The Warren Centre Professor Ron Johnston
Hackathon History
Explore the ideas, innovations and teams that have shaped our hackathons over the years. This archive celebrates past winners and recognises the creativity, collaboration and problem solving that continue to drive our community forward.
Browse by Year
Meet Our 2025 Winners
The 2025 Humanitarian Innovation Hackathon challenged participants to develop solutions that support food security, nutrition and sustainable agriculture. These winning teams stood out for their creativity, collaboration and potential to create meaningful impact.
First Place
Team 21A – Nie Bang
Farhan Agus Ferdiansyah, Hastria Pramudyati Kusuma, Devo Farel Andrew Siagian and Erlina Anggraeni
University of Sydney
Second Place
Team 37B – Sparkies
Julie Davies, Jessica Li, George Allman and Terina Dawoud
University of Sydney
Third Place
Team 38B – Thread
Queena Wang, Kalyani Jijith, Pratul Singh Raghava and Gia Chopra
University of Sydney
Special Commendation
Team 34C – The Innovationeers
Angus Henderson, Wesley Henderson and Franco Yemma
University of Sydney & University of Technology Sydney
Meet Our 2024 Winners
The 2024 Humanitarian Innovation Hackathon challenged participants to develop practical solutions for real world issues, from food security and water quality to transport and data accessibility. These winning teams impressed judges with their creativity, collaboration and impact.
First Place
Team 25C – Sydgong Solutions
Casey Lockrey, Harry Ledger, Nicholas Chiverini, Liam Harvey
University of Sydney, University of Wollongong and University of New South Wales
Second Place
Team 10B – Kesh
Hannah Poon, Kathy Kim, Sophia Lee, Ellie June
University of Sydney
Third Place
Team 20B – UC
Wiseson Kuang, Jessica Dixon, Kien Ngo, Vaughan Smart
University of Canterbury
Meet Our 2023 Winners
The 2023 Humanitarian Innovation Hackathon challenged participants to develop practical solutions for real world humanitarian issues. These winning teams stood out for their creativity, collaboration and ability to turn complex challenges into impactful ideas.
First Place
Team 1A Heatbloc
Adam Slimming, Alex Hofmann, Gemma Biezen, Sam Hillcoa
University of Adelaide and Monash University
Second Place
Team 9A Nucleus
Elvera Abdel-Messih, Ji Han Qin
University of Sydney and University of Technology Sydney
Third Place
Team 14C The IT Crowd
Angus Henderson, Franco Yemma, Wesley Henderson
University of Technology Sydney and University of Sydney
Special Commendation
Team 13B Pacific Green Machine
Arushanan Prapakaran, Connor Sinclair, Zhiyu Cheng, Ritvik Sharma
University of Sydney and University of New South Wales
Meet Our 2022 Winners
The 2022 Humanitarian Innovation Hackathon challenged participants to develop solutions addressing food security, access to information, education, clean water and community health following the Tonga volcanic eruption. These winning teams stood out for their innovation, collaboration and commitment to creating meaningful impact.
First Place
Team Ashaway
Henry Howard, Vicky-Rae Reed, Hogun Lim, Nadia Akbar
University of Queensland, Monash University, University of Sydney and Western Sydney University
Second Place
Team Alma Aqua
Alex Hofman, Alex Qin, Nyamjargal Namsraijav, Shute Zhang
University of Sydney, Monash University, Australian National University and University of Adelaide
Special Commendation
Team Alma Aqua
Alex Hofman, Alex Qin, Nyamjargal Namsraijav, Shute Zhang
University of Sydney, Monash University, Australian National University and University of Adelaide
About Ron Johnston
Professor Ron Johnston, the former Executive Director of the Australian Centre for Innovation (ACIIC), has worked for more than 30 years to pioneer a better understanding of the ways that science and technology contribute to economic and social development, the characteristics of the global knowledge economy, and the processes and culture of innovation.
His special skill is based on the breadth of his knowledge across technologies and his ability to integrate them into a socioeconomic and environmental context.
These annual awards are named in honor of him, to recognise his outstanding contributions as Director of ACIIC for some 20+ years.
