Challenge 01 · BREAST CANCER
Detecting cancer early saves lives — yet in many countries, participation in screening programmes still falls short of target. Rethink how to encourage, support and enable more women to take part.
The scale of the problem
new breast cancer cases diagnosed worldwide every year
deaths each year — many following late-stage diagnosis
Ref. GLOBOCAN 2022 · Bray F. et al., CA Cancer J Clin. 2024
01_ Context
Breast cancer screening is a preventive public health programme designed to detect cancer before symptoms appear. In many countries, women within specific age groups are regularly invited to undergo a screening mammogram — a low-dose X-ray of the breast that can detect small abnormalities long before they can be felt or cause symptoms.
Detecting breast cancer at an early stage significantly improves the chances of successful treatment, increases survival and often allows for less aggressive treatments with fewer long-term consequences.
Despite these benefits, participation in screening programmes remains below target in many countries. Research shows that non-attendance is rarely driven by a single factor. Women's decisions to participate are influenced by a combination of personal beliefs, practical barriers, previous healthcare experiences, social circumstances and the way screening services are organised and communicated.
Your mission
For this hackathon, your task is to rethink how healthcare systems can encourage, support and enable more women to participate in screening.
Why it's not simple
For this hackathon, your task is to rethink how healthcare systems can encourage, support and enable more women to participate in screening.
02_Where to innovate
We have broken this challenge down into four areas where innovation is needed. Pick one as your focus, or design a solution that bridges several.
How might we help more women understand the value of breast cancer screening and feel motivated to get screened?
Breast cancer screening is designed to detect cancer before symptoms appear, when treatment is more likely to be successful and less invasive. However, many women who are invited to screening choose not to attend because they do not believe they are personally at risk or are unaware of the benefits of early detection.
Unlike women who seek medical care because they feel unwell, screening programmes target healthy individuals who may not perceive an immediate need to attend. As a result, participation depends on whether women understand the purpose of screening, recognise its relevance to them and feel motivated to act.
Information about breast cancer screening comes from many different sources, including healthcare professionals, public health campaigns, family and friends, traditional media and social media. The quality, clarity and consistency of these messages can vary considerably, making it difficult for women to make informed decisions. A clear recommendation from a trusted clinician, particularly in primary care or gynaecology, is consistently identified as one of the strongest predictors of screening participation.
Why is this difficult?
Awareness & motivation
How might we help more women understand the value of breast cancer screening and feel motivated to get screened?
Breast cancer screening is designed to detect cancer before symptoms appear, when treatment is more likely to be successful and less invasive. However, many women who are invited to screening choose not to attend because they do not believe they are personally at risk or are unaware of the benefits of early detection.
Unlike women who seek medical care because they feel unwell, screening programmes target healthy individuals who may not perceive an immediate need to attend. As a result, participation depends on whether women understand the purpose of screening, recognise its relevance to them and feel motivated to act.
Information about breast cancer screening comes from many different sources, including healthcare professionals, public health campaigns, family and friends, traditional media and social media. The quality, clarity and consistency of these messages can vary considerably, making it difficult for women to make informed decisions. A clear recommendation from a trusted clinician, particularly in primary care or gynaecology, is consistently identified as one of the strongest predictors of screening participation.
Why is this difficult?
For more information:
Tavakoli B, et al. Factors influencing breast cancer screening practices among women worldwide: a systematic review of observational and qualitative studies. BMC Womens Health. 2024;24:268. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12905-024-03096-x
Hutton G, et al. Understanding barriers to breast screening: an online survey of non attenders as part of a service evaluation in the breast screening programme in England. BMC Public Health. 2025;25:2509 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12275263/
03_ Boundaries
System constraints
These are fixed by regulation, infrastructure or national policy — design around them, not against them.
Ready to participate?
Submission is open from 7 September to 23 October 2026.
Q&A
Can't find what you're looking for? Write to hola@hackaton.com
MBA students currently enrolled in one of the five partner universities, as well as recent MBA graduates from these institutions.
Yes. While we recommend participating as part of a team, you are welcome to submit your idea individually. If your idea is selected, we will help you build a team by connecting you with other registered participants
Yes. Teams can include participants from different partner universities.
Yes. You are welcome to submit as many ideas as you wish, including ideas for both challenge statements.
If you are submitting multiple ideas as part of a team, we recommend that each idea has a different team leader to ensure each project receives the appropriate focus and representation.
The hackathon is a one-day intensive experience, running approximately from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM.
Depending on where you are travelling from, your outbound journey may be arranged for the day before the event, and your return journey for the day after. Eligible travel and accommodation costs will be covered by the organisers.
Every meaningful innovation starts with an idea. Your proposal has the potential to improve the lives of people living with cancer and contribute to a stronger healthcare system.
Following the hackathon, the Novartis team will review all the solutions developed. Ideas with the greatest potential may be explored further, with the possibility of continued collaboration and future development beyond the event.
Please note that Novartis will own the intellectual property and commercialization rights of all ideas developed during the hackathon.
The program includes:
Participants are responsible for any additional hotel charges, local transportation (such as taxis), and other personal expenses.
The official language of the hackathon is English. All workshops, mentoring sessions, presentations, and team discussions will be conducted in English.
For this reason, participants should be comfortable communicating and collaborating in English throughout the event.
If you have any questions or need further information, please contact the organizing team by emailing LSpraxis.com/hackathononcology.
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