Stimulating innovation through the hackathon concept in paediatrics: our experience at the Aga Khan University

Abstract

Paediatrics presents unique clinical challenges with major implications for morbidity and mortality where care is suboptimal.1 Similarly, setting up a children’s hospital in a low-income to middle-income country (LMIC), such as Pakistan, brings its own set of trials and tribulations: from resource allocation to the provision of high-quality affordable care.2 With work on a new children’s hospital about to begin at the Aga Khan University (AKU) in Karachi, Pakistan, the Critical Creative Innovative Thinking (CCIT) forum organised its second Hackathon, ‘Hack Paeds’ , in February 2017. The essence of CCIT’s philosophy is to counter restrictive thinking so often encountered in medical practice. The forum, funded by the parent institution, encourages professionals and students to share, nurture and implement their creative and innovative ideas and solutions.3 Hack Paeds was similar …