Held over two intensive working days on 27 and 28 February, followed by a Demo Day on 14 March, the hackathon was led by Trinity students Patricia Sim and Eric Xin. More than 100 students took part, representing Engineering, Medicine and several other disciplines across multiple institutions. 

A defining feature of the event was its collaborative spirit, particularly the strong partnership between Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin. The hackathon drew support from a wide range of student groups, including Trinity for Global Health, Equality in STEM, the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, and the UCD AI in Medicine Association. This mix of expertise allowed participants to tackle clinical challenges with fresh thinking and technical insight. 

Projects were judged by a panel featuring Professor Richard Reilly, Research Chair of Neural Engineering at Trinity, Professor Aonghus Lawlor from UCD’s School of Computer Science, and Electronic and Electrical Engineering PhD students James Bradshaw and Ilaria Facchi. The winning teams were: 

  • 1st Place - POLYSAFE (€1,200) 
  • 2nd Place - BrightSpeech (€750) 
  • 3rd Place - HealEdge (€600) 

Beyond the awards, many teams plan to continue developing their ideas, reflecting a strong sense of purpose and ambition among the participants. 

The hackathon was supported by Trinity College Dublin, Trinity’s School of Engineering, Trinity’s School of Computer Science and Statistics, Trinity’s School of Medicine, the Trinity Entrepreneurial Society, UCD Women+ in STEM Society (W+), the Association of Medical Students in Ireland, Aerska, the Trinity Engineering Society, and the Trinity Association and Trust, Open Incubator and Entrepreneurship @ Portal, Patch, Green Room, DCU: Innovate Catalyst. 

Read more at: Advance Health — Ireland's First Student-Led HealthTech Ideathon