International Marketing and Advertising Students Represent RSU at Hackathon in Austria
Participating in hackathons helps students consolidate their knowledge in practice, motivates them to work in teams, and to assess their contribution to a common goal.
Additionally, the international experience that students gain by testing their abilities in international competitions is invaluable. The final competition of the EIT Health Career Path from Students To Innovators i-Days Hackathon that was organised by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT Health) and RSU, took place on 24 and 25 November in Vienna.
The main part of the event took place on 24 November. 24 teams from different European cities pitched their business ideas for innovation in medicine in front of a jury. On 25 November, various workshops were held where participants had the opportunity to gain new skills and international contacts (see the event's agenda).
Izabella Rumkovska, Diāna Avota, Bruno Marts Milbrets, and Edvīns Volodins are all students in RSU’s International Marketing and Advertising bachelor's programme and represented RSU at the event. The team (pictured) won the Latvian competition held on 8-11 November this year with their business idea E-med Space and got the opportunity to participate in the European final in Vienna. E-med Space is a European app that would include patients' health records, doctor visits, and an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm. The AI algorithm would read patients' medical history and alert them to potential health problems and diseases based on their family and medical history.
Kristīne Blumfelde-Rutka, who is a lecturer and the head of the study programme, encouraged students to participate in the hackathon. ‘I am delighted with the students' activity and responsiveness when I approached them to participate in the Latvian competition. Innovation in medicine is a very important topic in both public health and healthcare. Knowledge of international marketing and skills in presenting business ideas allowed the students to represent RSU in this international event.’
The Students’ Feedback
‘This was a very valuable event that encouraged me to try new things and step out of my comfort zone. I am sure that the experience that I got from developing and defending an idea, working in a team, being in a different environment in a different country, as well as the contacts I made with other participants will be useful in the future. If not in medical innovation, then definitely in my chosen field. My recommendation is to take a risk! Maybe your innovation will not only excite the jury and participants in Latvia, but also out in European too.’
‘Experience is the first thing that I gained. I learnt something new and got to experience another culture. The most important thing is new knowledge.’
‘I got new skills in how to create a plan and presentations. The presentation had to be more structured and comprehensive. If I were to participate again with an idea like this, I would have to present a finished prototype and prepare a much more comprehensive presentation with the necessary parameters.’
‘It went really well, and we were well received. We were a bit stressed too thought. It was useful to be able to consult with students from other countries. Many participants were medical doctors or engineers with PhDs, and I think we stood out as we were the only marketing students.’
We would like to say thank you to the RSU Department of International Relations and Maruta Funta for organising Latvia's participation in the event.
