Two student teams in Singapore have created apps that promise to address mental health issues in the country, by helping to identify signs of anxiety early and providing caregivers a digital companion to ease stress.
The two innovations won top prizes earlier this week at the grand finals of Dell InnovateFest, a yearly hackathon held in Singapore for students of tertiery education institutes.
The Interstellar app by Singapore Management University students won in the university category. It uses bots to identify youths on platforms like Discord/Reddit who may be showing signs of anxiety or depression, and connecting them to Singapore Association for Mental Health (SAMH) resources, according to The Straits Times.
Another winner in the polytechnic category is Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s MindEase, which provides caregivers of people with intellectual disabilities with a digital companion that is designed to ease stress.
The focus of this year’s competition was to develop technology solutions that address mental health issues for teenagers and caregivers of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities (PWIDs).
This is timely as mental health is now a key health concern in Singapore and across 31 countries, according to the Ipsos Global Health Service Monitor 2023 report.
In other findings, the recent National Youth Mental Health Study in Singapore found that one in three Singaporean youths (aged 15 to 35) had severe or extremely severe symptoms of depression or anxiety, and 25.3 per cent of young adults (aged 18 to 29) experienced poor mental health in 2024.
This year’s competition was organised in partnership between Dell and Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore (Minds) and Singapore Association for Mental Health (SAMH).
The teams were challenged to design practical applications using technologies such as AI, generative AI, and cloud-native platforms, alongside solutions from technology vendors such as Microsoft, Nvidia, and NCS, supported on Dell infrastructure.
The teams also received guidance from experts at the Dell Technologies Asia Pacific and Japan AI Innovation Hub, gaining skills in areas like AI engineering, platform engineering, machine learning operations, containerisation, and cloud-native architecture.
The recently-launched hub is focused on AI transformation, enablement and leadership, and is aligned with Singapore’s National AI Strategy 2.0. The hub partners with the local polytechnics and autonomous universities, with plans to integrate AI skills into existing curricula and train 10,000 students and mid-career professionals by 2025.
Dell InnovateFest 2025 saw 55 finalists from 10 Singapore polytechnics and autonomous universities. The competition held the grand finals on September 29 at the National Gallery Singapore, and the winning polytechnic and university teams were awarded S$10,000 each.
