Health-a-thon 2026
India's First Health HackathonDoctors & TechnologistsCo-creating AI Solutions
A Joint Initiative by
Clinical Partners
About Health-a-thon 2026
Health-a-thon 2026 is a national hackathon challenge that brings together doctors and technologists to co-create India-ready assistive AI solutions for healthcare.
It is a joint initiative of the Koita Foundation, Koita Centre for Digital Health (KCDH)-IIT Bombay, the National Cancer Grid (NCG), the Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India (FOGSI) and the Research Society for the Study of Diabetes in India (RSSDI)
The hackathon focuses on Cancer Care, Maternal & Child Health and Diabetes Care encouraging multidisciplinary teams to solve real-world operational challenges that impact doctors, care teams, patients and caregivers
Participants will build practical Assistive AI solutions that simplify care coordination, improve patient engagement, strengthen continuity of care and reduce the operational burden across healthcare delivery
The Challenge
Healthcare extends far beyond the consultation. Every day, doctors and care teams spend valuable time coordinating care, managing follow-ups and navigating fragmented operational workflows that take time away from patient care
The Opportunity
Recent advances in Artificial Intelligence make it possible to build intelligent assistive agents that proactively support doctors, care teams, patients and caregivers by automating routine operational work and improving continuity of care
What You'll Build
Design India-ready Assistive AI solutions that simplify operational healthcare workflows across hospitals and care settings using real-world healthcare information and existing systems.
Explore detailed use cases and problem statements on the Health-a-thon website.
Who Can Apply?
Doctors & Practising Clinicians
Medical Students and Interns
Startups / Health Tech Companies
Developers & AI Builders
Engineering Students
₹54+ Lakhs
Total Prize Pool*
Hackathon Focus & Guidelines
- Teams should comprise 2–5 members, including at least one practising doctor as the Clinical Lead
- Choose one of three care domains: Cancer Care, Diabetes Care or Maternal & Child Health
- Build either a Doctor & Care Team–facing solution or a Patient & Caregiver–facing solution
- Curated use cases are common across all three care domains and can be adapted to the context of your chosen domain
- Solutions should focus on Assistive AI that simplifies operational workflows such as care coordination, patient engagement, continuity of care and administrative processes
- Shortlisted teams will participate in a 4–5 week structured build sprint to develop a working prototype
- Top 10 teams will present their working prototype and solution before the Grand Jury at IIT Bombay
- For detailed problem statements please visit the Health-a-thon 2026 website.
The Process
Register
Doctors register first, followed by registrations for technology teams, startups, developers and students through the Health-a-thon platform
Matchmaking & Idea Submission
Doctors can bring their own technology team or get matched with one through the Health-a-thon platform. Teams then submit their solution idea and approach
Build Sprint & Mentorship
Shortlisted teams receive 4–5 weeks to collaborate with clinicians, mentors and technology experts to build and refine a working prototype
Grand Finale
The Top 10 teams will present their working prototype before the Grand Jury at IIT Bombay
Timeline
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1 Aug – 11 Sep
Launch & Registrations
For Doctors and technology teams
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15 Aug – 18 Sep
Matchmaking & Team Formation
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12 Sep – 25 Sep
Round 1 Submission
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3 Oct 2026
Shortlist Announced
Top 120 teams (40 per track) advance to the build sprint
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5 Oct – 8 Nov 2026
Build Sprint & Mentoring
Build your working prototype with mentor check-ins and guidance
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8 Nov 2026
Final Submission
Functional MVP and documentation due. Last day of the sprint
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21 Nov 2026
Finalists Announced
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28 Nov 2026
Grand Finale
Offline @ IIT Bombay, Powai
FAQs
Who can participate in Health-a-thon?
Health-a-thon is open to doctors, members of partner clinical networks, startups, healthcare companies, developers, AI builders, medical students and engineering students.
Can I participate individually?
Yes. Individual participants are welcome and may be matched with complementary participants through the Health-a-thon platform.
Do I need to have a doctor on my team?
Yes. Final teams must include at least one practising doctor as the Clinical Lead. Participants without a clinical partner can register individually and request matchmaking.
What kind of AI solutions are expected?
The hackathon focuses on Assistive AI that simplifies operational healthcare workflows, improves coordination and strengthens continuity of care. It is not focused on diagnosis or replacing clinical judgement.
Which healthcare domains are covered?
Participants can build solutions doctor facing or patient facing solution within one of three care domains:
- Cancer Care
- Diabetes Care
- Maternal & Child Health
Can startups and companies participate?
Yes. Health-tech startups, AI companies and technology teams are encouraged to participate.
Yes. Medical and engineering students are welcome to participate either with their own team or through the matchmaking process.
Do solutions need to integrate with hospital systems?
No. Solutions may leverage existing healthcare information such as paper records, spreadsheets, PDFs, images, WhatsApp or hospital systems. Full integration with existing digital systems is not mandatory.
What support will participants receive?
Shortlisted teams will receive structured mentorship from clinicians, AI experts and industry leaders throughout the build phase.
Where can I find the detailed problem statements and participation guidelines?
The complete problem statements, use cases, evaluation criteria, rulebook and registration details are available on the Health-a-thon website.