Leveraging data and modeling techniques to support manufacturing decision-making for innovative medicines

The STEM Hackathon for Health, jointly organized by Johnson & Johnson in Switzerland and the Swiss Data Science Center (SDSC), convenes multidisciplinary teams to reimagine and prototype scalable pharmaceutical manufacturing solutions to bring transformative therapies to patients.

Participants will collaborate on real-world modelling challenges, leveraging manufacturing data, state-of-the-art mechanistic and AI/ML techniques to design novel workflows and automation strategies. They will develop innovative approaches to shape the Industry 4.0 revolution for next-generation therapies. They will receive mentorship from industry and academic professionals, refine practical prototypes or process concepts, and pitch their solution to a panel of judges to win prizes and potential follow‑up collaborations.

👥 Who should participate

Bachelor & master students
Early career researchers — PhD students and post-docs
Young professionals from the private and public sector

All backgrounds are welcome, especially life sciences, chemistry, engineering, computer science and related fields.

🗓️ Timeline


September – October	Registrations
November	Team formation
November	Webinars
21–22 November 2026	Hacking time

🎥 Pre-event Webinars & ⚡ Lightning Talks

9 November, 16:00 — Intro to the Hackathon & How to use Renku, by SDSC
TBD November, 16:00 — Innovating pharma manufacturing in the era of AI, by J&J

Hackathon participants can present their work in a short talk (~2min ⚡) during the webinar time slots, followed by Q&A.

🗓️ Preliminary Agenda

Saturday, 21 November


08:30	Welcome coffee
09:00	Plenary talk — TBD
22:00	Building closes

Sunday, 22 November


08:30	Welcome coffee
15:00	Demo presentations & prizes
17:00	End

✨ Ready to build?

Registration is open — grab your spot and bring your ideas.