Event Programme

DAY 1 | Friday, 30 October 2026

Opening Ceremony • Healthcare Challenges • Team Formation

Time	Programme
15:00 – 16:00	Registration & Welcome. Participant check-in, networking and refreshments.
16:00 – 16:15	Official Opening & Welcome Address. Dr Conrad Attard, Deputy Dean, Faculty of ICT, University of Malta, and Chair, IEEE Malta Section.
16:15 – 16:35	Keynote Address: AI in Healthcare: Automating Friction, Restoring Humanity. Dr Gege Gatt, CEO and Founder, EBO.
16:35 – 17:35	Healthcare Challenge Pitches. Presentation of 10 real-world digital health challenges, with five minutes allocated to each challenge and time for speaker transitions.
17:35 – 18:05	Team Formation & Challenge Selection. Participants form multidisciplinary teams and select their preferred challenges.
18:05 – 18:50	Workshop: Using AI and Digital Tools for Rapid Prototyping. Mr Michael Azzopardi, Chair, IEEE Computer Society Malta Chapter. Practical guidance on tools, AI-assisted development and building a working prototype during the Hackathon.
18:50 – 19:00	Hackathon Briefing. Working arrangements, mentoring opportunities, expected deliverables and final presentation format.
19:00 onwards	Let the Hackathon Begin! Teams start developing their ideas, exploring solutions and planning their prototypes.

Mentorship • Prototyping • Collaboration

Time	Programme
Until 09:00	Breakfast for resident participants.
09:00 – 09:30	Team Development. Teams review their ideas and prepare questions for mentors.
09:30 – 13:00	Meet the Mentors: Expert Mentoring Clinic. Scheduled mentoring sessions with experts in healthcare, technology, AI, digital solutions and innovation. Teams receive feedback on feasibility, technical development, impact and implementation.
13:00 – 14:00	Lunch Break.
14:00 – 18:00	Innovation Sprint: From Ideas to Prototypes. Teams develop, test and refine their solutions, incorporating feedback from mentors.
18:00 onwards	Independent Team Development. Continued prototyping, testing and preparation for the final presentations.

Pitch Coaching • Final Presentations • Evaluation

Time	Programme
Until 09:00	Breakfast for resident participants.
09:20 – 09:30	Pitching & Communication Briefing. Guidance on communicating ideas effectively, structuring presentations and demonstrating the value of digital health solutions.
09:30 – 12:00	Pitch Communication & Presentation Clinics. Scheduled 15-minute team consultations with communication and presentation mentors. Teams refine their storytelling, presentation slides, demonstrations and delivery.
12:00 – 13:00	Lunch Break.
13:00 – 13:40	Final Preparations. Teams complete their prototypes, finalise slides and prepare demonstrations.
13:40 – 14:00	Presentation & Technical Checks. Final checks before the judging session.
14:00 – 14:10	Final Pitch: Welcome & Introduction. Welcome to invited guests and judges, with an overview of the presentation format.
14:10 – 16:00	Final Team Pitches & Judges’ Q&A. Up to 10 teams present their digital health solutions to the judging panel. Each team receives five minutes to pitch and five minutes for questions and answers, with brief transitions between teams.
16:00	Conclusion of the 48-Hour Digital Health Hackathon 2026. Judges’ deliberations and subsequent communication of results will be coordinated by the Organising Committee.

Each team will have:

5 minutes: Present the healthcare challenge, proposed solution, prototype and anticipated impact.
5 minutes: Answer questions from the judging panel.

A maximum of 10 teams will present during the final session.

Programme timings may be subject to minor adjustments.

Organised by: IEEE Malta Section and the University of Malta, Faculty of ICT, Department of Information Systems.

Venue: The Victoria Hotel, Sliema, Malta.

Dates: 30 October – 1 November 2026.