bumblekite

Machine learning summer school in health, care and biosciences

The summer of ‘25 🎶

21st - 29th June 2025
ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
with location cameos by University Hospital Balgrist
and its gorgeous rooftop terrace overlooking the Zürich lake, Hirslanden and their art collection, as well as Novartis and their pavillon

"Each time I reach out to one of the lecturers, I am reminded of a line from your website that resonated deeply with me: "Meeting so many remarkable people in such a short period felt like using a cheat code in a video game!" 
This perfectly captures how I felt after participating."

 

What does the most impactful moment of your career look like?
Let’s create it together.

 

Anja Hartewig, the main host of Bumblekite 2025, writes:

Welcome visitor!

When I stepped into the role of the main host in the previous summer, I couldn’t have imagined how the journey ahead of me would turn out to be. Thinking back, it was filled with moments of intense growth, self-doubt that was outweighed at least four-fold by heartfelt gratitude and fulfillment. I would like to thank everyone who accompanied us on our way and I couldn’t be more excited about what lies ahead: another year (my fourth time!) of experiencing the Bumblekite magic.

In our journey ahead we will continue to grow and learn from our mistakes. Growth is only possible through the input we receive throughout the process. I am therefore deeply grateful for the suggestions we were given generously and thoughtfully by our participants. We are proud that we have received more than 300 written pieces of feedback that are at the heart of our lessons learned. It is our space to highlight the elements we added that contributed to making it an unforgettable experience for everyone. In the same space, we reflect on the areas that we will continuously evolve in the iteration(s) to come.

I am delighted to shine a light on our application guidance, a cherished part of our Bumblekite website, written for the third year in a row by our previous application award winner. This year’s guidance is co-written with Qi Zhang, a PhD student in causal inference from Emory University. We hope it will be a nurturing support for those taking their first Bumblekite steps.

The aspect that brings me the most joy looking back is seeing our community grow and being able to welcome so many wonderful, inspiring people to it. Every message and milestone our Bumblekite participants share with us brings back the amazing memories we created together. Knowing that for some of them we were able to facilitate these moments fills us with pride and appreciation. It can be receiving an email starting with a little "Thank you, I like to remember our Bumblekite week by…", exploring new machine learning models or inviting one of our lecturers to a conference they are organising - each interaction is a testament of the lasting impact of our week in Zürich.

With the next summer approaching, I cannot wait to open our doors for another generation of Bumblekite participants, get to know your stories and accompany you on your Bumblekite journey, filled with laughter, inspiration, the tapping of keyboards during the practical coding sessions and the budding of long-lasting connections.

 

Produced by Meltem Salb.

 
 

this is bumblekite

Bumblekite is FOUR’s machine learning programme in health, care and biosciences.

Bumblekite cultivates a learning space designed to assist you in evolving your skills - in AI, data science and engineering, domain-specific expertise or essential leadership capabilities such as writing, coaching and strategy development. Equally importantly, we support you in evolving your mindset with new mental models that deepen your understanding of the world we live in and the beautiful intricacies of healthcare systems we aim to innovate, bringing newly uncovered depths and clarity. We strongly believe the combination of all of the above is key to unlocking the positive, deeply impactful contributions you will lead in our field and beyond.

We are looking for individuals with up to 5 years of AI and data science experience, irrespective of your seniority, who are studying or working at the intersection of bio and computing - or with a keen interest towards it. You can read more about what inspired the evolution of our participant profile in our lessons learned.

You are looking for a premier summer opportunity to deepen your skills and build impactful and enriching relationships within this exciting interdisciplinary area with the aspiration of becoming the decision-maker and leader of tomorrow in our field that is rapidly reshaping the health and care systems across the globe as we know them today.

 

A perfect match.

 

To further our commitment in assisting you in your most ambitious career leaps, we launched Bumblekite research in 2023 - built on feedback from people that came before you: our Bumblekite participants. This global effort provides unique data insights to help you and your workplace drive your best, career-defining work. To achieve this, we have partnered with the best of us: LinkedIn with its powerful Economic Graph and dozens of leaders from top organisations in our ecosystem. We invite you to read more about it here. 

To continue nurturing and investing into our community - the key engine behind all of our endeavours - we are looking to evolve our Bumblekite week into a nationwide celebration of the crossroads between biomedicine, health, care and AI. This year, we seek to weave our programme even more deeply into the fabric of Swiss healthcare landscapes.

