18 Nov Hackers came with bags and baggage
From November 13th to 14th the Merck Innovation Center team together with Information Services organized the first Hackathon in cooperation with the TU Darmstadt and the Darmstadt University of Applied Science to solve current problems in the Health sector.
On Friday afternoon 40 attendees, mostly students from the partner universities, arrived at the Innovation Center. The ambitious attendees were packed with bag and baggage and ready to not waste a single moment of the twenty-four hour challenge. After a warm welcome by Merck CIO Jim Stewart, who emphasised the potential of connecting IT and medical science, the hackers began their assignments. The challenges focused on discovering new ways to support cancer patients, ensuring health care for people in isolated locations and monitoring the transportation of medication online.
24 hours later, on Saturday afternoon, the teams presented their ideas to the Jury which consisted of Merck professionals and scientists from the partner universities.
The winning team developed a concept about personalising medication to avoid confusion between the different daily prescriptions that patients take. In the concept, patients are involved in the design of the pills and the packaging. By having different shapes and colours to identify different medications, the pills are easier to recognise and patients become more familiar with the drugs they are taking. Having met the criteria of creativity, uniqueness and feasibility, the team was awarded first place and a prize of 2,000 Euros. After the event, participants got the chance to network and converse amongst each other.
“Formats like the Hackathon are a 100% fit for what we want to do here at the Innovation Center and what we believe innovation looks like in the digital age. Innovation does not take place behind closed doors. It is a vital process of exchange and it needs various viewing angles. During the Hackathon we saw a lot of ideas that are worth a follow up,” says Michael Gamber, Head of Merck Innovation Center.
“Both the creativity and the enthusiasm of the young teams were impressive. The outcomes that were presented within just 24 hours went far above our expectations. We are happy to kick off the next big event alongside our partners,” recaps Merck’s Andreas Schindler, Director of IT Ideation & Innovation.
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