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Dubai Health Strengthens Strategic Partnerships at WHX Tech
19 Sep 2025
At World Health Expo (WHX) Tech 2025, Dubai Health announced a series of new and strengthened collaborations with leading institutions across academic, technology, and government. These partnerships underscore the integrated academic health systems’ commitment to driving innovation in healthcare delivery, research and education.
Dr. Hanan Al Suwaidi, Chief Business Officer and Acting Chief Academic Officer at Dubai Health, said: “We are grateful to WHX Tech 2025 for creating a platform that brings together leaders in healthcare and technology to spark ideas and strengthen partnerships. These collaborations reflect our mission as an integrated academic health system, where care, learning, discovery, and giving come together to advance health for humanity. Through these concerted efforts, we are opening new pathways to advance technology-driven healthcare innovation.”
Siemens Healthineers
Through an MOU, Dubai Health and Siemens Healthineers will establish a strategic innovation partnership. The agreement provides a basis for collaboration on defining innovation programs, including the Design4Change Innovation Week program set for February 2026. A separate workstream will focus on co-designing a sustainability in healthcare program for the Dubai Health Leadership Academy.
Ayman Al Hussein, Country Head, Siemens Healthineers UAE, said: “We are pleased to join forces with Dubai Health to foster innovation and build capabilities that will shape the future of healthcare in the region. This partnership, anchored in the Siemens Healthineers SHIFT ecosystem, provides the basis for defining innovation programs such as the Design4Change Innovation Week in February 2026, as well as collaboratively designing the Dubai Health Leadership Academy program aimed at building sustainable talent in healthcare. Together, these initiatives reflect our shared commitment to advancing sustainable, patient-centered solutions.
Dubai Future Foundation (DFF)
The Healthcare Sandbox, a new pilot initiative under Sandbox Dubai, was launched through a collaboration between Dubai Future Foundation, Dubai Chambers, Dubai Health Authority, Dubai Digital Authority, and Dubai Health. The initiative will provide a platform for the development and testing of a wide range of technologies and use cases across healthcare. This collaboration builds on Dubai Health’s broader partnership with DFF, whose ‘Research, Development, and Innovation Program’ supports high-impact research projects in the city. Among its 2024 recipients was PainDetect, an MBRU-led project advancing AI-driven tools for objective pain measurement.
Prototypes for Humanity
Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences (MBRU), which leads the learning and discovery arms of Dubai Health, entered an MOU with Dubai Future Solutions - Prototypes for Humanity to advance the research and development of health science startups, with their solutions to be tested and validated across Dubai Health’s healthcare facilities. One such initiative is with Virufy, an AI-powered mobile application designed for the rapid and cost-effective prescreening of infectious respiratory diseases. The collaboration unites Dubai Health and Nafasy.AI, a Dubai venture set up by Prototypes for Humanity to advance the technology developed by the teams at Virufy and the University of Washington, to build scalable tools for public health protection.
Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation (DIDI)
Building on their collaboration since 2019, Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation (DIDI) and MBRU will continue their productive partnership on innovation and design thinking to develop healthcare solutions. The partnership will include faculty and student exchanges, joint research and projects, such as the Design4Health Bootcamp.
Mohammed Abdullah, President of Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation (DIDI) shared:
“At DIDI, we believe that design thinking and innovation are powerful catalysts for shaping the future of healthcare. By embedding AI into the way our students ideate, prototype, and co-create, we are equipping the next generation of designers with the tools to address complex challenges and deliver meaningful impact. Our ongoing collaboration with MBRU reflects our shared commitment to reimagining healthcare solutions—where creativity meets technology, and human-centered design drives sustainable change for the world and humanity at large.”
Schneider Electric & Microsoft
Dubai Health also signed agreements to collaborate with Schneider Electric and Microsoft to drive innovation in healthcare facilities, focusing on 'Intelligent Hospital' initiatives that enhance operational efficiency.
