Teen proves the power of coding

Aaron Takizad has created an education technology start-up and built a web application to help women in Nepal — and he hasn’t even finished school yet.

Aaron Takizad hopes to share the power of coding with others. Pictures: Carmela Roche

Aaron Takizad has created an education technology start-up and built a web application to help women in Nepal — and he hasn’t even finished school yet.

The web application, called TeleNex, has already attracted the attention of a United Nations group and won a prize for social impact.

Aaron, of Bella Vista, and his team of four university students were fast-tracked into the semi-finals of the Singapore Committee for UN Women’s Project Inspire after being scouted at a hackathon, an international computer programming event.

“We got noticed by a scout who was there from the United Nations and they really liked our project idea,” Aaron said.

Project Inspire, a joint initiative from the Singapore Committee for UN Women and MasterCard, gives 18-35 year olds five minutes to pitch an idea that aims to create a better world for women and girls in the Asia Pacific region.

Prizes include the $US25,000 grand prize and a $US10,000 Financial Inclusion Award.

The project, which has run since 2011, has a different theme each year, with 2016 being ‘Empowering Women Through Safety and Security’.

Aaron has been working on his entry, a web application for mental health diagnosis and treatment, since January.

Aaron Takizad at his home in Bella Vista.

Relying on computer vision to detect the patient’s mood based on facial expressions and graph levels of emotion, the web application would allow physicians to more accurately diagnose and treat their patients.

“With increased research into mental health, we’re uncovering an increasing number of illnesses,” Aaron said.

“Since many of these … have overlapping symptoms, it can be hard to discern between them.

“Through the analysis of emotions displayed on a wider and more objective spectrum than what is currently used in treatment... we allow for more accurate diagnosis by the physician.

“Additionally, it can be used in long-term treatment by psychologists, counsellors etc. by gauging patient improvement through tracking the emotional analysis on a long-term graph to determine the effectiveness of their mental health care/treatment plan.”

Aaron’s team has planned to deliver the application to Nepal, where he said the stigma and poor treatment options for mental health conditions made it “absolutely vital to start introducing a western modern of looking at it”.

“If you have a physical illness you go to the doctor and why should mental illness be any different,” he said.

As well as completing his HSC at Cherrybrook Technology High School this year, Aaron has been interning at the Coder Factory in Surry Hills and working on an education start up called Code With Me.

He runs web development workshops for university students with the aim of equipping them with the skills needed to enter the workforce.

Aaron ran his first workshop through the University of NSW in May with over 80 participants.

“It ensures students can apply the computer principles they’re learning to what is actually in demand in the job market,” he said.

Aaron, who hopes to study IT and law at university next year, said coding allowed anyone with an idea to “actualise what they’re capable of”.

“Coding is very powerful … and that’s why I’m so passionate about teaching coding,” he said.

Aaron will now have to wait until the end of September to find out if he has been selected as one of 10 finalists for Project Inspire.

If successful, his team will be flown to Singapore to attend the grand final in November.