Lincoln students Dr Amara Subramanian and Christian Garcia, were part of an international team from around the world who claimed the People’s Choice award at the Emerging Futures event (a partnership between ENZ and ChristchurchNZ) during lockdown..
One hundred students enrolled in South Island tertiary institutions who are currently offshore, competed in a contest to pitch a new product in the field of health technology.
Amara Skyped in from India and Christian from Mexico, along with teammates from Russia and China.
Their presentation was entitled "How might we resolve the problems that the young population in New Zealand face due to hazardous drinking?
Over the course of the free, two-week programme, students worked in groups of three to research, design and develop their idea around the future of health care.
At the end of the course, the students presented their pitches online to their peers and coaches. The five best pitches progressed to a finals stage, where a panel of judges determined the winner to receive the top prize of $1000.
The team developed the My Choice App, which featured a Sobriety Calendar, Meal Plans, connection with health professionals, and help to manage habits and sleep better.
Amara said she enrolled for the Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Science at Lincoln for July 2020, but because of the pandemic had to defer to 2021.
She took part in the event to use it as a stress buster during the lockdown period and importantly it l help build relationships and gain some valuable experience.
“We went through a series of brainstorming sessions, rapid problem solving sequences and experienced a totally diverse form of learning.
“We worked across different time zones and got to know each other’s talents. In the meantime, through our daily online handshake I got to meet friends of my country from different states and from other countries.
“Interacting, interchanging and discussing general topics was a stress buster. On a personal level I learned a lot, in communicating and presenting and also being able to listen to feedback and answering questions.”
She is looking forward for the next academic year to study in New Zealand and to meet her online friends.