Join us?

 

lecturers

Throughout our Bumblekite MLSS week, our priority is to thoughtfully design opportunities for you to learn from and connect with a diverse group of top leaders working at the fourfronts (word pun intended) of machine learning, health, care, sustainability and interdisciplinary collaboration. Our invited lecturers are not only pioneers in their respective fields but also, just as importantly, incredible people.

Legend: L = lecture, T = tutorial, LC = leadership conversation series, GFTG = group food for thought gathering.

 

engineering keynote lectures

 

Michael Moore, assistant professor, ETH Zürich ↓

Your position and organisation

Tenure-track Assistant Professor, ETH Zürich

Please share links to content that features yourself and/or your work you would like to share with our participants: e.g. a news article, a lecture you gave, a scientific paper you authored.

Some recent works:

Nigam Shah, chief data scientist, Stanford Health Care; professor of medicine and biomedical data science, Stanford; opening keynote ↓

Dijana Vilic, head of AI (clinical scientific computing team) Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust ↓

Your position and organisation

Head of Clinical Scientific Computing, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust

Please share links to content that features yourself and/or your work you would like to share with our participants: e.g. a news article, a lecture you gave, a scientific paper you authored.

Life is filled with victories and valuable lessons learned, especially when you try something new. Can you tell us please about a time you failed, how you overcame it and what you learned from it?

What is that lovely quote again? Every tried, ever failed -- no matter, try again fail better.

There can be nor victory nor achievement without first fumbling around and finding the edges of what is possible. The longest lull in my employment history was the year before I got onto the Science Training Programme (which took me 3 tries to do!). I spent 8 months sending out hundreds of job applications and despairing at the difficulty of getting my foot in literally any door. It was months of self doubt and humbling cover letter writing, CV tweaking and hoping the phone would ring. In those moments it's really hard to imagine how things would change and you have to keep persisting. It's nice to look back now and think it was all 'meant to be' -- if I got a different job in that time, maybe I wouldn't have ended up in London and my whole life could have been different. But these periods are an inevitable part of life and shouldn't be taken personally - everyone's luck changes eventually and for all the 'no's you get you only need a single 'yes'. Like my old boss once told me: "chin up, it'll happen."

Is there an achievement that you are particularly proud of?

Probably that I rose through very rigid ranks in a very short amount of time without any connections, name recognition or any professional 'helping hand'. I came to the UK at the age of 19 without knowing a single person in the whole country and now I have this awesome role in one of the best hospitals in the world. I love my job, and I love the connections I get to make, and I get to do it surrounded by the best team in the world. I couldn't be more proud of that.

What or who inspires you? Whose work do you admire? Why? Give us 1-2 examples.

George Monbiot. He's been fighting the good fight for decades, advocating for the environment and rights of animals, despite the genuine danger to himself. He's a deeply respected journalist and the most trustworthy authority on climate that I know of. Jo Maugham. He created The Good Law Project, a non-profit organisation who fight for justice on behalf of marginalised and oppressed groups.

One of the most dreaded introductory questions: What is a fun/quirky/geeky fact about you? :)

I am intensely well-versed in American 90s and early 2000s sitcoms.

What are the hobbies you enjoy doing in your spare time?

I love sewing clothes from scratch (including the pattern making part!) and I've been learning to oil paint (it's really hard). I've written 5 novels (each more terrible than the next) and I love growing (and eating) plants.

Are there aspects of your work or knowledge that you are especially enthusiastic about and wish people asked you about more often?

AI fairness, justice and our duties as healthcare providers. I can't get enough air time on this, it's such a complex topic.

What is one of the best pieces of advice you have received and how did you use it/how did it serve you?

Probably not a very coherent one-liner but something along the lines of 'not everyone will like you and that's totally fine'. Spending your life obsessing over people you don't connect with is a waste of time when there is so much to do and experience.

 

tutorials: excellence in practice

 

Juan Banda, senior data scientist, Stanford Health Care ↓

Your position and organisation

Senior Data Scientists, Stanford Health Care

Please share links to content that features yourself and/or your work you would like to share with our participants: e.g. a news article, a lecture you gave, a scientific paper you authored.

Life is filled with victories and valuable lessons learned, especially when you try something new. Can you tell us please about a time you failed, how you overcame it and what you learned from it?

