Write a commentThree local developers came out tops in a battle of the apps organised by innovative Belfast firm TotalMobile at the Ulster Museum over the weekend.
GrowApp, created by IT students Carl Meehan from Newry, Mary-Jane McBride from Kilkeel, and Dean Meehan from Newry, was deemed the winner by a panel of expert local judges from more than 20 bright ideas.
Aimed at parents of newborn children, the winning app is designed to enable mothers and fathers to track the progress of their child and to benchmark its development against expected norms.
Some 80 developers from across Northern Ireland participated in the 24 hour event which challenged up-and-coming software experts to create ideas inspired by sections of the museum that can be used to improve health and social care.
Simon McIntyre from TotalMobile, who was one of the judges, says: "We were delighted with the number of participants at the event, as well as the enthusiasm of the teams and the quality of their ideas. The developers spent more than 24 hours in the Ulster Museum working with experts from TotalMobile to come up with and flesh out their ideas. There were some fantastic concepts, but we felt that GrowApp was a clear winner with real potential."
With almost 80 up-and-coming developers participating, the event is thought to have been one of the biggest hackathons ever to take place in Belfast.
The hack was part of TotalMobile's #CodeforBetter movement which seeks to help come up with technology-based ideas to help alleviate some of the challenges faced by the health service.
Belfast-based TotalMobile has been building software solutions to get people working better for 30 years and works with health and social care providers across the UK who use its innovative mobile working solutions to save time and money.
The company employs some 140 people at Pilot Point, Belfast, many of whom are software developers.
The winning trio will share a prize of £1,000 provided by TotalMobile to help support them in their career development.
