A Jam-Packed Fall: Announcing Eight New Patient Safety Technology Challenges

Eight new competitions joined the Patient Safety Technology Challenge this month. Funded by the Jewish Healthcare Foundation and administered by the Pittsburgh Regional Health Initiative, the Patient Safety Technology Challenge is designed to fuel the engagement of students and innovators in creating solutions and envisioning transformational approaches to reduce preventable harm from medical errors and reimagine a vastly safer healthcare system.

October

The 9th Columbia Data Science Hackathon will be held on October 7-8th. Over the course of the event, any registered student from Columbia University will compete in a team of up to four members in one of the available tracks, including a patient safety track. The top patient safety idea will be awarded $500. Learn more here.

The Sonsiel Nurses Know Challenge is holding a BIG IDEA: Patient Safety Technology Award competition. The idea that best addresses one of the leading categories of patient harm wins a $5,000 award. The challenge is open to students, nurses, healthcare professionals, technologists, developers, and anyone else interested. Submissions are open until October 5th. Learn more here.

HackNC, a hackathon held on October 27-29 at UNC Chapel Hill, added a new track on patient safety technology. A prize of $400 will be given to the best idea. HackNC invites students from all skill levels to participate. Learn more here.

The Arizona State University Innovation Open is designed to challenge and advance university student innovators who aim to develop hard tech ventures. This year a $10,000 award has been offered for the best tech-enabled patient safety venture. Application closes October 31st, finalists will be announced December 1st, and the final event is February 9th, 2024. Apply here.

November

HackUTD is the largest university hackathon in Texas, bringing together 1,000 students to build apps, hardware, and more. This year a Patient Safety Technology Track has been added. The winning team will receive $1,000. HackUTD will be held in University of Texas at Dallas on November 4-5. Learn more here.

MakeUC is a hackathon weekend hosted on November 4-5th at the University of Cincinnati's 1819 Innovation Hub. A $500 prize will be given to the team with the best tech-enabled patient safety solution. MakeUC welcomes all students. Learn more here.

HackSC-X, Southern California's premier AI hackathon, is a 24-hour event based at the University of Southern California. In partnership with the Patient Safety Technology Challenge, HackSC-X aims to harness the power of AI and AR/VR technologies to advance patient safety. This year's event will be held November 4-5. Undergraduate and graduate students are eligible. Learn more here.

This year Arizona State University's annual Health Innovation Exhibition will feature patient safety. Freshman Nursing and Health Innovation students will come together to participate in a competition that aims to foster innovative patient safety solutions and present their ideas on November 17. Over $3,500 prizes will be awarded. Learn more here.