LONDON and RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, November 24, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Saudi Arabia's MiSK Foundation today announces an international panel of eight judges for its first ever UK/Saudi Hackathon, taking place as a live broadcast satellite event across both London and Riyadh from this Friday 25 November until Sunday 27 November.

The judging line-up comprises digital, tech, health, medical, youth enterprise and investment experts from world-leading businesses and organisations, including Cisco, Microsoft, the British Council, international network HealthTech Women, GrowthEnabler and King Khaled Hospital, Riyadh.

Cisco Executive Director Saudi Arabia, Abdullah Alswaha, comments: "This event has the potential to be a game-changer, not just in Saudi Arabia or the UK, but across the globe. With technology as the connector of smart minds, smart ideas and smart solutions, we could have one out-of-this-world idea or we could have fifty life-changing tech health opportunities. The potential is huge."

Together, the Judges will review and score up to 40 pitches by cross-cultural, mixed teams comprising a total of 400 participants. They will confer through live broadcast satellite and reach a decision to award one winning team and runners-up a total prize investment package of $35k USD, including mentoring to help winners take their health tech innovations to proof of concept stage. In what the MiSK Foundation Secretary-General has called a "milestone initiative", the MiSK Hackathon will be the first time that such cross-cultural collaboration through a live broadcast satellite has taken place between the UK and Saudi Arabia, to find innovative solutions to world health problems.

Founder and CEO of the Organisation for the Review of Care and Health Applications (ORCHA), Liz Ashall-Payne comments: "Breakthrough innovation in the field of digital health is always historic and I'm excited to be part of the process. There is enormous potential in digital health, but ideas are vital and product governance is critical. Over 50% of all apps in health and healthcare are redundant.^[1] The first step is addressing a genuine healthcare need. This is what I'm looking for at MiSK Hackathon."

Digital health futurist, Maneesh Juneja, ranked 7th most influential globally^[2], and who will be hosting a keynote at the event, said: "In the 21st century, many of us are looking to consumer technology giants like Apple and Google for solving some of the biggest challenges in healthcare, yet we often overlook a whole realm of amazing, untapped innovation beyond Silicon Valley and English speaking countries. Health tech start-ups from every nation on earth hold the key to meeting inefficiencies in healthcare delivery and events like the Hackathon are vital in fostering this talent."

More information is at http://www.miskhackathon.com

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Media contacts: 

hackathon@misk.org.sa

Notes to editor: 

^[1] ORCHA
^[2] Source: http://www.onalytica.com/blog/posts/digital-health-2016-top-100-influencers-and-brands/

The UK panel consists of: Liz Ashall-Payne, founder of the Organisation for the Review of Care and Health Applications; Greg Williams, CSO of mobile engagement platform SWAG'R; Aftab Malhotra, co-founder of GrowthEnabler; and Maxine Mackintosh, UK Chair of international network, HealthTech Women.

The Saudi Arabia panel consists of: Abdullah Alswaha, Managing Director at Cisco; Deemah Alyahya, Executive Director at Microsoft; Amir Ramzan, Country Director at British Council; and Professor Abdullah Aldohayan, Robotics Surgeon at King Khaled Hospital, Riyadh.

About MiSK Foundation
Established in 2011, the MiSK Foundation cultivates learning and leadership to define a new talent for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Foundation focuses on the country's youth, fosters talent, develops creative potential, and generates innovation. In this way, MiSK advances Saudi society in business and technology, and provides equal opportunity for women and men. MiSK, under the leadership of HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman, pursues these goals by establishing partnership programmes with diverse local and global organisations.

SOURCE MiSK Foundation