‘Next year definitely again’

Mark, Software Engineer at GGZ&Ziekenhuizen, participated in the project 'GestureVox' in Nijmegen.

“GestureVox is an app that converts sign language into text and speech. The question arose when a healthcare provider requested support to understand people who cannot speak or write and only use sign language. The healthcare provider could not use sign language, but still wanted to help these people when they asked for something. An app on a smartphone is suitable for this; almost everyone has a smartphone nowadays and you do not require additional equipment. This means it is always available and not expensive. With a team of 6 remarkable people from different backgrounds, we devised and worked out the idea in one weekend. GestureVox is able to recognize the alphabet in sign language and link it back to the healthcare provider. I will definitely be there again next year”.


 ‘A fun and interesting weekend’

Willem, the Software Engineer of VIPLive, participated in a project in Nijmegen where the focus was on the digital prescription of self-measurement equipment and apps.

“Through input from different attendees from different backgrounds you learn a lot about subjects you do not deal with on a daily basis. Halfway through the weekend it turned out that there was already an existing solution, so we had to go back to the drawing board, but our energy levels stayed high. In the end, we only had time to brainstorm the idea and did not actually have time to produce the product. However, still a fun and interesting weekend! "


‘The atmosphere is exhilarating!’

Previous weekend, Martin - the Designer/Front-end developer at VIPLive, worked in Nijmegen on an app for caregivers who take care of patients with mental problems.

“The idea behind this is to give the informal caregivers a place to have their voices heard and provide insight to the healthcare professional. This would make healthcare more efficient and of higher quality because it is tailor-made. The patient ultimately receives better care.

It was super fun to deal with a problem involving a group of 5 people including a data scientist, GP in training, project initiator, developer and designer. This mix of professionals made it easy to brainstorm and everyone could bring their own knowledge to the table to deliver an extraordinary product. In addition, the atmosphere was just great! Everyone was fanatically working on projects and occasionally there was a short group activity. In the evening, we partied to blow off some steam”.


‘A varied and interesting weekend!’

Jan Willem, the Product Manager of VIPLive, participated in a blockchain project in Utrecht.

“It was really exceptional to see what happens when healthcare professionals, entrepreneurs, patients and technicians (fully cared for) work together. I dived into working on the blockchain, whilst others were busy with search engines, text recognition and brainwaves. Another team simply came to the conclusion that there were plenty initiatives but they were badly implemented. It was a varied and interesting weekend!


From our viewpoint at Topicus, we had three fantastic days as a partner, but also as participants of a successful event. The organization, all volunteers, partners and the more than 400 participants – we are very grateful. Thank you! Hopefully we will see you again next year!!