Regence is one of five Games4Health Challenge sponsors offering prizes to students who develop digital games and apps that target health issues
Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah, in partnership with the Sorenson Center for Discovery & Innovation at The University of Utah David Eccles School of Business has launched an initiative to facilitate the development of digital games and applications that address the needs of overcoming chronic diseases. Regence and the Sorenson Innovation Center will foster a cooperative ecosystem bringing together game developers, health experts, investors, donors, researchers and students.
Regence’s Chronic Disease Challenge is one of five sponsored challenges featured in the competition. Regence will provide $10,000 in prizes for the development of concepts for digital games that seek to improve and encourage better management of chronic disease. Students will submit new games and app designs in two videos: a 90-second teaser video will provide the emotional connection to the new game and/or app, while a 3-minute commercialization video will show how the game mechanics and navigation work, how it will make money and how it will be tested to demonstrate its health care benefits.
“Helping our members avoid the onset of chronic disease and meaningfully assisting those already dealing with these conditions are priorities for us,” said Jennifer Danielson, president of Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah. “Appealing, highly interactive health management technology that makes it easier for people to take care of themselves can do so much to improve quality of life. That’s why we’re so excited to be able to support this competition and unleash these students’ creativity.”
Chris Wasden, executive director of the Sorenson Center for Discovery & Innovation, said that “students in this challenge will be adding the gaming mechanics and principles to the experience of managing chronic disease to help people achieve better health outcomes at substantially lower costs.”
Registration for the Regence Chronic Disease Management Challenge is now open, and will close on March 1, 2016. To register, visit G4H.Eccles.Utah.edu.
Games4Health Challenge
Last year, 150 students from 10 universities and four countries participated in the Games4Health Challenge to win $50,000 in prize money.
“We hope to double the level of participation in 2016 and will be increasing the prize money to $60,000, making this the largest Games4Health Challenge in the world,” Wasden said.
“The University of Utah has the number-one ranked video development graduate school in the country and the number-17 graduate entrepreneurial program at the Eccles School, as well as a top 10 medical school,” Wasden said. “The trifecta makes this the ideal place to sponsor this event.”
The Games4Health Challenge will be held on March 31, 2016 at the David Eccles School of Business. Learn more here.
About Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah
Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah, based in Salt Lake City, is the state’s first health insurer and now provides nearly 465,000 members with comprehensive health insurance solutions. As a nonprofit independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, Regence is part of a family of companies dedicated to transforming health care by delivering innovative products and services that change the way consumers in Utah and nationwide experience health care. For more information, please visit regence.com.
About The Games4Health Challenge
The Games4Health Challenge is an annual collaboration of the Sorenson Center for Discovery & Innovation at the David Eccles School, the Entertainment Arts and Engineering Program (an interdisciplinary program between the College of Engineering and the College of Fine Arts), and the Center for Medical Innovation at the University of Utah Medical School.
About Sorenson Center for Discovery & Innovation
The Sorenson Center for Discovery & Innovation provides experiential learning experience for students from across the University of Utah to help them develop their creative genius. The Center’s Management Consulting Experience Program provides the student associates with opportunities to help client organization innovate their technologies and business models. The Center also helps mentor and coach students with their own inventions, innovations and ventures and provides educational programs and courses in innovation and technology strategy. The Center also runs challenges like the Games4Health Challenge to help promote creativity and innovation.
About Entertainment Arts & Engineering
Entertainment Arts & Engineering is the overarching term we use to describe the interdisciplinary work between The University of Utah College of Engineering and the College of Fine Arts. This work encompasses the wide array of fields in video game design and development, and students from both colleges work closely together throughout their academic careers. This partnership between disciplines reflects the current state of the interactive entertainment business world, and our students leave the program prepared to work effectively in a team environment. The Entertainment Arts & Engineering program is offered at both the undergraduate and graduate level.
About Center for Medical Innovation
Fueled by a collaborative effort between The University of Utah Health Sciences Center, the David Eccles School of Business, the College of Engineering and the Technology Venture Development Program, the Center for Medical Innovation combines formal education programs, faculty and student project development, and support and facilitation of device development and commercialization. The Center creates a one-stop-shop environment that assists both the novice and experienced innovator through ideation, concept generation, intellectual property, market analysis, prototyping and testing, business plan development, and commercialization. Learn more here.