Tzu Chi International School Student Wins First Prize at IMU’s Digital Health Ideation Challenge

Chief Judge Mr Freddy Loo, Director of Analytics, Digital & Consulting, Fusionex said, “Overall, I was very impressed with the maturity level, enthusiasm and sense of purpose demonstrated by the young participants during their presentations. I was fascinated by how well they have all articulated the social agenda behind the technology.”

“They understood that the application of digital health is about improving the quality of life, and not about offering the best digital products or services. However, what stood out with the winning ideas were the exceptional value and viability of their solutions in addressing pressing health issues in Malaysia.”

Open to all Secondary and Pre-University students residing in Malaysia aged 15 – 19 in 2022, the Digital Health Ideation Challenge hosted by IMU, is an online challenge which aims to provide a platform for engaging students to generate new ideas in tackling three of the most pressing health issues and challenges using Digital Technology. This event was held virtually as a precaution around COVID-19 and to enable participants to share their ideas from wherever they were based, within Malaysia or other parts of the world.

The Challenge received many submissions with creative ideas in digital health innovation. It culminated in a final virtual round of pitching by the Challenge’s Top 10 finalists who were vying for RM10,000 worth of prizes and internship opportunities with a Health Tech Company! This final round saw each student pitching their idea for 4 minutes and 3 minutes were given for them to answer questions from the judges.

The Digital Health Ideation Challenge was one of the highlights of the University’s inaugural IMU Digital Health Dialogue 2022, which saw a total of 344 participants attending this online event. IMU Digital Health Dialogue 2022 drew audiences from Malaysia, Singapore, United Kingdom, United States, United Arab Emirates, India, Pakistan, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and more, from high-school students to professional practitioners from the industries.

“A career in Digital Health utilises information and communication technologies (ICT) to facilitate the understanding of health problems and challenges faced by patients. It is a discipline which involves working with digital healthcare programmes, technologies, and the health of society to enhance the efficient delivery of healthcare and make medicine more precise and personalised.”

“With the needs and demand for Digital Health growing exponentially, we are actively trying to instil a love and appreciation for digital health through this event. We hope that this will, in turn, encourage more young students to pursue future careers in these fields”, said Dr Tan Ee Xion, Programme Director of the IMU Digital Health programme and one of the organisers of the University’s IMU Digital Health Dialogue 2022.

The IMU Digital Health Dialogue 2022 also featured keynote speech, panel discussions, lucky draws and a Kahoot game.