Hackathon in Review: Hack4Health 2021

HackHub
4 min readJun 7, 2021

Now at the tail end of a global pandemic lasting over a year, HackHub intended to bring a creative space to life that not only incorporated the struggles that the everyday person was feeling throughout the past year and now, but also to propose new solutions to combat these newly risen issues and tackle them at the root.

Hack4Health live in action!

The result: over 100 hackers, 20 teams, $1000+ in prizes, and judges and sponsors from the most well known tech companies virtually coming together from Vancouver and beyond to create projects with long lasting impact, and foster connection during a period of peak isolation. What were these amazing projects? Keep reading!

Huge thank you to our sponsors!

1st PLACE: CHAMP

Become a champion of your own well-being.

What is Champ?

Champ is a social app designed to help people reach goals and change their habits for the better. Users can create or join challenges alongside thousands of others. “Waking up at 6 A.M every day for four weeks” is an example of a challenge. To keep people motivated and accountable, every challenge requires a starting deposit — once the challenge is complete, those who are successful get back their initial deposit plus the deposits of those who were not able to complete the challenge. The monetary incentives and social elements keep people motivated and engaged. Anyone can be a champion of their well-being with Champ.

Champ offers unique, exclusive features that no existing apps provide

  • Create, join and share community-based challenges.
  • Make an initial deposit of any dollar amount to join a challenge.
  • Money is a proven incentive that keeps people motivated to stay on track.
  • Win your deposit plus prizes from the penalty pool with our prize/penalty system.

Tech Stack

  • Developed with React Native, JavaScript, Expo, Firebase.
  • Image verification with Google Cloud Vision API

Key intellectual properties

  • Recommendations algorithm for challenges using deep learning.
  • Seamless in-app payments, with our deposit and payment system.
  • Proprietary image parsing processing technology to automate verification.

Watch a demo of champ here, and learn more at their website.

2nd PLACE: KNIT

What is Knit?

The COVID-19 pandemic has been difficult for those living in long-term care homes. High death rates and social isolation has negatively impacted their mental health, but research has shown that being more socially connected can improve wellbeing.

We work with local businesses in Vancouver to bring excitement into long-term care homes. Through fun & engaging classes, workshops, and events older folks get to participate in fun activities, learn new skills, and meet new people.

Knit, let’s thread together a vibrant community.

Learn more about Knit at their website.

3rd PLACE: COVIZ 19

What is COVIZ19?

In the light of the ongoing pandemic, keeping an eye on Covid-19 spread had led to us forgetting to keep an eye out for one another and for ourselves. Our App provides a social platform on which users can share their experience with Covid, cure, vaccine, distancing and quarantine anonymously with those who are nearby with similar health situations so that they can relate and be relatable. The project aims to destigmatize getting the virus and help elevate some of the distress that shows up with discussing Covid-19 spread and symptoms.

Learn more about Coviz19 here.

What’s Next?

One of the key themes of Hack4Health was “The Choice Is Yours”, and it’s clear by this snapshot of our hackers that they truly encapsulated and went beyond in embodying the theme of Hack4Health. Hack4Health was the first of its kind, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the support of our sponsors, Vancouver Startup Week for their amazing partnership, judges, the HackHub team, and of course the hackers themselves. We’re super excited to keep the ball rolling, and for those who would like to further their involvement in the tech and hackathon scene can join us at OPPOHACK this summer!

Thank you to all of our participants!

For those who would like to relive Hack4Health, find all of the projects here!

Shoutout to our supporters!

If you’re interested in keeping up with more from HackHub, follow us on our social media platforms below:

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HackHub

HackHub is an experiential recruiting platform that connects industry employers with emerging tech professionals through stimulating hackathon events.