IIIT-Hyderabad students wins silver in London Design Awards 2023

The International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Hyderabad students have bagged the silver award in the first season of London Design Awards 2023.

The team comprising Shambhavi Ojha, Anuj Malviya, Aniket Chandekar, Venkatsai Nadakudati, Vinaya Gopi and Dhiraj Shanmukha Mitra has come up with ‘Blue Bird’, an application that aims to serve as a one-stop shop for all things palliative care, which bagged the award. Students submitted the application in the Service Design for Health category.

According to the team, with care often misconstrued for cure, the platform aims to offer



not only comprehensive resources and expert advice to help users gain a better understanding of their condition, but also provides a listing of available treatment options, and holistic approaches along with a compassionate community to help share experiences and provide emotional support.

The inspiration behind the solution lay in the abysmal access to palliative care services in India, the team said. “Only about 1 per cent of the Indian population has access to palliative care services as opposed to the global average of 14 per cent,” Shambhavi says, adding that awareness about it is also woefully inadequate.