About the Education Hackathon
The Huffington Department of Education, Innovation and Technology is excited to host the annual BCM Education Hackathon.
The concept of a “hackathon” originates from the technology and software industry, where teams compete in short bursts of time to create innovative products. The Education Hackathon is a creative “spin” on this format and an opportunity to bring together members of the BCM community who compete in teams to develop innovative ideas that address real challenges in medical education and advance health professions training.
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- Collaborating with colleagues
- The opportunity to apply for $25,000 in funding for your innovative project
- Disseminating your ideas with other innovation-minded individuals
- Real-world testing of potential projects
Teams can consist of faculty, students, and staff, as well as external collaborations. A BCM faculty member must serve as team lead and register the team.
Key Dates
- Jan. 27, 2027 - Kickoff
- Feb. 27, 2027 - Pre-application submission deadline
- March 19, 2027 - Team notification
- May 5, 2027 - Pitch Day (virtual and in-person, generally from 1-3 p.m.)
Pre-entry form coming soon.
Refer to our Hackathon Entry Form Rubric (coming soon) for details on how the committee evaluates entries.
Interested in learning more? Contact us.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Kickoff event occurs approximately two months before the actual Pitch Day. It is an opportunity to gain motivation from a key speaker, explore potential teams and ideas, and ask questions about Hackathon logistics.
Anyone (staff, students, faculty) can participate in the Hackathon as part of a Hackathon team.
Only faculty can serve as a Hackathon team lead.
Teams must have a designated faculty lead to be eligible for IRB approval and funding. Otherwise, there are no other eligibility requirements.
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Hackathon pitches are between 5–7 minutes long, depending upon the number of teams that are participating.
Hackathon judges are selected by the Hackathon planning committee based on defined criteria:
- Judges must be experienced educators with expertise in diverse topics, including medical education, clinical practice, curriculum development, or other areas relevant to potential Hackathon pitches
- Selected judges must represent different career levels and both campuses (Houston and Temple)
Judging of Hackathon pitches is based on 3 metrics:
- Problem approach
- Addresses stated problem
- Educational theory-based
- Adequacy of current solutions
- People
- Member expertise
- Composition quality
- Stakeholder representation
- Product
- Clarity
- Innovation
2026 Winners
1st Place
"The Caregiver Project," presented by Eugenie Pflieger
Other Team Members: Angela Catic, Anita Major, Elizabeth Kvale, Natalie Mondragon, Kathleen Motil, Adi Pinkas, Matthew Darmadi, Naima Rodriguez, and caregivers and leadership from Amazing Place of Houston and the greater Houston community
About: The Caregiver Project proposes the development of an elective course that prepares medical students to provide holistic, patient-centered care that recognizes patients and caregivers as an interconnected unit. The course will emphasize compassionate care, interdisciplinary collaboration, and the relational factors that influence health outcomes.
2nd Place
"From Anxiety to Action," presented by Sara Amani
Other Team Members: Hugh Stoddard and Steve Caloudas
About: From Anxiety to Action explores the use of wearable technology to better understand the relationship between student test anxiety and different testing modalities. The project aims to identify physiological and behavioral patterns associated with testing stress and use those insights to inform evidence-based strategies that support student well-being and academic success.
Selected from a highly competitive field of 12 innovative proposals, both projects demonstrated strong potential to advance educational innovation and improve learner and patient outcomes. The winning teams will now move forward with project development and implementation support through Hackathon funding.
Congratulations to Eugenie, Sara, and their teams on this well-deserved achievement!
2025
1st place: “Better Than Reviewer 2,” led by Ariel Lyons-Warren, with team members Daniel Gorelick, Megumi Seese, and Evelin Young.
2nd place: “Clinical Skills Simulator,” led by Christopher Hovorka, with team members Ashley Mullen, Amandi Rhett, Jeremy Sherman, Claudia Archer, Stefany Crosby, Marcia Omalley, Shane King, and Kyra Stovicek.
2024
Winner: Matthew L. Blank
Team Name: Peas in a Pod
Team Members: Alana Newell, Katherine Harris, Lollie Garay, Jimmie Thomas, Rihana Bokhari, Christian Campos
2023
Winner: Sarah-Ann Keyes
Team Name: (FREE)
Team Members: Ashley Mullen, Aimee Gardner, Fred Pereira, Jessica Thompson
2022
Winner: Farzad Soleimani
Team Name: Telemedicine (IPT) for Undergraduate Medical Students
Team Members: Roxanna Khozein Carrera, Sarah Bezek, Anisha Turner, Kathryn Fisher, Christopher Brann, Benjamin Solder, Anjay Batra