Being originally from Mexico, when I was graduating high school in the USA, I received acceptance but zero financial support to attend college in the USA. This meant I failed to continue my studies in the USA. So, I went back to Mexico and got my college degree there, in a public university. I slowly returned to the USA as a graduate student in a very small school, then moved to a larger one for my Ph.D and eventually ended up at Stanford as a postdoc. Persistence and hard work got me to the place I wanted to be originally, learning that many paths are not straightforward, but things have a way of coming full circle.

Is there an achievement that you are particularly proud of?

Going from public school in Mexico, all the way to working at Stanford. Without racking any student debt.

What or who inspires you? Whose work do you admire? Why? Give us 1-2 examples.

The idea of making decisions in a data-driven form when it comes to healthcare. There is so much data available to have better outcomes for patients and harnessing it has still ways to go. People that have made great strides at this are Nigam Shah, current boss, and Patrick Ryan of OHDSI.

One of the most dreaded introductory questions: What is a fun/quirky/geeky fact about you? :)

I am an internationally 'known' concert photographer, that gets to shoot music festivals all round the world in my spare time.

What are the hobbies you enjoy doing in your spare time?

Photography, traveling (been to 124 countries), climbing mountains (done two out of the seven summits, and countless other peaks over 14K feet).

Are there aspects of your work or knowledge that you are especially enthusiastic about and wish people asked you about more often?

OHDSI

What is one of the best pieces of advice you have received and how did you use it/how did it serve you?

Several things: Be humble, and treat everyone with respect, and that credit is infinitely divisible.

Krishna Chaitanya, data scientist, Johnson & Johnson ↓

Puskpak Pati, senior data scientist, Johnson & Johnson ↓

Stefanie Posavec, award-winning author and artist, data visualisation and information design ↓

Your position and organisation

Designer, Artist, and Author

Please share links to content that features yourself and/or your work you would like to share with our participants: e.g. a news article, a lecture you gave, a scientific paper you authored.

  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qe9QSCF-d88 - I designed the artful information diagram's for this recent TED talk from Yoshua Bengio (aka a 'godfather of AI') communicating his concerns about a AI future without guardrails

  • https://peoplelikeyou.ac.uk/system - My research-informed artworks mapping a biobank / cohort study's system for acquiring samples and data from donors and using them in research

Life is filled with victories and valuable lessons learned, especially when you try something new. Can you tell us please about a time you failed, how you overcame it and what you learned from it?

Recently a friend and I failed in finding a publisher for a second children's book (see my answer to the question below). I had to create illustrations for the book that were outside of my expertise and I think that one of the reasons the concept failed was because of my lack of illustration skills, which was embarrassing!

I think what I learned from this is that I wasn't true to my area of expertise: the reason our book didn't find a home was because we were outside of the space where we really shine: the communication of information and data.

The way I am trying to overcome this is by reminding myself of the adage 'To thine own self be true' and celebrate the unique combination of skills and expertise that only I have.

Is there an achievement that you are particularly proud of?

I am proud of my and Miriam Quick's book 'I am a book. I am a portal to the universe.' that was published by Penguin UK. It was an all-ages book that used its measurements (weight, page area, page thickness, and more) to celebrate the wonders of the universe on the 1:1 scale. Besides being proud of the content and my hard work on the design, I am pleased that it was judged by 11k students to be the winner of the UK Royal Society's Young People's Book Prize!

What or who inspires you? Whose work do you admire? Why? Give us 1-2 examples.

the artist David Hockney: he's been an artist for decades but he has always experimented with new approaches and technology, never staying the same. I hope I am able to do the same in my career.

One of the most dreaded introductory questions: What is a fun/quirky/geeky fact about you? :)

I won my school spelling bee when I was 12! I have been inside Victoria and David Beckham's mansion! (Was designing a book for their son Brooklyn)

What are the hobbies you enjoy doing in your spare time?

Running (slowly), visiting galleries, learning about local history, taste testing the best ice creams I can find.

Are there aspects of your work or knowledge that you are especially enthusiastic about and wish people asked you about more often?

What other value does the process of data collection and visualisation hold besides analysis/insight?

What is one of the best pieces of advice you have received and how did you use it/how did it serve you?