Huawei
In addition to new agreements, Dubai Health continues to be Huawei’s partner of choice for the testing and validation of its latest healthcare technologies. Building on earlier work with smartwatch health features, the partnership brings together expertise in healthcare and technology to advance innovative digital health solutions.
DNDI and Dubai Health Sign a Partnership to Advance Research and Training in Neglected Diseases
Dubai Health has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the non-profit research and development organization Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) at World Health Expo Dubai (WHX).
The agreement was signed by Dr. Hanan Al Suwaidi, Deputy CEO and Chief Academic Officer of Dubai Health and Provost of Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, and Dr. Luis Pizarro, Executive Director of the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi), in the presence of His Excellency Nicolas Niemtchinow, Ambassador of France to the UAE, and Thi Hanh Cao, Director of External Relations at DNDi.
The partnership establishes a framework for collaboration in medical education, research, and clinical training, with a shared goal of improving health outcomes for underserved populations affected by neglected infectious diseases. It brings together DNDi’s global expertise in needs‑driven drug discovery and development and Dubai Health’s integrated academic health system to support research and capacity‑building across priority global health areas.
Under the agreement, students from Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences (MBRU), the learning and discovery arm of Dubai Health will take part in DNDi‑led programs, including fieldwork and clinical research activities in Africa and Asia. These programs provide hands‑on exposure to patients affected by neglected diseases and to the full spectrum of drug discovery, development and public health delivery. DNDi experts will also contribute to MBRU academic programs, supporting two‑way academic and professional exchange.
The collaboration will begin with joint research scoping to identify priority projects. It will involve active faculty engagement through guest lectures, curriculum development, student co‑supervision, joint grant applications, and collaborative research publications.
The partnership will also encompass collaboration in drug discovery, clinical trials, regulatory science, and public health policy, with a particular focus on viral diseases, pandemic preparedness, and fungal infections. In addition, it will support joint initiatives in the application of artificial intelligence to health research, as well as the co‑organization of scientific conferences and workshops and the dissemination of knowledge on key global health challenges.
Dr. Luis Pizarro, said: “Neglected diseases disproportionately affect the world’s most vulnerable populations and are often overlooked by traditional research models. Through this partnership with Dubai Health, we aim to advance scientific progress while helping train the next generation of global health leaders to deliver more equitable health solutions.”
Dr. Hanan AlSuwaidi, said: “This partnership represents a meaningful step forward in how we prepare our students and researchers to engage with the world’s most pressing and complex health challenges. By partnering with DNDi, we are giving our learners direct access to real-world drug development, clinical research, and global health practice. It reflects our commitment to advancing health for humanity by ensuring that care, learning, discovery, and giving are driven by purpose and real-world impact.”
Mansoor bin Mohammed meets with President and CEO of Rush University System for Health on the sidelines of WHX Dubai 2026
His Highness Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice Chairman of the Dubai Health Board of Directors, emphasised the importance of partnerships with leading academic health systems driven by scientific research and medical education to advance healthcare, elevate quality of care, strengthen patient safety standards, and build medical talent.
His Highness made these remarks during a meeting held on the sidelines of the World Health Expo (WHX) Dubai 2026, with Dr. Omar Lateef, President and CEO of Rush University System for Health and Rush University Medical Center, one of the world’s leading academic health systems. The meeting was attended by His Excellency Dr. Alawi AlSheikh-Ali, Director General of Dubai Health Authority, and His Excellency Dr. Amer Sharif, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Health and President of Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences.
Rush University System for Health is ranked among the leading healthcare systems in the United States for quality, patient experience, and safety. It has received high ratings from patient safety regulators and is recognised for excellence across several medical specialties, including orthopedics, neurology, and cardiology.
One of the world’s leading healthcare exhibitions, WHX Dubai 2026 is taking place from 9 – 12 February at the Dubai Exhibition Centre (DEC).