Tag: UNESCO

Global tech innovators selected for Isle of Man Innovation Challenge

Health and social care systems around the world are evolving rapidly, facing increasing demand, workforce pressures and more complex patient needs. The Isle of Man is no different, and like many places, it is looking for practical, adoptable solutions that can make a genuine difference to the people and communities it serves.

The Isle of Man is taking a proactive approach, creating a unique environment where new ideas can be tested, refined and delivered in real-world settings.

What sets the Island apart is its ability to move quickly. Its scale, integrated systems, and close collaboration between government, clinicians, regulators and industry create a genuinely distinctive environment for developing and applying innovation.

This is the foundation of the Innovation Challenge, now in its fourth year, and this year’s programme has attracted its strongest response to date.

Sixteen global innovators have been selected from 125 entries submitted across 25 countries, following a record 467 registrations. Each finalist was assessed by frontline health and care professionals for their potential to address genuine system needs.

The Challenge is led by Digital Isle of Man and the Department for Enterprise, and delivered in partnership with the Department of Health and Social Care, Manx Care and Public Health Isle of Man.

The finalists are developing solutions spanning AI-powered clinical tools, digital platforms, preventative health technologies and community-based care models, reflecting both the scale of the challenge and the opportunity to deliver meaningful impact.

The high calibre and diversity of this year’s cohort reflects the strength of innovation emerging globally to support the future of health and care.

Over the next ten weeks, finalists will take part in an intensive contextualisation programme, working in collaboration with healthcare stakeholders to refine and adapt their solutions through workshops, expert input and real-world Island insight.

They will receive tailored one-to-one mentoring from clinicians and care providers, alongside support from the Island’s tech and business community, with opportunities to connect with local organisations as they develop their solutions ahead of the Finale Day in June.

The programme will culminate in a live Finale Day on 25 June 2026, where finalists will present their solutions to a panel of expert judges, industry leaders and healthcare professionals.

Awards will be presented across three core themes: Working Smarter, Wellness and Home First, alongside a dedicated Biosphere Award.

The Biosphere Award recognises the solution that best reflects the Isle of Man’s status as the world’s first whole-nation UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, celebrating innovation that supports a sustainable balance between environment, community and economic development. It reflects an approach to innovation which is grounded in the Island’s values, and distinctively ‘Manx’.

The Isle of Man’s unique position, combining an integrated healthcare system, agile regulation and close collaboration across the public and private sectors, continues to make it an attractive destination for innovators looking to test and scale solutions in a real-world environment.

Claire Christian MHK, Minister for Health and Social Care, said:

‘The calibre of this year’s finalists is exceptionally high and underlines the Isle of Man’s growing position as a centre for health innovation.

‘Through the Innovation Challenge, we are taking a proactive and practical leadership role in bringing together government, clinicians and global innovators to address some of the most pressing challenges facing our health and social care system.

‘By testing these solutions in a real-world environment, we are ensuring that innovation is translated into meaningful impact, both for our Island and beyond.

‘I look forward to seeing the breadth of ideas and talent showcased by this year’s cohort at the Finale Day and the impact they will go on to deliver.’

Lyle Wraxall, Chief Executive of Digital Isle of Man, said:

‘This year’s response has been exceptional, not just in volume, but in the quality and ambition of ideas coming forward.

‘We’re seeing a global recognition that health and social care systems need to evolve rapidly, and that innovation must be grounded in real-world application.

‘The Innovation Challenge provides a unique platform to do exactly that, bringing together innovators and system leaders to co-create solutions that can genuinely improve lives.’

More information: http://www.innovationiom.com

Award winning Shannon Teen to Represent Ireland in the Technovation Global Semi Finals with Dementia Support App

Chloe O’Loughlin, a 2nd year student in St. Patrick’s Comprehensive School in Shannon, won the Junior category award at the Technovation Ireland Regional Pitch Event (RPE) in AMD’s Headquarters CityWest Dublin. Chloe has been working on an app to help people with dementia since she started the Teen-Turn afterschool program in January. Twelve weeks of mentoring and support led to the big event, with Chloe winning the Junior category. 65 projects from 8 counties and more than 20 schools were submitted to Technovation from Ireland this year. Chloe will now represent Ireland in the semi-finals of the global competition.

This project was particularly personal to Chloe who had a dream to help people suffering with dementia in a simple and easy way. She said: ‘I have relatives with dementia. I see firsthand the effects that it has on them.  I wanted to think of something that would help them.’

It was this initial thought that led her to create and develop her app called Brain Track. “The app features a to-do list, calendar, to keep track of different appointments and allows relatives and caregivers to keep an eye on them.” An additional feature of the app is a profile page where the user or their relatives can input profiles of the people around them including photos and key details about that person. Chloe believes that to be a very important feature for the wellbeing of the person with dementia and a reassurance to their loved ones. “If someone with dementia were to forget someone’s name, they can go into the app and remind themselves of their name, which would save them the frustration of having to ask the person directly.”

Chloe committed to 12 weeks of staying after school with more than 10 other girls in the group to learn to code, develop a business plan and pitch to judges. Her mentor Donna O’Sullivan, who is also a teacher at the school, applauded Chloe for her commitment and dedication to the project and app. “Chloe has shown tremendous dedication and commitment to attending our Teen-Turn sessions after school each week and made superb progress during that time. We are so proud of what she has achieved and grateful to Teen-Turn for their continued support in developing tech skills for our girls.”

Chloe really enjoyed participating in Teen-Turn’s afterschool program and said “I really enjoyed working with everyone in the group. We got tons of different ideas and opinions when putting it all together and it’s great to see how the others projects were coming along.” Chloe also benefited from extra sessions held by Teen-Turn over the midterm in partnership with PayPal and on two Super Session Saturdays where the girls had the opportunity to gain in person mentorship in University of Limerick from academic staff and Immersive Software Engineering students.

On the day of the RPE Chloe said that she was a little apprehensive to pitch to the judges but that she found the experience to be a very powerful one.  “I was very nervous, but the judges were really nice and once I started, I was more excited than nervous. They genuinely wanted to find out more about the app and how it works.” Chloe was overjoyed to take first place on the day, winning a laptop with AMD chip technology, and is looking forward to the next stage of the competition.

So what does the future hold for Chloe and Brain Track? I definitely want to continue with Teen-Turn and with Project Squad and Technovation in the future because I really enjoyed it.’ says Chloe who is very excited at the thought of possibly bringing the app to the market in the future. “I think the app will help people  and I want to continue improving it.” Chloe hopes that she can make the future a little brighter for those with dementia and their loved ones.

Technovation is a tech education nonprofit that inspires people around the world to believe in themselves as leaders and become more confident, curious problem-solvers. Technovation offers interactive learning programs in which young people ages 8-18 and adults in their community learn how to use technology to solve real-world problems. Technovation partners with leading organisations like UNESCO and UN Women, and with mentors from companies like Google, NVIDIA, and Adobe to reach children and families in more than 100 countries. To learn more, visit technovation.org.