2026 Student Designathon: What is Public Health and Why Does it Matter?

We are taking the Hackathon virtual for 2026! We are excited to announce that we will be running an online Designathon to explore the theme “What is Public Health and Why Does it Matter?”. Students will be guided by experts and hackathon alumni.

The 2026 Student Designathon brings together current and future leaders from across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific to explore one of the sector’s most important challenges: strengthening public understanding of public health and its value. At a time of increasing complexity, misinformation and growing health threats, the Designathon will examine how the next generation can help shape the identity and visibility of public health through fresh ideas, bold messaging and community-centred thinking.

Student teams are supported by mentors (representatives from the health promotion, community engagement, and health communication sectors), and design thinking experts to utilise both topic-specific knowledge and design thinking processes.

For more information about this event, please access the 2026 Student Designathon Program

Important information about inclusions, eligibility and ticket prices:

Registration - Eligibility

• Registration is open to current Public Health students (including those studying Health Sciences, Health Promotion, Epidemiology, Allied Health, Medicine, Nursing etc.) from CAPHIA's member institutions - visit: https://caphia.com.au/our-members/

• Spaces are limited!

• Enter your student email address at check-out to help us validate your ticket. Due to limited capacity, CAPHIA reserves the right to cancel tickets purchased by students who are not eligible to attend. 

Attendance

• Online attendance is required from 10am - 4pm on 22 July 2026. Partial attendance is not permitted as work is conducted in teams.

Equity

• Ticket prices are heavily subsidised and include access to expert mentors and amazing networking opportunities.

• If you would like to attend this event but cannot afford to purchase a ticket, please contact roy.byrnes@caphia.com.au