TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Cabinet hosted the awards ceremony for the 2024 Presidential Hackathon on Sunday, which was attended by President Lai Ching-te (賴清德).
The annual hackathon is organized by the Ministry of Digital Affairs and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, to inspire skilled young people to use new technologies to address critical social issues, reported CNA. Teams began submitting their work in July with proposals for enhancing digital public infrastructure.
This year, the theme for the domestic division was “Health and Sustainability for Seniors.” The competition winners were two teams that each designed collaborative online platforms for elderly patients and healthcare professionals to personalize and streamline medical care in a super-aged society like Taiwan.
Another outstanding project was a drone deployment system that monitored weather and geographic data to deliver medicines to isolated seniors. Another team developed a “smart sound monitor” to analyze noise pollution to help local governments maintain safe noise levels for healthy living environments.
For international teams, the theme for the competition was “Next Generation Public Infrastructure” with a focus on moving society toward a net-zero future. The international competition this year saw 77 teams from 34 countries submit projects.
The winning project was named “GreenhopeBCTW,” with team members from Taiwan and the US who designed a personalized online carbon wallet to track and encourage responsible consumer habits. The second-place team was from Indonesia, which designed an application called “MooApps” to monitor livestock health for more efficient farming practices.
President Lai addressed the winning teams at Sunday’s event and noted the importance of using digital tools to address social problems in the 21st century to promote sustainability. The Presidential Hackathon provides an excellent opportunity to explore cooperative possibilities between government and young talent in the private sector.
