CDU Sydney students display tech designs at innovation expo

Students from Charles Darwin University’s (CDU) Faculty of Science were part of Sydney’s biggest Technology and Innovation Festival this week. 

South by Southwest Sydney (SXSW Sydney) is known for emerging talent and next-generation solutions, two teams of CDU students from the Sydney campus will feature their innovative solutions to real-world problems.

The two projects were supervised and prepared for submission by CDU Senior lecturer and coordinator of the IT Discipline Dr Jamal El-Den. 

One of the teams, comprised of four students from the Master of Information Technology (IT) in Information Systems, developed an AI toolkit for small Australian farms that aims to increase productivity and sustainability.

CDU Sydney Master of IT student Apu Sardar said the team was inspired by his master’s thesis Communicating Uncertainty in Representing Weather Predictions and Risk and were honoured to have received the opportunity. 

“The idea for this project originated from my master’s thesis. We worked with farmers from Bangladesh and Nepal who often face challenges in accessing accurate weather forecasts due to limited smartphone functionality and network issues. These farmers rely on traditional methods to predict the weather,” Apu said. 

“Using this idea, our team was inspired to develop a more accessible and locally relevant mobile interface that helps communicate weather information and uncertainty more effectively. 

“I feel both honoured and thrilled to be able to share our innovation on such a big stage. It’s exciting to see an academic idea evolve into something with real-world potential impact.” 

The second project was developed by a team of five Master of IT students who created a medical app Medi-Log, a digital logbook platform that will facilitate easier clinical documentation, enhance patient and procedure management, supports data-driven decision-making, and ensures compliance with the Australian healthcare sector.

CDU Master of IT student Mari Salonga said Medi-Log started when one of our groupmates, who works at a healthcare centre, was approached by a surgeon struggling to manage patient records across different clinics. 

Due to each clinic’s strict security systems, the surgeon couldn’t access their patients’ files from one clinic to another making it difficult to maintain continuity of care.

“Around that time, we had just begun our PRT631 Information System Practice with lecturer Dr Jamal.  Initially, we planned to continue our thesis project, but after hearing about the surgeon’s challenge, we decided to take on something more meaningful and practical. That’s when Medi-Log was born, Mari said.

“In just under three months, our team has developed a digital logbook for healthcare professionals designed to securely access and manage patient data anytime, anywhere. 

“We are really looking forward to presenting Medi-Log at SXSW Sydney and sharing how a simple idea from our university project evolved into a functional solution that supports medical professionals in their daily work.”

Dr El-Den said participating in the SXSW event is a demonstration of the CDU IT students’ abilities to be creative, collaborate and a testament to their technical expertise.

“This is an exciting opportunity for our students to not only share their projects and knowledge but also to connect with industry leaders’ fellow innovators, while hopefully shaping their future in the sector,” Dr El-Den said.