Samsung S Health, in partnership with the Sorenson Center for Discovery & Innovation at The University of Utah David Eccles School of Business, will sponsor the first-ever Grand Prize in the 2017 Games4Health Challenge, the largest game-design competition of its kind. In the Games4Health Challenge, contestants exercise their creativity by designing a game or app that promotes improvements in people’s health and well-being. Drawing participation and support from around the globe, the Games4Health Challenge brings together students, health experts, donors, investors and researchers who are committed to making positive change.

Samsung S Health will choose the Grand Prize winner out of six sponsored challenges featured in this year’s annual competition, which includes a virtual reality challenge. Games4Health also gives participants an opportunity to experience innovation and entrepreneurship while making a difference in people’s lives.

By embracing the use of various digital technologies, doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals can deliver novel and high value-added experiences to patients in both clinical and non- clinical environments. Existing and emerging digital technologies can help healthcare professional achieve the triple-aim of healthcare: high quality and affordable services with ubiquitous access. Samsung will award $10,000 to the chosen team that has designed a game that could be incorporated into the S Health platform and gain exposure to hundreds of millions of their customers.

Chris Wasden, executive director of the Sorenson Center, said “students have a passion for creativity, gaming, and finding ways to apply new technology to problems such as the desire to achieve better health. We expect to have nearly 500 students from around the world compete this year. Also, we will be giving out four Level Up Awards to previous competitors who have published their game or app in an app store since our last Games4Health Challenge.”

Games4Health Challenge

The Games4Health Challenge attracts participants from worldwide university campuses. Last year, more than 300 contestants from 71 different universities in 12 countries vied for first-, second- and third-place prizes.

“We hope to more than double the level of participation this year and, thanks to our sponsors, will award $60,000 in prize money. This year Samsung S-Health will also award a $10,000 Grand Prize to the best overall digital health entry,” Wasden said.

“The University of Utah has the number-one ranked video game development graduate school in the country and the number-15 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 Arcade showcase and gala awards dinner will be held on March 30 at the University of Utah’s Ray Olpin Student Union ballroom. For more information, visit: http://g4hutah.com/  

About Samsung S Health
Samsung’s S Health is a preloaded application on Samsung smartphones sold worldwide.  S Health provides core features to support personal fitness and health, and the app’s straightforward evaluation tools will help you reach diet and exercise goals.  Also, motivation and competition are encouraged by social features that allow you to connect with other users. S Health records, tracks and analyzes daily habits and activities and follows various physical exercises and activity progress in a single step using built-in trackers. S Health helps to create balanced lifestyle patterns by recording nutritional, sleep and stress information. Built-in smart sensors and third-party devices let you manage health and environmental records such as heart rate, blood pressure, blood oxygen, and blood glucose levels. Consumers can manage fitness activities, track weight and monitor diet using Samsung Galaxy and Gear devices.

About The Games4Health Challenge
The Games4Health Challenge is an annual collaboration of the Sorenson Center for Discovery & Innovation at the David Eccles School of Business, 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 for students from across the University of Utah to help them develop their creative genius. The Center’s d3i Labs Consulting Experience Program provides student associates with opportunities to help client organizations 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 such as the Games4Health Challenge to help promote creativity and innovation.

About Entertainment Arts and 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. http://healthsciences.utah.edu/center-for-medical-innovation/index.php