On Saturday, October 27th, half-a-dozen representatives from Neighbor2Neighbor braved the elements (remember that Nor’easter?) and answered the invitation to attend the 4th Annual NYU Healthcare Makerthon.
The “Makerthon” is a production of the NYU Entrepreneurial Institute and places entrepreneurs from across the NYU system into teams to work on solutions to a set of challenges. This year, the challenges were centered around developing technologies or solutions to address wellness and healthcare needs for older adults aging in the community.
During the morning hours, N2N participants were questioned individually by rotating sets of teams trying to understand issues from N2N’ers real-life perspectives. It was clear that many of the teams were of young students that needed a good education on the realities of aging in the community – and what would appeal to older adults! The N2N set had plenty of feedback regarding this point.
In the afternoon, Lonnie was invited to work on advising teams to further refine their ideas and to challenge their thinking.
The directors of the NYU Entrepreneurial Institute were grateful for all who attended and the valuable feedback that N2N gave throughout the entire process. This was the first time N2N was sought to be included in such an event, and we are proud of our participants who showed up to make a difference and have their voices heard.
It was a fun morning! The “kids” were engaged and curious, but I have to admit, it gave me pause to be considered an “older adult.”
Who won the competition–for what projects? do we know?
The team “Upright” swept all the awards!