A team of students from Bundaberg Christian College this year took out the Mayor’s Telstra Innovation Award (MTIA) with their idea for a wellbeing app called Spill.
After recognising a gap in the market for teenagers struggling with mental health students Erin, Kelaney and Bella developed the concept as part of the annual innovation competition.
The app provides the opportunity for people to talk freely about, or “spill”, their feelings and frustrations in the form of posts for other users to see.
These posts can vary from daily recounts to asking for advice, or even connecting with others so people can see what problems they might be facing.
Verified therapists will be on the app to provide further assistance to those in need.
Telstra’s Regional Engagement Manager Matt Thornton said the development of the teams throughout the duration of the awards was great to see, with the experience providing students with a new skill set.
“I was most impressed with all of the ideas, a standout for me was the transformation of every team from each phase of the judging especially as a result of the mentoring sessions,” Matt said.
“The winning team continued to evolve across each phase of the process, maximising their mentoring and taking on feedback to develop a product that reflected their effort, learning and journey.
“The skills and real-life experience that can be gained from entering in the awards is just the tip of the iceberg, meeting new stakeholders and learning from people outside of your normal environment is a fantastic way to broaden your horizons.”
Bundaberg Regional Council is proud to partner with Telstra, CQUniversity, TAFE Queensland, Community Lifestyle Support (CLS) MAKI SPACE, Queensland University of Technology, Queensland Computers, Regional Business HQ, and The Generator to deliver the 2022 Mayor’s Telstra Innovation Awards exclusively to high schools within the Bundaberg Regional Council Local Government Area.
Students reflect on winning idea
Students spill on idea for app
Erin, Kelaney and Bella said they came up with the idea as mental health issues were becoming more common among their peers and they noticed a gap in the market to help support those in need.
“Now more than ever there are more teenagers that are suffering from mental health issues such as anxiety and depression,” they said.
“After hearing that this problem is so relevant to today's society, we decided to base our project on it and we realised there aren't many mental health apps out there that are aimed at teenagers specifically.
“Spill is an app that is designed to help the user’s mental wellbeing by providing a safe outlet where they can freely ‘spill’ their feelings and frustrations in the form of posts for other users to see.
“Our world is becoming more and more reliant on technology every day, so it is very important that people our age start thinking about new and innovative business ideas that solve the ever-changing problems in our ever-changing world.”
The students said the part they loved most about being involved in the program was learning a range of new skills and understanding how a start-up business works.
“The thing we have loved the most about being part of the MTIA is being given the opportunity to learn the basic qualities of an entrepreneur and the essentials that a start-up business requires to be successful,” they said.
“We have also loved getting to know our different mentors that specialise in different areas through our mentoring sessions.”
Erin and Kelaney encouraged other students to take part in the MTIA in the future to provide them with knowledge about potentially running a successful business.
“It is important that other students are given the opportunity to learn about entrepreneurship and how to create a successful business idea so that we can prepare them for the future,” they said.
“We have loved getting to be a part of the MTIA and also getting to know the other teams and their amazing ideas as well.
“We would love to say a big thanks to the Bundaberg Regional Council members that organised the whole program.”
You can find out more about the Mayor’s Telstra Innovation Awards here.
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