Media releases

Federation University Australia students collaborated on the prototype of an ID card and app that could help prevent the spread of infectious diseases including COVID-19.

Brisbane Campus students were part of the winning team at the annual Arc Hackathon in October.

Federation University’s Brisbane Campus partnered with Arc Hardware Incubator to sponsor the event, which brought together programmers, designers, tech enthusiasts and other industry representatives from across Queensland to form working groups.

This year’s theme was MedTech and each team was given 54 hours to use their expertise and creative thinking to develop a start-up that solved challenges posed by Queensland’s medical and healthcare community.

These challenges were specific to the current COVID-19 environment and included decreasing face filter waste and using virtual reality to support patients during treatments.

At the conclusion of the event, seven teams pitched prototypes to a panel of judges who were impressed by the innovative solutions presented.

The Federation University team, with Queensland Health Anaesthesiology Registrar Antony Ji won the event by developing an ID card and mobile app prototype, titled Safe ID. The concept aims to minimise the spread of infectious diseases in healthcare settings while improving contact tracing methodology.

The Safe ID team, including Brisbane students Ankita Ranjitkar, Bijay Neupane, Anjili Giri and Rajbir Kaur, was commended for their approach and contribution to providing solutions in the COVID-19 environment and awarded a $1,000 bursary and eight hours’ consultancy with Arc Hardware Incubator to further develop their concept.

The Arc Hackathon offered an immersive experience that connected Federation students with mentors and industry, and the opportunity to use cutting-edge technology. The event also helped students develop industry-related skills while improving interpersonal attributes necessary to find post-graduate employment.

Co-sponsors of the event include Metro North Hospital and Health Service, Bionics and the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science.

Quote attributable to Federation University Head of Campus Brisbane Alex Elibank Murray

“Seeing our students thrive by applying their learning in a critical growth area like med-tech is what the Brisbane campus is all about.  Federation University’s ongoing collaboration with the Arc Hackathon has inspired our students to expand their comfort zones, build networks and make a tangible contribution towards a product’s development.  It’s a brilliant opportunity – and this year it was pretty wonderful to see our students as part of the winning team.”

Quotes attributable to Federation University student Bijay Neupane

“I really think Arc’s events are the perfect place to meet new people who can help nurture my career in the technology sector. It helped me develop new skills such as 3D printing and understand the process of developing a new business. We’re now in talks with hospitals to conduct a trial run and refine our prototype further. It felt amazing to come first and has inspired me to take up these opportunities more often.”