05/21/2026
The University of Memphis School of Public Health recently hosted the 2025–2026 RE-AIM Public Health IDEAS Hackathon Celebration on March 27, which brought together students from around the world to present innovative solutions to pressing public health challenges.
Organized in collaboration with partners including DAV UNIVERSITY, JALANDHAR (India), Universidade do Minho (Portugal), King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (Saudi Arabia), L-Università ta' Malta (University of Malta) (Malta), and the East Central and Southern Africa Health Community (ECSA-HC), the event showcased the creativity and problem-solving skills of youth working at the intersection of public health, technology and community wellbeing.
During the Hackathon, finalist teams presented their work through short video pitch presentations, explaining the public health challenge they identified, their proposed solution, and the potential impact on communities. Projects demonstrated a wide range of creative approaches from AI-driven healthapplications and disease surveillance tools to podcasts, educationcampaigns, and youth-led health initiatives.
Student pitches were evaluated by a panel of judges including Ashraf Elmetwally, MD, PhD; Nathalie Occean, MHA, CPHQ; Lori M. Ward, PhD; Lauren Beaupre; and Scott Laster.
The Hackathon included 85 student participants forming 37 teams across 11 countries—Canada, India, Italy, Kazakhstan, Liberia, Nigeria, SaudiArabia, Senegal, Taiwan, Tanzania, and the UnitedStates. Over 80 attendees participated in person at the awards celebration, with additional students joining virtually from international locations.
Local participation included students from White Station High School, Central High School, Kingsbury High School, and Cordova High School, while university teams joined online from institutions such as National Taiwan University (Taiwan) and Chithram College of Paramedical Science (India).