Last year a friend of mine (Joel Gethin Lewis) told me he has a Post-it note above his computer that says 'Good people, nice people' (or something to that effect) to remind him to work with good, kind people wherever he can. Out of all the advice I've been given, this resonates the most as a reminder that you don't need to be cruel or lack compassion to get ahead!

The visual experience of our data and AI work empowers our collaborators and users to think beyond the boundaries of their own experiences, reimagining the processes beyond a simple conversion and enables us to unlock new and differentiated ways of creating societal, business and patient value, together. We are honoured to welcome Stefanie as our guide in this area, whose pioneering achievements are featured in MoMA's permanent galleries and have been exhibited globally.

Dimitar Yonchev, data engineer, Roche ↓

 

leadership workshops

 

Betsabeh Madani-Hermann, global head of research, Philips ↓

 

leadership conversation series

 

Valeria De Luca, director data science and AI, Novartis ↓

Miriam Donaldson, board member, Cellcolabs (GFTG) ↓

Your position and organisation

Board Director, Cellcolabs AB and Owner, M Donaldson Consulting

Please share links to content that features yourself and/or your work you would like to share with our participants: e.g. a news article, a lecture you gave, a scientific paper you authored.

Life is filled with victories and valuable lessons learned, especially when you try something new. Can you tell us please about a time you failed, how you overcame it and what you learned from it?

In contrast to how to one of the best pieces of advice I received (shared below), for my first real job after university I didn't make the best choice I could have. I was working as a lab tech for an MD doing research - and he really didn't put much priority on the research I was working on. It was super boring and I tried to use my own ideas to push the research and even the technical approach to it, and often met resistance. I had to drag myself to work each day as I didn't feel like I was learning or contributing and I felt like I failed when it mattered a lot in launching your career. But this difficult time enabled me to dig deep, find new ways to learn, and motivated me to take a leap of faith into a new role, in biotech, which ultimately was the role that really launched my career. I overcame the situation by learning how to deliver in the environment I was in, but not giving up on my goals and being willing to take some risk.

Is there an achievement that you are particularly proud of?

I am very proud to have contribued to the development and launch of two drugs that benefit patients significantly (Entresto for Heart Failure and Cosentyx for Psoriasis and other indications). Many people who spend decades in pharma never see a drug make it patients. But all that said, I am even more proud of the people who I worked with along the way, particularly those who I could mentor and coach. Many of them have achieved or exceeded their career goals - and in doing so are benefiting others as mentors and coaches and bringing even more new medicines to patients.

What or who inspires you? Whose work do you admire? Why? Give us 1-2 examples.

Clay Christiansen (HBS professor and author of the Innovators Dilemna). He developed theories that are very useful in thinking about how to push innovation. But more importantly he also talked to us about where we would really find the greatest meaning in life and how to ensure that our professional ambitions did not take over our goals related to family and friends.

Kris Kishore - he was a dear friend in university who died due to cancer in his early forties. When we were in university he was always reminding me that by giving energy to negative situations I was contributing to them and that I had to either find a way to turn them around (if they were important) or to let them go.

One of the most dreaded introductory questions: What is a fun/quirky/geeky fact about you? :)

When I was young and personal computers and video consoles were a new thing... my dad, a computer scientist, said that I could only have the games I could program for myself. And so I learned a little bit of coding way back then (late '70s)!

What are the hobbies you enjoy doing in your spare time?

Hiking, cooking, traveling...

Are there aspects of your work or knowledge that you are especially enthusiastic about and wish people asked you about more often?

Leading people and organization! Ultimately if you want to be more than an individual contributor - this is your main goal. If you have the right people and can put them in a role where they can thrive, and in an organization that lets them be the best version of themselves, they benefit - but so does everyone around them. Take your job as a leader of people and orgaization SERIOUSLY. It's not just the "soft stuff"... it's the stuff that matters most to people and to driving innovation.

What is one of the best pieces of advice you have received and how did you use it/how did it serve you?

When it comes to work, especially early in your career, it's more important to carefully choose the person you will work for then the details of the work. I used this when I picked the first lab I worked in as an undergrad with a Howard Hughes Fellowship. I had the most engaged lab head who worked to help me understand as much as I could about working in a lab and the work (cancer research) she was doing. She understood that the more she gave to me the more I would and could give in return. It inspired me to be at my best and I learned very early what a great manager does for her/his associates.

