NJIT team wins Horizon health care challenge

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A team from New Jersey Institute of Technology took top honors in the Second Annual Horizon Health Care Transformation Challenge. A total of $10,000 in prize money was awarded to the top teams.A team from New Jersey Institute of Technology took top honors in the Second Annual Horizon Health Care Transformation Challenge. A total of $10,000 in prize money was awarded to the top teams.

The winning team from NJIT won a $5,000 prize for its “RiseOn” project, an inclusive platform that simplifies disease management by combining transparent information with technology, specifically through the creation of a chatbot and a set of algorithms that can answer common questions and provide recommendations.

According to Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, new apps, devices, models and innovations dominated the six finalists’ presentations by undergraduate students from four New Jersey colleges to help Horizon BCBSNJ conquer three forms of health care challenges.

“We created the Health Care Transformation Challenge to tap into the creative and forward-thinking minds of young people, and at the same time, encourage students to take a more active role in understanding and shaping health care,” said Douglas Blackwell, senior vice president and CIO for Horizon BCBSNJ, in a statement. “Our millennial innovators didn’t disappoint. All of the college students brought to the Challenge creative and original proposals, but a team from NJIT had the best idea and the most compelling presentation of this year’s competition.”

In this year’s Challenge, teams submitted proposals to address the following specific areas of health care: mental/behavioral health, disease management and nutrition/fitness.

Of the 14 team submissions across seven New Jersey schools, six were presented as finalists to a panel of judges that included industry experts in marketing, technology and value-based care. The finalist teams included students from NJIT, Rutgers University, William Patterson University and Hudson County Community College.

Teams from NJIT and HCCC placed second and third, respectively.