AUS hosts UAE’s first interdisciplinary medical hackathon to bridge healthcare needs and engineering innovation

American University of Sharjah (AUS) hosted MedEngineers 2026, a healthcare innovation hackathon held on May 23, 2026. The event brought together students from eight universities, 22 student professional clubs and more than 500 participants from medicine, engineering, design and related disciplines to develop practical solutions for real-world healthcare challenges. 

MedEngineers 2026 is an interdisciplinary medical hackathon, connecting healthcare idea generation with engineering execution. Co-organized by the Department of Industrial Engineering at AUS, MedHack Global and IEEE UAE Section, the event gave students a full-day platform to collaborate across disciplines, work with mentors, develop early-stage solutions and present their ideas to judges, peers and members of the wider innovation community.

Dr. Abdulrahim Shamayleh, Head of the Department of Industrial Engineering at AUS, noted that the event reflected the importance of preparing students to work across disciplines and respond to real-world challenges.

“Healthcare innovation depends on the ability to understand complex problems from more than one perspective. Engineers bring systems thinking, design logic and technical problem-solving, while healthcare students bring insight into clinical realities and patient needs. MedEngineers 2026 created the right environment for these disciplines to meet, test ideas and build solutions with purpose. Hosting this event at AUS reflects our commitment to applied learning and to preparing students who can contribute to sectors that are central to the UAE’s future,” he said.

The hackathon brought interdisciplinary student teams together to address challenges across three focus areas: medical tools and devices, clinical systems and operations, and digital health and artificial intelligence. Students worked through a structured innovation process that guided them from defining a clinical problem to designing a solution, developing a prototype or solution concept, validating feasibility and preparing a pitch for judging.

“MedEngineers 2026 confirmed what we have always believed, that the next breakthrough in healthcare will not come from a single discipline, but from the moment a clinical mind meets an engineering one. For too long, transformative ideas have been quietly fading within our institutions, not for lack of talent, but for lack of direction and collaboration. What we witnessed here was proof that when you create the right environment, students rise to meet the future,”  said Qazi Irawat Sehra, Founder and CEO of MedHack Global. “MedHack exists to build that bridge, and events like MedEngineers 2026 remind us why we started. We are grateful to every partner who believed in this vision alongside us, and we are only getting started.”

Dr. Hussam Al Hammadi, Vice Chair of IEEE UAE Section, said:“ MedEngineers provided a unique platform where medicine and engineering students came together under one roof to exchange ideas, perspectives, and expertise. It was truly inspiring to witness how participants from different disciplines collaborated to tackle real-world challenges in healthcare sector by transforming creative ideas into innovative and impactful solutions. Such interdisciplinary collaboration is essential for preparing the next generation of leaders to address complex societal needs. We look forward to seeing more initiatives that foster this spirit of collaboration in the future.”

A major feature of MedEngineers 2026 was the MedEngineers Festival, which opened the experience to the wider student community. More than 22 student club booths representing healthcare, engineering and MedTech hosted interactive demonstrations, health screenings, awareness activities and student-led engagement stations. 

The event also featured hands-on workshops, where students engaged with applied skills connected to healthcare innovation and keynote sessions, where experts addressed forward-looking themes including artificial intelligence in medicine, building health startups in the UAE, global health challenges and the role of engineering, and the journey from early-stage ideas to incubation.

The afternoon program also brought participants, student clubs, judges, mentors and guests together for the panel discussion “The Future of Health Innovation in the UAE.” The discussion explored how technology, entrepreneurship, clinical understanding and engineering can work together to address emerging healthcare needs and support the UAE’s growing innovation ecosystem.

The hackathon concluded with a live pitch session featuring 15 finalist teams, each presenting its solution through a three-minute pitch followed by a two-minute question-and-answer segment. Teams were assessed on technical validation, clinical relevance, commercial viability, pitch quality, audience voting and depth of knowledge.

The recognized teams included Seha, Neural Nexus, Sanad, Pain Lens, Orthovu, FibroAssist, Alina, Navier Flow, InnovAid, Invenier, ATM, Bio Bridge, Chi Bee Tea et al, Synapse and Code Blue, with AUS students contributing to several of the interdisciplinary teams recognized during the event.  

“As an industrial engineering student at AUS and part of the Medhack team, seeing this vision come to life was incredibly rewarding. We didn't just want to host a competition; we wanted to build an ecosystem where engineering and clinical insights could speak the same language. Watching students from entirely different backgrounds break down barriers, prototype under pressure, and build viable healthcare solutions in a single day showed exactly what the next generation of UAE innovators is capable of when given the right platform,” said Jurie Alsaid, MedEngineers 2026 Event Lead and Marketing Director.

Audience participation was built into the event through live voting, which contributed to the judging process. Startup interest cards also allowed attendees to express interest in joining finalist teams as co-founders, collaborators or early supporters, helping create new connections around promising student-led ideas.

Although the competition is now over, the opportunities for growth and innovation will continue. In addition to the winning teams, 15 teams were selected for a structured six-month incubation pipeline, giving promising student-led concepts the opportunity to continue developing through mentorship, refinement and further support.

“We are deeply grateful to AUS and Dr. Abdulrahim Shamayleh for their support, leadership and commitment to empowering the next generation of innovators. MedEngineers 2026 would not have been possible without this belief in students’ potential to shape the future,” said Layal Ibrahim Alkhatib, Chief Operations Officer of MedHack Global.

The AUS College of Engineering prepares students to excel in a rapidly changing world by combining strong academic foundations with hands-on learning, interdisciplinary collaboration and exposure to real-world challenges. Through its programs, research opportunities and engagement with emerging fields, the college equips students with the technical knowledge, problem-solving skills and professional mindset needed to contribute to priority sectors in the UAE and beyond. Its approach reflects AUS’ commitment to graduating engineers who are innovative, adaptable and ready to lead in industries shaped by technology, sustainability and human-centered solutions. Click here to learn more about the college and its offerings.