Tracy Glass, group leader, clinical statistics and data management group, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH) (GFTG) ↓

Audrey Kauffmann, head of data science and biometrics, Pierre Fabre Group ↓

Your position and organisation

Head Data Science and Biometry R&D - Pierre Fabre

Please share links to content that features yourself and/or your work you would like to share with our participants: e.g. a news article, a lecture you gave, a scientific paper you authored.

Life is filled with victories and valuable lessons learned, especially when you try something new. Can you tell us please about a time you failed, how you overcame it and what you learned from it?

During my childhood and teenage years, I dreamed of becoming a behavioral veterinarian. However, I failed to get into preparatory vet school after high school and instead enrolled in my second choice: life sciences at university. What felt like a disaster at the time turned out to be a turning point. I discovered a deep passion for cell biology, physiology, and biomathematics, which ultimately shaped my career path. Looking back, I can’t imagine being more fulfilled in any other field. It reinforced my belief that everything happens for a reason, and that it is better to embrace the journey than dwell on what might have been.

Is there an achievement that you are particularly proud of?

One achievement I am particularly proud of is stepping into my first global leadership role in 2018, just a year after becoming a parent. I am proud of how I managed to set healthy boundaries, to be there for my family, while setting the path for my team. I ended up leading the team for 6 years and it has been an incredibly rewarding experience.

What or who inspires you? Whose work do you admire? Why? Give us 1-2 examples.

It may sound cheesy, but my father was my most inspirational figure, a self-made man who never let conventions define him. His determination to create his own path showed me that hard work, resilience and authenticity can take you quite far.

One of the most dreaded introductory questions: What is a fun/quirky/geeky fact about you? :)

Something that always surprises, I am allergic to caffeine, so I drink lots of water to stay awake.

What are the hobbies you enjoy doing in your spare time?

Stand-up paddle and yoga, sometimes yoga on the paddleboard. Playing board games with the family.

What is one of the best pieces of advice you have received and how did you use it/how did it serve you?

One of the best pieces of advice I have ever received was from a colleague who "quoted" the image from airplane safety instructions reminding me to put my own oxygen mask on before helping others. It reminded me that taking care of myself - physically, mentally, and emotionally - is not selfish, it is a necessity and a way to better show up for others.

Maxwell Lawson, head of digital process innovation & AI in drug development, Novartis ↓

Anurang Revri, chief enterprise architect, Stanford Health Care ↓

Shola Richards, associate director and principal data scientist, Novartis ↓

Fabian Rudolf, group chief data officer, Mediclinic International / Hirslanden (GFTG) ↓

Kristin Anne Rutter, executive director, Cambridge University Health Partners ↓

Lawrence Tallon, chief executive officer, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) ↓

Andy Wenger, global head of foundational domains, Roche ↓

Your position and organisation

Head of Foundational Domains, Informatics, F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG

Life is filled with victories and valuable lessons learned, especially when you try something new. Can you tell us please about a time you failed, how you overcame it and what you learned from it?

For five years I ran my own company, which I had to give up because it really didn't go anywhere. Interesting problems don't always make for good products that people actually want. That was a bitter pill to swallow and getting back into the corporate world was to some extent even harder. Getting back into a world where almost everything felt outside of your control again was very frustrating initially. I had to learn that the organizational challenges can be just as interesting as the engineering challenges I was missing in the corporate world. To some extent I actually find them a lot harder. So ultimately it was about reframing the problem such that I could find it interesting and get satisfaction out of it.

Is there an achievement that you are particularly proud of?

Raising a kind, determined, resilient and good human being. My 22 year old daughter that just graduated from college, played on the basketball Swiss national team at the European Championships last week. All at the same time. Being a parent in my mind is the ultimate leadership job. It will test you to your limits and it will reward you beyond anything you could imagine.

What or who inspires you? Whose work do you admire? Why? Give us 1-2 examples.

Kobe Bryant: 1% better everyday. It is not about the destination, it is about the process to get there. You have to love the process of getting better to be great. To be good at anything requires effort, it requires grit if you can ground yourself in learning something new and getting a little better everyday you are much more resilient to failures (and we all have them) and success will grow from doing things consistently.

