A huge congratulations to five Wise Group kaimahi who won the Waikato leg of the Aotearoa AI Hackathon Festival (6-7 August 2026).
Hackathon Winners: Ian Swainson, Emily Scerri-Davis, Piri Cash, Michael Tayler and Emma Campbell
Piri Cash, Emily Scerri-Davis, Michael Tayler, Emma Campbell and Ian Swainson impressed judges with an AI-powered prototype designed to help Workwise employment consultants spend less time on admin and more time supporting tāngata whai ora.
Workwise, part of the Wise Group whānau, is one of New Zealand’s largest providers of Individual Placement and Support (IPS) – an evidence-based approach that helps people with mental health and addiction challenges into meaningful, sustainable work.
Employment consultants build relationships with local employers on behalf of the people they support, which means a lot of their time is spent finding the right businesses to approach, having that first conversation, and following up – on top of managing a full caseload.
Late last week, the Wise Group hackathon team gathered at Waikato University alongside five other teams from across the region, with two days to build a real solution to a real problem. They worked closely with Workwise throughout, from helping shape the problem to testing ideas as they built.
On the afternoon of day two, the Wise Group team pitched their prototype to the judging panel, before being announced as regional winners.
Team member Michael Tayler says the event was “exciting, frenzied and focused – and genuinely fun.”
“We had a well-defined problem and had done some pre-work, but no real process road map – we knew we had a day and a half to design an app, build a prototype, and sell it to a judging panel.”
When the team found out they’d won, the reaction wasn’t quite what you’d expect.
“We had to pinch ourselves,” Michael says. “Some of the teams we were up against had postgraduate qualifications in AI. We were obviously proud and excited, but mostly it was relief – we’d been running on adrenaline for a day and a half, so it was a moment to take a breath and congratulate each other on the journey.”
The team will now compete for a spot in the national finals at the Aotearoa AI Summit in Wellington this September. If successful, they’ll pitch their prototype against finalists from other regions in front of a national audience.
A massive congratulations to the team! We’re proud of your mahi, and of the approach you took to develop a solution aimed at making a real difference for the people we support.
All data and personas used in the prototype are synthetic; no real client information was used in its development.
Published on: 10 August 2026