August 18, 2025How can we address mental health problems before they become a crisis? That was the powerful challenge posed to students at the Health iOS Hackathon.
The hackathon was a two-day innovation sprint hosted last week by RMIT School of Health and Biomedical Sciences in collaboration with Apple and strongly supported by Northern Health.
Bringing together students from across RMIT’s STEM and health disciplines, the event invited participants to design prototype mobile apps using the Apple iOS ecosystem and Xcode platform.
The goal was to empower people to manage their mental health earlier and more effectively.
Northern Health played a key role in supporting the event’s success. Staff from the General Systems Design team, led by James Pownall, Aaron Woods, and Philip Vukovic, generously mentored teams and helped guide the development process.
The final pitches were assessed by Anthony Gust, Executive Director, Digital Health, Belinda Scott, Executive Director, Mental Health, Don Campbell, Divisional Director, Design and Discovery, and Sing Tan Director, Clinical Digital Innovation.
The winning team has been invited to collaborate further with our Digital Health team — a fantastic example of how events like this can spark lasting innovation.
We’d also like to acknowledge and thank the following Northern Health mental health staff whose involvement and insights helped shape the event:
- Jessica Hunter, Social Worker
- Taylor Behnn, Social Worker
- Pat Roe, Area Senior Nurse
- Dan Stinson, Area Senior Nurse
- Graeme Bryan, Lived Experience Worker
- Prakash Kamath, Consultant Psychiatrist
- Gary Ennis, Director of Nursing
“It was inspiring to witness the hackathon presentations firsthand. The students should be commended not only for the energy, commitment and amazing ideas but for the teamwork displayed,”
said Anthony Gust, Executive Director, Digital Health.
A big thank you to our partners at RMIT University and Apple, and to everyone from Northern Health who helped make this initiative possible. Together, we’re not just imagining a better future for mental health care, we’re helping to build it.
