- Innomakers4Health is looking for 100 participants to design technology solutions that help reduce administrative tasks and improve processes in outpatient clinics.
- New this year is the collaboration of the Hospital Universitario de La Princesa in Madrid, which has helped define the challenge.
- The hackathon will take place on 23 and 24 October at 42 Madrid Fundación Telefónica. Registration is open until 20 October.
- The winning team will receive a €3,000 prize and access to InnomakersLAB, Pfizer’s hub, together with Wayra, plus a six-month mentoring programme.
Wayra, Telefónica’s corporate venture capital, Pfizer and the Pfizer Foundation are launching a new edition of Innomakers4Health, the programme that connects innovation, technology and health to drive solutions capable of responding to real challenges in the healthcare system.
This edition’s challenge focuses on a key issue for healthcare organisation: how to free up clinical time by reducing administrative tasks and improving processes in outpatient clinics, in order to optimise the efficiency of clinical practice and the patient experience. To this end, the hackathon will bring together, over two days, profiles who will work on designing technology proposals applicable to the healthcare environment.
The call is aimed at students and professionals, with or without experience, with a STEM background and an interest in the healthcare sector, as well as people with a background in the social sciences. The goal is to bring together complementary profiles to tackle the challenge from a technological, clinical and organisational perspective.
New this year is the collaboration of the Hospital Universitario de La Princesa in Madrid, which has helped define the challenge. In addition, during the hackathon, mentors and experts from the hospital will support the participating teams to guide the creation of solutions from a perspective close to clinical practice and the real needs of outpatient clinics.
“A good technological idea only has an impact when it can become a viable, scalable solution ready to be integrated into an environment as complex as healthcare. At Wayra we want to help participants take that step, combining creativity and technical knowledge with execution capability and an entrepreneurial vision, while contributing to Telefónica’s purpose of being the best gateway for citizens and businesses to digital technologies. Innomakers4Health offers a privileged space to turn talent into projects with a future beyond the hackathon itself,” says Andrés Saborido, CEO of Wayra.
For José Chaves, Medical Director of Pfizer Spain: “Artificial intelligence and new technologies are opening up unprecedented opportunities to transform healthcare. At Pfizer we believe that innovation takes on its true value when it responds to real needs of the health system and helps improve the experience of professionals and patients. With this year’s challenge we want to foster entrepreneurial talent and multidisciplinary collaboration to develop solutions that free up clinicians’ time, optimise processes and help build a more efficient, sustainable and people-centred healthcare system.”
Only 100 candidates will be selected to take part in Innomakers4Health, which will be held on 23 and 24 October at 42 Madrid Fundación Telefónica. Those selected will develop their proposal in groups of five, with the support of professionals from Wayra, Pfizer, the Pfizer Foundation and the Hospital Universitario de La Princesa.
“We promote Innomakers4Health in the conviction that innovation emerges when we connect diverse talent with real challenges in the health system,” says Sergio Rodríguez, President of the Pfizer Foundation, who highlights that “the collaboration of the Hospital Universitario de La Princesa in this edition allows participants to work on a need identified in clinical practice and bring their solutions closer to an environment where they could generate a tangible impact. That is precisely the aim of this programme: to turn ideas into opportunities to improve the healthcare system.”
The winning team will receive a cash prize of €3,000. They will also have the chance to accelerate their project at InnomakersLAB, Pfizer’s hub, together with Wayra, which will provide access to a six-month mentoring programme to start developing the hackathon’s winning idea. After the acceleration process, the winning team may also have the opportunity to pilot their solution at the Hospital Universitario de La Princesa in Madrid.
In addition, thanks to the Pfizer Foundation, the winning team will be able to take part in the selection process for a two-week stay on the Richi LifeSciences programme run by the Richi Foundation in Boston, to get to know the country’s innovation ecosystem.
Candidates can register at fundacionpfizer.org/tecnología/innomakers4health/registro-innomakers4health-2026 until 20 October 2026 inclusive.
About Wayra
Wayra is Telefónica’s CVC, which drives innovation by investing in Artificial Intelligence, Connectivity and Cybersecurity startups to transform the business, in line with its purpose of being the best gateway to digital technologies. It also supports other organisations in raising the impact of open innovation in Europe. Wayra has invested more than €260 million in more than 1,200 startups and currently has an active portfolio of more than 520, of which more than 215 collaborate with Telefónica. It also drives open initiatives through its platforms Alaian and Open Future.
More information at wayra.com
About the Pfizer Foundation
For more than 25 years the Pfizer Foundation has been committed to promoting science, technology and innovation and bringing them closer to society. Each year it renews its strategic commitment to scientific, technological and social innovation by building bridges between research and society, so that scientific advances translate into practical applications that benefit people. More information: www.fundacionpfizer.org
Pfizer, breakthroughs that change patients’ lives
Pfizer, as a biomedical company working to improve people’s health, is dedicated to developing innovative therapies and vaccines to cure and prevent diseases or relieve their symptoms. With a history of more than 175 years, Pfizer remains committed to society and invests in R&D to meet today’s and tomorrow’s medical needs. The advancement of science and technology and its medical application requires collaboration with all stakeholders to maximise the medicines portfolio and ensure that pharmaceutical innovation reaches everyone who needs it quickly, affordably, reliably and transparently, in line with the highest quality and safety standards. More information: www.pfizer.es