City announces winner of the HealthHack contest
April 16, 2018

Martin Ferguson-Pell won the City of Edmonton’s HealthHack competition today, winning $5,000.

The winning idea was for a wheelchair accessibility tracker that features sensors that enable wheelchair users and their families to route-plan excursions and ensure they are physically able to navigate them.
 
“It was difficult for the judges to choose because all five of the final ideas were so unique,” says Soumya Ghosh, Director of Digital Enablement at the City of Edmonton. “It was clear to see from these, and the other submissions we received, that Edmontonians really care about the health of their community.”

Runners up were Joe Dang and Reed Sutton for their cannabis ecosystem idea and Dr. PJ Rawlek, K. DeZutter, N. Twal, C. Nicole, E. Barbaric and B. Poetz for their Fitness App for Non-Athletes idea, winning $2,500, and $1,000 respectively. 

“The winners did a fantastic job, and they’re all deserving of recognition, but the real prize of HealthHack goes to Edmontonians,” says Ghosh. “Even if we don’t end up using these ideas for our Smart Cities Challenge proposal, we still have them for future consideration.” 

HealthHack proposals may be used for the upcoming Smart Cities Challenge, which encourages communities to adopt new and innovative approaches to city-building. The City of Edmonton has chosen the theme of “Healthy City” and held the HealthHack competition to generate more ideas from Edmontonians.

“Central to the City’s Smart City Strategy is the idea that the best city is built when all of our stakeholders — government, industry, academia and, most importantly, residents — are involved,” says Ghosh. “Stay tuned for more events like this as we engage and gather innovative ideas, different perspectives and new ways of thinking about how to provide exceptional quality of life for Edmontonians.”
For more information:

Media contact:  
Communications Advisor
Open City and Technology
780-508-9169 
780-886-7552