Vaishnavi Rudra
IHEEM Innovation in Wellbeing & Healthcare Engineering Award 2025 winner
Vaishnavi won the IHEEM Innovation in Wellbeing & Healthcare Engineering Award in 2025 with her project Health Hub. Health Hub is a solar-powered portable medical station designed to provide basic healthcare, telemedicine access, and clean water to people in remote or underserved areas. The project aims to bridge healthcare gaps by combining first aid, water filtration, and health education tools into a sustainable, transportable unit.
An unforgettable experience with IHEEM
Attending the IHEEM Conference was an incredible and unforgettable experience for me. Presenting my project in front of professionals and experts was both very exciting and challenging, but it helped me grow so much in confidence and self-belief.
What I enjoyed most
One of the things I enjoyed most was meeting new people who shared the same passion for STEM and healthcare. I loved being able to speak to professionals about their projects, ask questions when I didn’t understand, and learn about their journeys.
Presenting my work also helped me develop my public speaking skills. It taught me how to communicate my ideas clearly and confidently, which I know will be a highly impactful skill in the future. It was so wonderful to see how supportive everyone was, which made me feel encouraged and motivated to keep pushing myself.
What I learned from the experience
The conference helped me learn a lot, and not just academically, but personally too. I gained a deeper understanding of how engineering and innovation can improve health and wellbeing. It’s something I have greatly been interested in, and how important creativity truly is in solving real-world problems.
But I think that, most importantly, I learned to believe in myself more. Standing up and sharing my ideas showed me that my voice matters, and that young people can make a real difference in the world.
People I met and new things I discovered
I met many inspiring people including engineers, healthcare professionals, and a fellow student, Aaron Lord, who was also presenting his Big Bang Competition project. Hearing about their experiences showed me how many different pathways there are in STEM and made me want to explore further.
Listening to their stories helped me understand how engineering and medicine often work together to improve patient care and technology, which really influenced my future goals.
My next steps
After this experience, I feel even more motivated to continue working hard in my studies.
I am planning to go to university and am currently exploring a future in medicine or engineering, or maybe a combination of both, such as biomedical engineering or medical technology.
I want to continue developing my skills, learning new things, and creating projects that can help improve people’s lives. The IHEEM conference has played a huge role in shaping my ambitions and encouraging me to aim high.
Overall, winning the IHEEM Innovation in Wellbeing & Healthcare Engineering Award and attending the conference has been one of the most meaningful and exciting experiences of my journey so far. It has inspired me to keep striving for excellence and to believe that with passion, dedication and faith in yourself, anything is possible. I am extremely grateful for this opportunity and excited to see where my journey will take me next.
I think that most importantly, I learned to believe in myself more. Standing up and sharing my ideas showed me that my voice matters, and that young people can make a real difference in the world.
— Vaishnavi Rudra, IHEEM Innovation in Wellbeing & Healthcare Engineering Award 2025 winner
