The Future of Health Hackathon with HerCode
This past weekend, from May 8-10, students and industry leaders came together at ETH Zurich for The Future of Health Hackathon hosted by HerCode and sponsored by SOPHiA GENETICS, a high-energy weekend dedicated to solving real-world healthcare challenges. Through initiatives like this, HerCode continues its mission of empowering and connecting the next generation of women and underrepresented talent in tech and innovation.
From Friday evening panels at the beautiful Universitätsspital Balgrist to an intense weekend of building at ETH ZurichPBLabs, the atmosphere was filled with curiosity, creativity, and purpose.
Friday: Big Ideas & Bold Conversations
The event kicked off with inspiring panels featuring leaders from healthcare, venture capital, biotech, and AI. Discussions explored everything from scaling health tech startups to the future of platform-based healthcare and why companies invest in hackathons to drive innovation and inclusion.
We were proud to see our CTO, Abhi Verma, kick off the weekend with a keynote on solving healthcare challenges through a human-centered approach, highlighting the power of empathy in shaping the future of health.
Saturday: Build Mode Activated
By Saturday morning, teams from top universities including ETH Zurich, EPFL, Oxford and more tackled real-world challenges across genomics, protein design, and AI in healthcare, supported by mentors, sponsors, and industry experts throughout the day.
Our Tech team, Antonio Ridi, Jesus Garcia and Shubham Nayyar, brought the challenge to life by sharing a day in the life of pathologists, helping participants better understand the very human challenges behind the technology they were building.
The energy inside PBLabs was electric: whiteboards filled with ideas, rapid prototyping sessions, spontaneous brainstorming, and teams pushing boundaries together.
Sunday: Final Pitches & Future Impact
Sunday brought the final presentations, where teams showcased solutions designed in less than 48 hours. Judges evaluated projects based on innovation, technical execution, impact and more.
Beyond the competition itself, the weekend created something even more meaningful: new connections, new perspectives, and a community passionate about improving healthcare through technology. A huge thank you to HerCode and every participant who brought empathy, creativity, and humanity to this experience. The future of health is in good hands.
Congratulations to the winning team of our track challenge, Gene Hackers (Ilaria Nissotti Revel, Tuna Özdemir, Doğa Menteşe and Farrah Gedd) for their outstanding ideas, teamwork, and innovation throughout the weekend!
We also want to recognize and thank all the incredible teams who presented their ideas to us: GENEius, GENiXX, Gene Hackers, GeneZ, HelixeFlow, Alleles in Wonderland, Sickuence, and Kairos. The future of healthcare is in very capable hands, and it was inspiring to see the passion, empathy, and brilliance each team brought to the challenge.
