FAQ

A: Each team will consist of 9 students across different years and disciplines, the challenger, an industry mentor, and an advisor (a member of the Hackcessible admin team to be your first point of contact for any admin related questions)!

A: That is something that each team will need to discuss amongst yourselves and decide on.

A: The weekly workshops will be arranged to give you the knowledge and skills needed to go through the design and manufacturing process. Each team will be assigned an industry mentor, typically with experience in healthcare and/or manufacturing, as well as a student advisor from the administrative team.

A: A decision made based on availability polls and feedback forms from previous years!

A: You are likely to struggle with contributing to your team and progressing with your solution if you are frequently unable to make it for workshops. If you find yourself unable to attend specific workshops, please make sure to communicate with your team and meet with them to stay updated and continue working on your prototype, as well as notify the admin team by declining the relevant calendar invite. 

A: The minimum is, of course, 2 hours for the weekly workshop. Additional team meetings and personal research, taking roughly 1–2 hours a week, depending on the complexity of your project and work required, would significantly benefit your team’s progress. 

A: There will be a challenger review session prior to the Make-a-Thon. However, as not all challengers are able to travel for all events, it may be the case that you would have to think about different ways to test out prototypes.

A: Depending on progress made over the course of the workshops and Make-a-Thon, we will arrange meetings for teams to hand over their prototypes to challengers. Some teams do choose to continue developing their prototypes, which we are able to provide some unstructured support with. This year, we will have the continuity phase following the Make-a-Thon, which will provide guidance and support with open-sourcing and commercialisation. 

A: Experience is desirable, but not required to join a Hackcessible Team. We will be giving weekly two hour workshops to take you through the design process, so you will learn the skills necessary to build a prototype, and individual team tasks can be delegated according to experience and skills. Be involved as much as you can, as this is a great way to meet like-minded people and develop your skills!

A: Technical skills would be project dependent (CAD being rather common). Crucially, you should be able to identify gaps in your skillset, and willing to independently learn new skills and knowledge to fill those gaps. 

A: There is no cost to participate; each team will be provided with a budget for developing their prototype.

A: Through this email!