One of the most dreaded introductory questions: What is a fun/quirky/geeky fact about you? :)

My daughter came home from elementary school and declared that she hated math. At the time coding and working with linear algebra and calculus was my daily bread and butter so I could not understand how my daughter could hate math. She hasn't even learned enough to decide whether she hated it or not. So I decided to create an app for her that would allow her to practice basic math on her iPod. The only person that actually enjoyed the game was probably me.

What are the hobbies you enjoy doing in your spare time?

Taking on too many home improvement projects that I can't finish. It's a topic with my wife. I'm really not living the DevOps mantra of "stop starting, start finishing". Nonetheless, I enjoy doing these kinds of things from home automation to sound absorbing artwork.

Are there aspects of your work or knowledge that you are especially enthusiastic about and wish people asked you about more often?

I'm often more interested in building the tools that can get the job done than the actually thing that needs to be accomplished. This is why platforms, platform thinking and platform engineering are topics that are really close to my heart. I believe we are still underestimating the power of these topics and thinking about how can we make other builders successful instead of simply focusing on building cool things ourselves.

What is one of the best pieces of advice you have received and how did you use it/how did it serve you?

Leadership is repeating yourself until you can't stand hearing yourself any more. I'm someone that likes to live in his head. So by the time I say something I have thought about it a bunch of times already. This is not true for everyone around you. They think about other things that are more relevant to their priorities. So you can't assume that everyone around you can read your mind and understands your words after the first time they hear them. Repetition is the we make sure people are on the same page and that the vision you have in mind actually happens. Remembering this helps me not get frustrated saying the same things over and over again.

 

group food for thought gatherings

Small morning and evening group thematic, informal gatherings with drinks, snacks, and food.

One of the features of our programme we are most proud of are the proactive statements from leaders seeking to return to it, such as: “When is it taking place this year? I need to block this time in my schedule.” :) This Bumblekite element also serves as our way of recognising many of the people listed below who contributed to the programme in its previous iterations.

 

María Cervera de la Rosa, research scientist, health AI, Apple ↓

Jonas Dorn, digital biomarker technology lead, Roche ↓

Christian Holz, associate professor, ETH Zürich ↓

Jennifer Pougnet, head of data strategy and data policy, Roche ↓

 

community partners

In crafting Bumblekite, we prioritise the participant's holistic experience. Our MLSS is designed to be more than the sum of its parts, live up to its 'experimental' tagline, and go beyond the latest AI advancements, with the invaluable support of the leaders below.

Oswaldo Gomez, lead IT expert MLOps, Roche; intro and closing of the day ↓

Thomas Huggler, managing director, Balgrist University Hospital; welcome address, opening evening rooftop social ↓

Daniel Liedtke, chief executive officer, Hirslanden; member of the executive committee, Mediclinic International ↓

We are deeply excited to welcome Daniel as a participant. He will be joining the practical session with Juan Banda (Stanford Health Care) and pair programming with Dijana Vilic (GSTT), which we see as a powerful demonstration of leading by example.

In the design and deployment of AI, as well as in the creation of inclusive learning spaces, it is crucial to emphasise that status and tenure in any system, including healthcare, are not substitutes for knowledge and practical experience.

Verena Schmid, curator of Hirslanden’s art collection; visit to the collection ↓

 
 

testimonials

Some of the most valuable and rewarding days of my professional life have been those when I deliberately chose to step out of the daily juggle and make time for what I truly believe matters.

This summer, I had the privilege of lecturing at the Bumblekite Summer School in Switzerland. Bumblekite’s concept is so compelling, it’s hard to believe these institutions haven’t spread worldwide. As healthcare increasingly depends on algorithms, it’s crucial to bridge the skills gap between biology and engineering. At this summer school, health science professionals dive into machine learning and data science, while data scientists and engineers gain insight into the fundamentals of biomedical and health sciences.

Engaging the next generation of leaders at Bumblekite was a worthy commitment of time. Young professionals and students – this next generation that will shape the future of healthcare – came together to exchange ideas, collaborate, and celebrate the intersection of biomedicine, healthcare, and AI. It was one of those events where – though you’re expected to inspire others – you find yourself inspired by the ambition, knowledge, and creativity of these talented individuals.

It is in places like this where the real magic happens.

Shez Partovi, EVP / Chief Innovation & Strategy Officer, Philips; Chief Business Leader, Enterprise Informatics, Philips

It was really the best experience an employer has ever given me.

