UF’s Hillel will host the first-ever BuildUp.
During the 24-hour event, students can make products that help people with cognitive and developmental disabilities, said Rabbi Adam Grossman, a co-founder of the event.
From today until Sunday, teams of three to six students will develop their own creations, such as an app that simulates a support group for people with mental health challenges, Grossman said.
He said Camp Living Wonders, an overnight Jewish camp that helps children with disabilities, helped create the idea.
Tonight, Hillel is hosting a meet and greet with food trucks from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Teams will then start planning and building before judging starts Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and ends Sunday at 6:30 p.m.
Students can come and go from the venue as they please, Grossman said, and it runs the whole weekend to give participants plenty of time.
Anyone can join, including entrepreneurs, engineers, marketers, physical therapists or simply people who want to make an impact, he said.
The UF Health Shands Department of Occupational Therapy helped Grossman categorize several existing problems: mobility, sensory, fine motor, communication and mental health.
The teams will use the sectors to categorize the products, he said.
Rachel Gott, a 20-year-old UF elementary education sophomore, said she has a deep respect for the event’s participants.
“I hope that when I am a teacher, children with special needs will have enough programs and tools that make it easier to learn and adapt in everyday life,” she said.
The winning team’s product will be passed to a production company, which can then decide whether it will distribute the product on a mass scale.
However, the event is not just about making a product, Grossman said.
“It’s about creating a consciousness of the challenges that exist for a large population that is many times forgotten about.”
Students can sign up at any time at buildups.org
