UIU to host Harvard HSIL hackathon in Dhaka
United International University (UIU) is set to host the seventh Harvard Health Systems Innovation Lab (HSIL) Hackathon at its Institute of Research, Innovation, Incubation and Commercialisation (IRIIC) on 10–11 April 2026. For the second consecutive year, UIU will serve as the exclusive Dhaka hub for the global event.
Themed 'Building High-Value Health Systems: Leveraging AI', this year's hackathon underscores the accelerating impact of artificial intelligence on healthcare quality, efficiency and accessibility.
Strategic partners for the initiative include Prime Bank and United Healthcare Services Limited. The Embassy of Sweden, Aparajeyo Tarunno and RHSTEP join as SRHR partners, with CMED Health serving as AI health partner. Ispahani Mirzapore Tea is the hot beverage partner, while The Business Standard and Banik Barta are media partners.
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More than 650 applications were submitted to the Dhaka hub from across Bangladesh. After a rigorous selection process, 22 teams—comprising 98 participants—and four individual innovators were shortlisted for the two-day competition.
The hackathon finales will be conducted concurrently in 30 countries under Harvard HSIL oversight, with the participation of mentors, jury members and special guests. The Bangladesh hub's finale will feature the Managing Director of Startup Bangladesh as part of the jury, alongside corporate leaders including United Aygaz CEO Harun Ortac, and academic figures such as Professor Laura J Reichenbach, Dean of the James P Grant School of Public Health, among others.
The participants represent over 20 universities, medical colleges and research institutions, including Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, University of Dhaka, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, United International University, BRAC University, American International University-Bangladesh, Chittagong Medical College, Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College, and the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b).
During the hackathon, interdisciplinary teams comprising students, clinicians, engineers, designers and entrepreneurs will develop and prototype solutions to challenges in critical care management, infectious disease detection, maternal and child health, diagnostics and healthcare accessibility.
Winners from the Dhaka hub will be awarded cash prizes and the opportunity to compete for a place in the HSIL Venture Incubation Programme, which provides mentorship and support to help transform promising ideas into viable ventures.
The programme aims to foster practical, technology-driven solutions to real-world health system challenges, while promoting collaboration among academia, healthcare and the innovation ecosystem through the partnership between Harvard University and UIU.
