The Saudi Youth Healthcare Forum (SYHF 2026) is a national, four-day forum for students and early-career professionals in every health discipline. It runs from 26 to 29 November 2026 at the King Faisal Conference Center in Jeddah, under the theme "Redefining Healthcare: Leadership, Innovation & Impact." SYHF grew out of JSBC'25, run by the same team, and has moved to a larger hall. The organisers report big increases in attendance, workshops and panel sessions.
The forum is open to students and young professionals across medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing, midwifery, the rehabilitation therapies, radiology, laboratory sciences, emergency medical services, nutrition, biomedical engineering, health informatics, public health, health administration, psychology, genetics and more.
One forum, four ways in
1. Main Stage — talks & panels. Four days of flagship panels, closed-door sessions and live demonstrations from leading health institutions in Saudi Arabia, with 70+ speakers. The stage covers:
- Leadership & Innovation: leading institutions, women empowerment in healthcare, global health, building startups
- Future of Healthcare in Saudi Arabia: health policy and insurance, industrialising medicine, volunteering and humanitarian health, climate and health
- Future Tech: AI and robotics, smart hospitals, digital transformation, VR and simulation
- Research & Development: clinical trials and AI research
- Success Stories: youth leadership and healthcare transformation
2. Clinical & Surgical Tracks — hands-on workshops. Workshops across eight specialties, led by expert surgeons, with undergraduate and postgraduate tiers, simulation stations and cadaveric training (35+ supervisors, 70+ instructors).
3. Research — abstracts & awards. Students and early-career researchers present oral and poster work to practising surgeons and specialists and compete across three award tiers. Two evaluators blind-review each abstract against a published rubric. A score of 70/100 or higher earns an oral slot, and the rest go to posters. Prof. Rajaa Al-Raddadi supervises the track.
4. Competitions. The MedIQ Olympiad is a Gulf-level, Jeopardy-style medical showdown for 32 teams. MEDATHON asks teams to build a solution to a real healthcare challenge. The Impact Award is a national award for youth-led health initiatives.
Closed-door sessions include leadership and productivity talks with Ruaana Foundation, Leadership Management International (LMI) and Safea. An exhibition with research posters runs through the forum.
Call for abstracts
Abstract submissions opened on 30 September 2026. The deadline is 16 November 2026, and both oral and poster formats are accepted. Research presentations take place 27–29 November 2026.
Registration
General Main Stage and exhibition passes are free, and you need a digital badge to enter. VIP and VVIP passes are by invitation. Closed-door sessions are paid, small rooms of 8–10 people. Hands-on workshops and competitions have their own registration. When we checked, the registration page said applications had not opened yet.
Organisers & partners
Wadi Jeddah is the forum's official institutional home. Safea runs its day-to-day operations. King Abdulaziz University is an institutional collaborator.
