Northern Health has partnered with Swinburne University of Technology and Amazon Web Services on an innovation challenge to assist people with diabetes.

This collaboration was highlighted last Friday when Northern Health joined the launch of Swinburne University’s Data for Social Good Cloud Innovation Centre. The Centre is one of seven worldwide, and the first of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. It aims to help solve challenges faced by society – powered by cloud technology.

Northern Health is a collaborative partner with the Centre, working on an innovation challenge to help people living with type 2 diabetes to self-manage, through the use of technology.

At the launch, Max Peterson from Amazon Web Services (AWS) described the purpose of the centres.

“Cloud innovation centres are designed to spur innovation and ideas to drive economic development, and to drive really meaningful solutions back into the community that we are working within.”

“This model of innovation includes publishing the solutions as open source,” he said.

The first innovation challenge involved Swinburne’s Junior Consultants co-designing with Northern Health and working alongside strategic healthcare advisors.

Northern Health’s Chief Executive, Siva Sivarajah, said, “We see around 300,000 patients each year and around 2,500 of them, with significant chronic illnesses, attend hospital multiple times each year. Many of these people’s illnesses are due to social and economic issues, and diabetes is one of the key chronic conditions that we are dealing with.”

“The future to help manage chronic illness is going to be technology – and using technology to contribute to the social good. I congratulate Swinburne’s Junior Consultants for their work on this important project, and Swinburne and Amazon Web Services for their collaboration,” he said.