Taste of Innovation program
The IHealthE Industrial Training program equips students and clinicians to solve real-world clinical challenges with thoughtful solutions.
About the program
The Tyree IHealthE Taste of Innovation Program is a six-week, project-based program that connects UNSW students with clinicians, healthcare professionals, and experienced technical engineers to co-design and deliver real-world MedTech solutions.
Hosted within the UNSW Integrated Acute Services Building (IASB), the program provides students with hands-on experience while supporting healthcare professionals in advancing their innovative ideas into proof-of-concept prototypes.
For students
Working as part of a project team, students take an identified clinical need and work towards a proof of concept, applying their skills in a real-world healthcare innovation environment.
The Taste of Innovation Program is an Engineering Placement that gives UNSW Engineering students the chance to:
Work in multidisciplinary teams on co-designed MedTech projects
Collaborate closely with clinicians and technical engineers
- Engage in workshops, team-building activities, and presentations
- Receive structured feedback from industry and healthcare partners
- Build experience in problem-solving, design, prototyping and developing technology for real-world healthcare applications.
The program counts for 30 days of Engineering Placement which can be counted towards the 60 working day program requirement for Engineering Professional Practice.
The 2027 program runs from 4th January – 12th February 2027. Students will be onsite full-time, Monday to Friday 9 am–5 pm.
Successful applicants will receive a participation award of $1500 at the commencement of the program and $1500 on the successful completion of the program.
For clinicians and healthcare professionals
The Taste of Innovation Program offers clinicians and medical professionals the opportunity to:
collaborate with UNSW Engineering students and IHealthE experts
co-design and mentor teams developing HealthTech solutions
transform clinical insights into early-stage prototypes
inspire and shape the next generation of MedTech innovators.
Your involvement ensures projects are meaningful, clinically relevant, and have the potential to make a real difference in patient care.
Explore projects from 2026
Bionic Bridge
Bionic Bridge is a modular training device designed to support upper-limb amputees as they learn to use a prosthesis. Developed through the 2026 Taste of Innovation program, the system combines an adjustable sleeve, a bionic hand interface and EMG signal control, with a low-cost training module designed to support continued practice at home. The next phase will refine and integrate the technology to improve its reliability, usability and potential for further clinical testing.
Brace Buddy
Brace Buddy is a rehabilitation assessment concept focused on quantifying movement quality and impact during osteoporosis rehabilitation. Developed as part of the IHealthE Taste of Innovation Program, the project explores how objective measurement tools can support validation, feedback, and safer rehabilitation practice for people at risk of fracture.
Rehabit
Rehabit is a rehabilitation technology project developed through the 2026 Taste of Innovation program. Following the successful development of an initial hardware and software prototype, the system is now being trialled at the Prince of Wales Hospital Rehabilitation Gym. The next phase will focus on refining the technology and supporting its progression towards a reliable, scalable and commercially viable solution.
Student reflections
Eeman R Shah
The program was mentioned to me by Prof Laura Poole-Warren, who was my IHealthE mentor for a clinical immersion course. We had been discussing next steps after a term of observing a clinical environment to uncover its needs and I had wanted a way for us to take such a need and develop a solution.
Taste of Innovation offered that opportunity to create something that you could translate for clinical use in real time.
Raisa Zafar Khan
Working on the Compliance Monitoring System for Scoliosis Bracing was an incredible experience. From sensor integration to data processing and hands-on prototyping, every step came with its own challenges and little “aha!” moments. But what made it truly special was the people—an amazing group of interns from different engineering backgrounds, each bringing unique perspectives and fresh ideas.
The highlight? Getting to work inside a hospital, seeing firsthand how engineering meets healthcare. It was one of those moments that reaffirmed why I chose biomedical engineering in the first place.
