HackAway! Innovating Mental Wellness for Students of Higher Education through a Comprehensive Brain-Mind Hackathon

Background: With the growing recognition of mental health challenges, particularly among students, innovative and sustainable solutions are crucial. Traditional methods have their limitations, and new approaches are needed to foster collaborative problem-solving. The "Brain and Mind Institute: Student Mental Health Hackathon," held at Aga Khan University in October 2021, was conceived as an innovative platform to engage participants from diverse backgrounds in brainstorming solutions for student mental health challenges. This Hackathon, rather than focusing solely on the mental health issue itself, aimed to leverage interdisciplinary collaboration to generate practical, scalable solutions for student well-being. Methods: A descriptive analysis was conducted to assess the outcomes of the Hackathon, focusing on its effectiveness as a collaborative platform. The study involved 74 participants, predominantly students, who were randomly assigned to teams based on shared problem-solving approaches. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze data collected on participants’ experiences, specifically assessing how well the Hackathon fostered teamwork and the development of viable solutions to the challenges presented. Results: Among the 74 participants, 62% were female, with 65% aged between 21 and 30 years. Over 70% of participants were students, with 59% from healthcare backgrounds. The Hackathon received overwhelmingly positive feedback, with a mean score of 4.41 out of 5 on a Likert scale. Participants reported that the event effectively fostered empathy towards mental health issues and helped generate actionable ideas for addressing student mental health. Time constraints were identified as a significant challenge, limiting the depth of some proposed solutions. Conclusion: The Hackathon organized by the Brain and Mind Institute demonstrated the power of interdisciplinary collaboration in addressing complex student mental health challenges. Despite time constraints, it proved to be an effective platform for generating practical solutions and fostering empathy. These findings highlight the potential of Hackathons as a model for future initiatives focused on student well-being, with further research needed to explore the long-term impact and scalability of such solutions.