Canterbury student helping insurance company with health app

Canterbury student helping national insurance company produce health app

March 11, 2015

A University of Canterbury business student has won a $5000 scholarship from a national life and health insurance company for designing an app to make people become responsible for their personal health.

Katherine Pearse’s health app Life Take Charge was one of five winning entries chosen from about 700 tertiary students who entered the Sovereign challenge to celebrate the company’s 25 years of insurance business. Pearse is working closely with the Sovereign team to bring her app to life.

“People today are finding it more difficult to gain a balance in life and the sense of wellbeing that results. I used this information as the basis for developing my concept. I came up with an app idea based on the recognised Maori philosophy of Te Hauora,” she says.

“The app is broken down into four aspects: physical, mental and emotional, social/community and self-awareness. There is nothing quite like my app current on the market. The Life Take Charge app enables people to set their own goals.

“It helps them essentially take charge of their life and empowers them to make small or large changes through the setting of goals in all areas of their life. The concept is particularly novel because of full integration with push notifications, calendar and reminder applications, providing the user with a strong basis on which a sense of wellbeing can be achieved.”

Pearse is a doing law and commerce degrees, majoring in international business she says she loves the mix of studying law and marketing together.

“I appreciate the international edge that studying international business and French gives me. After graduating I hope to work in a commercial law firm. I love studying at the University of Canterbury. There are so many opportunities living in Christchurch and the campus here is fantastic, especially with the chance to be involved with so many clubs and societies.

“Being on the executive of student-driven entré business competition here has opened my eyes to so many opportunities in the business sector and truly fosters entrepreneurship and innovation through numerous events and competitions.”

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