Two teams from the Dean of Student Affairs at Bethlehem University participated in the Youth Hackathon for Digital Health, held over three days from September 18–20, 2025, through NAFAS – Bethlehem University’s Youth-Friendly Health Center – in partnership with the Palestinian Medical Relief Society and supported by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
The hackathon brought together students from the Faculty of Nursing and Health Sciences, Interactive Media, and Software Engineering, aiming to create digital health solutions that serve Palestinian society, raise youth awareness, and help address digital health illiteracy through the development of scalable and adaptable technological tools.
The event was organized by the Palestinian Medical Relief Society with the participation of Palestinian universities that host youth-friendly safe spaces: Al-Quds University (Abu Dis), Palestine Ahliya University, Birzeit University, and Bethlehem University, alongside safe spaces in Idhna and Nablus. Ten youth teams from different regions and universities competed in the hackathon.
The two teams were supervised during the work by Obada Tahaboub, an outstanding student in Software Engineering, and Wiam Al-Shaer, a health mentor at NAFAS Center, who provided academic, technical, and health guidance that contributed to shaping the students’ ideas and developing their projects.
The participating teams worked on developing various technological solutions around pre-marital counseling. Some focused on smart applications and websites targeting couples before marriage, especially during the engagement period and the first year of marriage, serving as a reference to help partners assess compatibility—particularly in communication and interaction. Another group focused on a project addressing the legal and rights aspects of pre-marital counseling, whether in civil or religious frameworks, aiming to provide a supportive guide for young people entering this stage.
The judging panel consisted of experts representing the United Nations Population Fund and the Palestinian Medical Relief Society, who evaluated the projects based on the seriousness of the idea, its societal impact, scalability, and practical applicability.
