TECH-NIH Fellowship Program
The TECH-NIH Fellowship Program was a 3-month pilot program — a collaboration between the TECH, National Institute of Health, and Code for Pakistan.
During the Fellowship, six Fellows were incubated in a 3-month program to work alongside a team of talented researchers, designers, community organizers, and developers who are collaborating to foster government innovation and improve service delivery as it relates to public healthcare.
The program was designed by Code for Pakistan with the specific intent to equip the six young professionals with hands-on job experience, suggesting projects and methods for professional development, and developing skills in innovation. As part of the curriculum, several well-heeled experts and speakers from the tech industry were brought in to deliver sessions on topics that would enable the Fellows to thrive in the digital age.
Fellows
The selected fellows for the 1st cycle of TECH-NIH Fellowship:
Projects
Fellows worked on several digital health initiatives for the federal agency, including a phone app that would empower expecting mothers to make quick appointments and another that aims to expedite the inspection of clinical laboratories. Other projects included websites for key programs at the NIH, including their Clinical Trials Unit and the Biological Production Division. Here is a list of all the projects:
Biological Production Division (BPD): a website that showcases the efforts and projects of BPD
Clinical Trials Unit (CTU): a website that aims to showcase the projects of CTU as well as onboard relevant individuals/organizations as allies
Expecting Mothers: a mobile application that aims to empower expecting mothers in quick appointments with OB/Gynae
Lab Tech: a mobile application aims to expedite the inspection of clinical laboratories through a single-click effort
Transformation and Excellence Centre for Health: a website that highlights digital inclusion, social presence, and stakeholder engagement of TECH-NIH
Graduation
The Fellows showcased their projects in a ceremony honoring their work to improve Healthcare in Pakistan at the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Burney Auditorium. The event was attended by high-ranking NIH staff, including Major Gen. Dr. Aamer Ikram, Executive Director, NIH, and Muhammad Khan, CIO, TECH-NIH. Also in attendance was Samina Rizwan, Country Head, Code for Pakistan.
The colorful send-off was held to appreciate their efforts in contributing to TECH-NIH’s quest to serve citizens by harnessing trends in digitization to improve health services.
Congratulatory messages from around the world came in especially from our Code for All network.
During the ceremony Fellows spoke about the richness of their Fellowship experience, and certificates were awarded to both Fellows and organizers of the program.
About TECH-NIH: The TECH-NIH program was established with support from the Gates Foundation to help the NIH build on its digital transformation and to improve on its healthcare initiatives to better serve citizens.
