An annual hackathon event put on by the University of Pittsburgh's School of Pharmacy has returned and is now accepting applications for student teams across disciplines.
The Pitt Challenge is open to those pursuing degrees in health care, business, computer science, humanities and other subjects at institutions like Pitt, Carnegie Mellon University or other universities as part of an effort to find solutions to challenges affecting the health care industry.
"Hackathons are common in computer science, but they’re a less common starting point for new ideas in health care," Dr. Ravi Patel, a faculty advisor at Pitt's pharmacy, said in an email statement to Pittsburgh Inno. "Our goal with the Pitt Challenge is to bring students from different disciplines together to imagine what might be possible at the intersection of technology and health care."
Entering its seventh year, the beginner-friendly challenge is set to take place over a 42-hour period beginning at 5 p.m. on Sept. 15.
Cash prizes totaling $6,000 will be given out to winning teams. Additional prizes will be made available to winners of certain tracks, or areas of specialization, which will be announced soon.
"For every Pitt Challenge, we try to find what issues are most pressing in technology and health care," Dr. Patel said. "In the past, we’ve had tracks on topics like vaccines, health equity and diversity, and health literacy."
