Cogniss supports early-stage innovation at Westmead for the Global Harvard Health Hackathon
Cogniss proudly supported the Westmead Health Precinct as the Australian host of the 6th annual Harvard Health Systems Innovation Hackathon on April 11–12, mentoring teams and providing the platform for participants to build real, functioning digital health apps that brought their solution ideas to life.
As Australia’s official hub for the global hackathon, Westmead Health Precinct hosted nearly 100 clinicians, technologists, researchers and students, with the University of Sydney and PATH co-organising the event to help reimagine health systems through AI. With access to the Cogniss no-code platform, teams were able to rapidly design and develop working app solutions over the two-day event.
Cogniss mentors Joseph Barry (Chief Commercial Officer) and Ryan Miller (Head of Customer Success) supported teams in transforming their ideas into viable early-stage solutions, working alongside a talented group of industry and academic experts.
“It was inspiring to see so many bright minds come together to make healthcare smarter and more inclusive. The thoughtfulness and creativity in the room were a real highlight,” said Joseph, reflecting on the event.
Ryan added, “It was a privilege to help guide these teams as they tested their ideas and iterated with confidence through Cogniss. It was great to see them explore bold concepts that could one day change lives.”
The Cogniss Team’s combined expertise in commercialisation, digital product strategy and UX design helped participants sharpen their pitches and consider the long-term impact of their ideas.
Themed “Building High-Value Health Systems: Leveraging Artificial Intelligence”, the event marked Westmead’s first time participating as Australia’s Innovation Hub. Participants formed diverse, cross-disciplinary teams to design early-stage concepts, ranging from wearable tech for seafarers to AI-powered medical history summaries for international students. The three winning teams, SunnyNB, I Know You Know and 2025 Vision Diagnostics, will now advance to the international Harvard online bootcamp where they’ll pitch their solutions to the global Harvard Health Systems Innovation Lab team.
This global hackathon brings together more than 1,500 innovators annually across 20 countries. The programme provides a platform for bold ideas that aim to transform healthcare systems and improve outcomes worldwide.
As Westmead continues to grow its role as one of Australia’s largest health and research precincts, the success of this hackathon highlights the region’s rising influence in health innovation, and Cogniss is proud to be part of that journey.