After being surrounded by elite industry leaders, top scholars and brilliant graduate students it’s hard to put into words how great the experience was.

Thank you all for taking the time to make me feel so special, appreciated and valued.

Oswaldo Gomez, participant

…details matter. It's obvious but when executed properly you can clearly see the results… the scene was set to nudge a tone of curiosity, thoughtfulness, playfulness and kindness.
It was energising to be in an environment where kindness, curiosity and intellectual humility reigned and I look forward to be in and help create many more such spaces.

Bernardo Pereira, participant

Words cannot express the wisdom, curiosity, thought-provoking ideas, motivation, and friendships I have experienced and created throughout this intense week.

Oscar Manuel Jiménez Rama, participant

Little did I know, this experience would exceed my highest expectations.

Isotta Trescato, participant

“I've managed to interact with at least 30 very passionate people from different countries around the world working in my field and engage with them professionally. We intend to support each other throughout our career.”

“I also feel motivated to go back to my work and GET IT DONE :)”

“The summer school has quite literally broadened my horizons and I've returned home with a renewed passion for my work and plenty of new ideas to try…”

“Over the course of the Bumblekite week, my professional network has grown significantly. I had an excellent experience and found the quality of the people I met to be outstanding.”

“One of the most insightful weeks of my life. I would love to go back in time and experience it for the first time again.”

“This experience has been profoundly eye-opening, filling me with new knowledge and motivation from meeting so many inspiring individuals!”

“The knowledge and connections I've made here were priceless…”

“I appreciated the thoroughness of the questions and the evident care with which our opinions were considered. From my perspective, it seemed that every response we gave, whether in the application form, our expectations, or during the daily reflections, was carefully read and considered.”

“The Bumblekite week has massively increased my motivation to learn more about machine learning and apply it to the healthcare field.”

“It was one of the best organised events I attended…”

“…one of the best experiences of my PhD career: a fantastic week in Zurich!”

 
 

schedule

Our programme consists of 50% data and engineering and 25% leadership sessions with 25% dedicated to curated social interactions. Notably, 35% of our sessions involve hands-on work with data and AI models, a distinctive Bumblekite feature.

You can find our preliminary schedule here (last updated June 21st).

While we continue crafting this year’s schedule, we invite you to have a look at our 2024 schedule in detail. You can read more about the most recent evolution of our schedule and our plans for this year in our lessons learned 2025 and 2024.

Onboarding materials and sessions ↓

 

Communications onboarding

The abundant space for questions, celebrating curiosity, has been central to the Bumblekite experience. However, explaining its depth to newcomers can be a challenge. We don't just mean a few questions; we do really mean nearly an hour of participant-led Q&A, plus at least an hour of a follow-up discussion! To ensure you are prepared to make the most of this opportunity, we are introducing a virtual communications onboarding session the week before our time together in Zürich. This session will equip you with the tools and confidence to craft meaningful and thought-provoking questions that serve both yourself, your peers, and our invited leaders. What is a question you are curious about that can't be answered by a search engine / an AI?

 

Data and engineering onboarding

Data and engineering onboarding takes place in several forms. Ahead of our week together you will receive the reading recommendations ranging from beginner to advanced materials. We also host a virtual onboarding session that goes through the basics of the technical environments used in the practical sessions, which is recorded and shared on Slack afterwards. The first Monday of Bumblekite week is intentionally tutorial-free (a change introduced in 2024), allowing you to meet with our team in person and resolve any remaining questions to ensure everyone feels ready and confident for the first tutorial.

 

 

Social programme

Travelling to a new city, country or a continent is an exciting opportunity to experience a new environment. Our social programme is designed to enable you to explore Zürich and Switzerland while building relationships in a wide variety of settings: during physical activity, such as walking or hiking, or simply by collectively enjoying the sunset with a breathtaking view.

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Virtual get-to-know

Our Slack workspace will open 2 weeks before we meet in Zürich, providing an opportunity to introduce yourselves and start building relationships. Anja has prepared her favourite set of introductory questions, so get ready for some serious nerdiness.

 

A hike to Uetliberg (Sunday)

After our great experience in the previous years, we will organise a hiking trip to Uetliberg (871 m) again this year. The distance is ca. 4.2 km and the hike will take around 4 h including plenty of time to meet other participants and lecturers joining the hike and admire the views of the Zürich surroundings. It will be led by two members of the Bumblekite team.

