It was a bit of an experiment but it turned our great.
WADSIH Hackathons are usually kicked off by lining up partners from the industry we’re targeting and inviting programmers/coders/innovators to investigate the common problems in the field as they see them. It’s a very effective method for issues most of us are aware of like the efficient deployment of limited law enforcement assets or reducing waiting time in hospital emergency rooms.
But this time, for the 2025 DFES Hackathon, we flipped the script, capitalising on the years of experience inside the fire and emergency management fields by asking the Department of Fire and Emergency Services to describe the pain points that are less well known.
We called it the Reverse Pitch, and it was the first step in the Hackathon where DFES business unit leaders gathered at Curtin University’s Haydn Williams Theatre on the evening of June 5th to tell us where they can most see data science and AI making a difference.
People hoping to participate as well as plenty of interested parties and casual observers heard a series of presentations, all of them delivered in a predetermined time limit just like the pitches teams will deliver at the finale event when they vie for the big prize.
DFES managers described bottlenecks in staff rostering, working with farmers who have their own fire control methodologies, the challenges around checking crews into and out of emergency hot spots when time and resources are thin, a reporting system in need of an update and much more.
WADSIH Innovation Lead Tim Sondalini convened and emceed the event, his trademark energy and engaging presentation style keeping proceedings as fun and exciting as they were informative, and our friends at DFES are looking forward to the ideas as they come in during the Expressions of Interest period (open until COB July 18) as much as we are.
