And the winner is… Team 7! Congratulations to this group of participants from around the globe, who developed a project aimed at improving screening and management in retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). This potentially blinding eye disease affects premature infants and is a leading cause of blindness among children worldwide. Hospitals in many low-income countries do not have the skills or resources to provide needed care.
“I joined the Orbis Hackathon because I was excited by the challenge of building something meaningful in global eye care from the ground up,” says team member Myriam Belaiche, a third-year medical student at Université de Montréal. “What I enjoyed most was how energizing and collaborative the entire process felt—working alongside international teammates, integrating expert insights, and shaping an initial concept into a structured, practical model.”
“Our project, the NEO-ROP Hub, is a nurse-led tele-screening workflow designed to streamline early detection of ROP in Nairobi using accessible imaging tools and rapid remote review. Developing a sustainable and community driven concept that could strengthen screening capacity and reduce preventable vision loss in premature infants was truly the most fulfilling part of the experience.”
Developing this hub was an area of passion for Farah Zahoua Alem, a third year medical student at Université de Montréal. “Our team truly resonated with Orbis’s resolve to nurture community-led, sustainable projects. We wanted every feature of the NEO-ROP Hub workflow to be deeply rooted in the ROP management context at Kenyatta National Hospital. We chose to focus on facilitating ROP screening and record-keeping processes to provide local experts with the data they need to improve ROP management algorithms. Together, and with the precious help of our mentor, Dr Linda Cernichiaro-Espinosa, we opted for the use of accessible telemedicine tools that have proven effective in low-resource settings as described in evidence-based literature,” she explains. “Thinking back, I am proud of all the effort and attention to detail that was collectively poured into the design of this project. We had to be creative! But most importantly, we had a lot of fun working on this as a team. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to meet everyone at Orbis Canada and Orbis Hong Kong, from renowned speakers to fellow Hackathon participants and teammates, now turned friends.”
Tina Yu, an Optometry student at the University of Montréal, agrees about the relationship element. While she initially signed up out of curiosity and to improve access to eye care, she says, “the most meaningful part of the experience was the people I met. I’ve met some of the most motivated and organized people through this project.”
Ethan Ng, a fourth-year medical student at The Chinese University of Hong Kong also found the experience to be a positive one. “As a medical student, I have always found the process of developing public health initiatives fascinating, and it amazes me how simple solutions can benefit millions of people. The Orbis Hackathon provided a challenging yet exciting opportunity to propose a solution to tackle real-life health problems in the field of ophthalmology,” he says. “It was a great experience to be able to exchange ideas with people from different places. I was able to learn not only from students at other universities but also from professors and doctors from around the world. Our mentor provided our team with great insights that we, as students, might never have thought of in a real-world setting. The presentations by various professionals during the Hackathon also allowed me to learn more about the field of ophthalmology and what has been done globally to overcome health challenges.”
Tayyibah Anzal, a second year global health and development student at The University of Hong Kong was initially drawn to the Hackathon because of its theme. “As a Global Health major, I found it exciting to see how the competition and panel discussions explored diverse issues related to eye health,” she says. “What I found most valuable about the experience was the constructive feedback and insights shared by the judges and mentors. Their guidance helped our team to refine our understanding and approach, while observing other teams’ presentations exposed me to innovative ideas and project initiatives across different themes.”
Once again, a big congratulations to our 2025 Orbis Future Vision Leaders Visionary Innovators Hackathon winner, Team 7!
To find out more about this exciting global initiative and to learn how you can get involved in 2026, please visit https://orbishackathon.com. This transformative educational experience is available annually to Orbis Future Vision Leaders in Canada and all around the world.
