Visionary
Innovators
Hackathon
The Orbis Future Vision Leaders Visionary Innovators Hackathon is back! Sign up with your team of 5, or sign up solo and get paired with other international colleagues for a high-impact, weeklong experience featuring two live virtual sessions designed to ignite leadership and innovation in global ophthalmology.
Visionary Innovators Hackathon
This year’s Hackathon begins with an initial virtual session on Saturday, November 15 with a global panel discussion and a live Q&A to challenge your thinking and expand your expertise.
Throughout the following week, teams will work together to create a strategic poster and prepare for a group presentation. During the week, we will release programmatic recordings to deepen your learning. On Saturday, November 22, teams will present their poster for peer-review and complete their final presentations in front of a panel of judges with a chance to win awards!
Winning Teams
Team 2
EYEconics
Team 5
The Clarifiers
Team 7
Award Winners
Team 1: EYEconic
3D Printing Vision – Local Manufacturing for Sustainable Eye Care
View the Poster »
Team 1: EYEconic
3D Printing Vision – Local Manufacturing for Sustainable Eye Care
View the Instagram Account »
How it Works
Registration is free and open for individuals and teams to sign up. Join with up to 5 team members and get paired with international colleagues for cross-collaboration. If you don’t have a team, you can still register as an individual and be added to an existing team.
This innovative event will gather global audiences interested in tackling real life ophthalmology challenges.
Here is what you can expect:
DAY ONE
Date: Saturday, November 15 | Sunday, November 16
Session time: 9:00 PM – 11:00 PM (EST) | 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM (HKT)
- Introduction to event and Hackathon rules
- Hackathon topic and prompts are introduced (for poster and presentations)
- Teams assigned global faculty mentors
- Panel discussion with leading global experts and Q&A
TEAM WORK
Monday, November 17 –
Friday, November 21
- 2 expert presentation recordings will be released per day from Monday to Wednesday (total of 6+) for viewing and to use in your poster and final presentation
- Bonus points will be awarded to teams that collect the hidden “message” as key words will be shared in the live recordings to make a saying that can be submitted to receive this unique advantage
DAY TWO
Date: Saturday, November 22
Session time: 8:00 AM – 11:00 AM EST | 9:00 PM – 12:00 AM (HKT)
- Judging panel will be introduced
- Teams will submit their posters for peer review and grading and will present final presentations live for judging by the panel
- All award winners will be announced at the end of the event
Register
Canada: EST
Sat, Nov 15 @ 9:00-11:00 PM EST
Sat, Nov 22 @ 8:00-11:00 AM EST
Hong Kong: HKT
Sun, Nov 16, 2025 @ 10:00 AM–12:00 PM
Sat, Nov 22, 2025 @ 9:00 PM–12:00 AM
(midnight start on Nov 23)
REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED
We are so thrilled with the response to the Hackathon! As a result of the overwhelming number of participants, we have had to close registration for this year.
Tune in to see the results.
Judges & Mentors
Mentors
Dr. Linda Cernichiaro-Espinosa
Ocular Oncology Fellow / Pediatric Retina Surgeon
Dr. Yamilee Cherubin
Pediatric Ophthalmologist,
State University Hospital of Haiti
Dr. Chimgee Chuluunkhuu
Country Director,
Orbis Mongolia
Dr. Katie Curran
Research Fellow
School of Medicine, Dentistry & Biomedical Sciences
Queen’s University, Belfast
Dr. Suma Ganesh
Chairperson Pediatric Centre of Excellence, Director Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus and Neuro-ophthalmology
Dr. Schroff’s Charity Eye Hospital
Dr. Karl Golnik
Ophthalmology Foundation Chair for Education & Board Member,
Ophthalmology Foundation
Dr. Ho Wing Lau
Specialist in Ophthalmology, MBBS (HK), MMedSc(HK), FRCS(Ed), FCOphthHK, FHKAM(Ophthalmology)
Dr. Flora Lau
Specialist in Opthalmology, Honorary Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Dr. Ng Lap Ki
Specialist in Ophthalmology, Hong Kong Ophthalmic Associates
MBBS (HK), FRCSEd (Ophth), FCOphthHK, FHKAM(Ophthalmology)
Dr. Srianjani Padmanabhan
Associate Professor, Ophthalmology,
University of California,
San Francisco
Dr. Glenn Strauss
Chief Medical Officer, HelpMeSee
Dr. Sara Wester
Professor of Clinical Ophthalmology, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute
Dr. Emily Wong
Consultant; Specialist in Ophthalmology, CUHK Medical Centre
Clinical Assistant Professor (Honorary), Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
MB ChB (CUHK), MRCSEd, FRCOphth, FCOphthHK, FHKAM (Ophthalmology), PDip Epidemiology and Biostatistics (CUHK)
Judges
Dr. Nathan Congdon
Director of Research, Orbis International
Ulverscroft Chair of Global Eye Health, School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences, Queen’s University, Belfast
Visiting Professor, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center
Krista Lamb
Author & Science Communicator
Mary Lau
Executive Director
Orbis Hong Kong
Dr. Ciku (Wanjiku) Mathenge
President
African Ophthalmology Council
Frequently Asked Questions
How many people can be on a team?
Sign up with a maximum of 5 team members or sign up as an individual and be placed on a team randomly.
Where will the event take place?
The two virtual events will both be virtual and will take place on Zoom.
What is the format of the event?
The Hackathon live virtual events will take place on two days (Nov 15 and Nov 22) with speaker recordings being released in between (Nov 17 – 19). The first day of the event will include topic assignments and a panel discussion. The second day will be for final presentations and poster judging.
When will we receive our prompts?
Prompts will be provided to teams on the first day of the event for both their poster and presentation (each team will receive 2 prompts).
Will the poster topic be the same as the team prompt?
No. Poster topics will be different then the Hackathon presentation prompt and will be randomly assigned to teams on the first day of the event.
How much time should be spent on the poster presentation?
The poster presentation will be graded by your peers and not the judging panel. It will be weighted lower in comparison to your final presentations that will be judged by a panel.
What are the bonus points that we can collect through the speaker recordings?
If you and your team work together to listen to all the scheduled recordings, you will be able to identify a key word “phrase” that you can submit to the Hackathon team in advance of Day 2 to receive extra bonus points that go towards your presentation grade.
About Orbis Future Vision Leaders
CANADA: We are a collective of Canadian medical students, ophthalmology residents, and postgraduates who are passionate about eye health and want to make a difference in the global fight against avoidable blindness. We’re here to bring this inspired national community closer together to network, share, exchange ideas, and learn from those with years of international experience.
As the next generation of leaders in the eye health community, we empower students and trainees to become champions of Orbis’s vision. Like Orbis, we believe no one should ever be visually impaired or blind simply because of where they live. As a network of committed eye care leaders, we work to strengthen each other and to create opportunities to build awareness for eye diseases in Canada and beyond.
HONG KONG: This program is specifically designed for higher education students in Hong Kong and abroad, aiming to eliminate global eye diseases. Through team collaboration, leadership training, and online international exchange activities, students are encouraged to work together towards global sustainable development goals and fully assume their responsibilities as social citizens. Registration for the program is open year-round, and students can participate by forming teams of up to 8 members.
Learn more about our Canadian and Hong Kong Orbis Future Vision Leaders programs.