Day by Day

What a lovely day for a hackathon! We started off with a warm welcome from Prof Ngaire Kerse, Head of the School of Population Health here at The University of Auckland. Liz Schoff, Chairwoman of HiNZ gave us some gems on new ways of thinking, quoting the book ‘Cognitive Surplus’ by Clay Shirky, emphasising the ability of groups of people generously contributing to solutions and making a bigger difference than anticipated.

It was a privilege for me to welcome the community of talented people who have come together for the hackathon. I talked about Austin Kleon’s book ‘Steal like an artist’ and paraphrased his take on cognitive surplus like this: “Good theft involves honouring the person you got your ideas from, studying the work of others to learn and develop your own skills, stealing from many (not one), and always giving credit. Transform what you steal – imitation is the cheapest form of flattery and also gets you into trouble. Remix what you learn from others, turn it into something better and different, rather than rip them off. Above all, respect the people you meet and work with this weekend, as well as their contributions to the solutions you work on.”

And then 15 people pitched their ideas, one after the other. Some of our judges refocused people on the hackathon topic, reminding us that it’s about self-care and what people need to be able to take care of themselves if they ahve a long term health issue. Sir Ray Avery summed up be reminding us to consider who will use the solutions we come up with this weekend, to remember the ‘customer statement of need’ and work on how our products will be realised during the weekend and after. We broke up for a light meal and the buzz in the room was palpable as people discussed their ideas and showed their passion for solving problems. They gradually clustered together into groups and moved off into the breakout rooms to begin working on their chosen idea. Then things went quiet and the mood changed to serious work. Suddenly it was time to go home before the computer closed the campus doors and the gates outside.