health and Medical Research), Geoff Waring (Head of Research Venture Investment, USyd), and Lilly Bojarski (General Manager, Cicada Innovations Health Tech Hub).

The results:

  • 1st place – SunnyNB
  • 2nd place – I Know You Know
  • 3rd place – 2025 Vision Diagnostics

SunnyNB developed a solution using wearable technology that monitors the physical health of marine crew members. Their concept integrates an AI-powered chatbot to generate personalised daily health reports and automatically alert medical professionals when high-risk symptoms are detected – a solution to support the health and wellbeing of remote workforces.

I Know You Know focused on empowering international students to access and understand their comprehensive medical history. Their proposed AI feature summarises medical histories in a user-friendly way, enabling better self-awareness and improving communication with healthcare providers – especially across language barriers.

2025 Vision Diagnostics designed an innovative HMD-VR (Head-Mounted Display Virtual Reality) application aimed at providing immersive diagnostic and therapeutic experiences. Their portable VR system utilises eye-tracking technology to assess binocular vision, including ocular alignment, depth perception, and visual impairments – a tool to enhance vision care.

The three winning teams now progress to the international Harvard online bootcamp where they’ll have the opportunity to pitch to the global Harvard HSIL team.