DCPE Students Launched Mental Health-themed Hackathon

03 Aug 2021

DCPE year 2 students, Timothy Liau and Bhawana Sapkota, teamed up with two others to launch what they believe is Singapore's first student-run mental health-themed hackathon, MindfulHacks. A 24-hour virtual hackathon, to be held over Zoom, it aims to encourage innovative solutions to mental health issues and combating the stigma against mental illnesses. Through the hackathon, the team hopes to convey the message that a healthy mind is just as important as a healthy body.  

Competing in teams, participants are expected to build a software project that addresses mental health issues.  The hackathon is open to anyone studying in a local university, polytechnic, junior college or the Institute of Technical Education. To run the hackathon, the four have had to juggle their multiple commitments of schoolwork, co-curricular activities, internships and even a full-time job.

Timothy was volunteering at Safe Space, a mental healthcare platform and app, in February when he first hit on the idea.  He said: "Working there, I saw the wonders tech can do for mental health, so I thought about how I could bring together more young minds to work towards a better mental health support system."

Straits Times JuL 29, 2021 (From left) Ms Bhawana Sapkota, 18, Mr Low Jia En, 23, Mr Timothy Liau, 21, and Ms Rachel Lee, 21.