 

A guided city tour (Sunday)

If you would like to explore the beauty of Zürich we invite you to join the city tour led by a guide from Free Walk. It will take you through a number of historic Zürich locations including Paradeplatz, Fraumünster, Thermengasse, St. Peter’s church, Lindenhof, and Grossmünster.

 

An evening on the gorgeous rooftop of University Hospital Balgrist (Monday)

Buzzing with the first Bumblekite impressions, we encourage you to share them with your peers in a relaxed atmosphere and a scenic setting overlooking the Zürich lake. We have partnered again with University Hospital Balgrist to spend our Monday evening together on their beautiful rooftop terrace, including alcohol-free drinks and snacks. Forming long-lasting relationships and beautiful friendships has never looked better! :)

 

University Hospital Balgrist in 1912, the year of its founding.

© Universitätsklinik Balgrist

 

A visit (or two) to the University Hospital Balgrist's Operating Room X (OR-X) (Monday)

OR-X is a fully equipped operating room that can be used for surgical training, prototype development and validation. Unofficially: OR-X is a nerd's dream come true. It's an operating room dedicated solely to experimentation with new types of technologies. The initial OR-X visit on Monday evening will last approximately 20-30 minutes. Afterwards, depending on your interest, we will curate a series of smaller discussions with various OR-X teams, either via a follow-up visit or through virtual meetings, with the goal of providing you with further insights and preparing for future collaborations.

 

A visit to the Hirslanden art collection (Wednesday)

The growing body of research and public interest highlights art's role in the healing process for both the human body and spirit. Hirslanden's extensive art collection, comprising over 1,000 pieces carefully acquired since the late 20th century, is one of the largest held by a hospital group in the region. Ultimately, an organisation's dedication to arts is a commitment made by its leaders; as demonstrated by Daniel, Hirslanden's current CEO, whom you will have the pleasure to code together with on Tuesday.

These artworks are used, among other things, to curate guided art tours for patients, an activity that nourishes both physical and emotional well-being. On Wednesday morning, Verena Schmid, the curator of Hirslanden's art collection (with a background in computer science), will lead small groups of our participants through Hirslanden's hallways, providing insights into the artwork and Hirslanden's history.

 

A visit to the Novartis Pavillon (Saturday)

Just as our Uetliberg hike will reveal our journey only in retrospect, we will conclude our week together with a visit to Basel and the Novartis Pavillon, reflecting on the history of medicine to gain perspective on the innovations that have shaped our present.

 

Bumblekite community awards

We have created the following awards to recognise the skills and behaviours that contribute to creating a nourishing sense of community that make Bumblekite the best summer experience for you and our partners, including the organising team:

 

day-to-day at Bumblekite

 

Meltem Salb

 

Our Bumblekite machine learning programme is carefully designed to cover in depth pressing topics in machine learning, biosciences, health and care while prioritising practical applications of computing in preventative health, care, biomedical research and direct patient care.

Our goal is for you to be challenged, while receiving the personalised attention and support necessary to succeed in your greatest professional aspirations.  

Every dataset analysed, problem solved and a policy written - every session created and delivered is done through the lens of how that particular action helps a human, in health and as a patient, achieve their goals. Human stories are at the heart of our programme, creating a storyline through which we will journey together in our seven days in Zürich.

A single day at Bumblekite represents a data layer of a health and care system that touches a human life. We will start with a layer of data familiar to many: clinical measurements that come from a visit to the hospital, emergency room, intensive care unit, a blood withdrawal, and move onto imaging, sensors, sequencing, multimodal and health and care systems data.

The core element of our Bumblekite story is the conversation between you, our lecturers and other participants. As one of the most beautiful testaments to it, during our summer school week of 2023, our participants asked over 300 questions.

What are yours? 

A typical Bumblekite day includes the following session types:

 

Meltem Salb

 

Engineering keynote lectures: leaders in the field provide an overview of their area(s) of expertise.

 

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Tutorials: excellence in practice: guided exposure to relevant data sets followed by practical assignments, with a range of difficulty levels designed to ensure a learning outcome and challenges for everyone, irrespective of your initial familiarity with the topic.

 

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Leadership workshops: skills-building sessions designed to foster key leadership communication skills coupled with the near-real time feedback discussions with our lecturers.

 

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Office hours: opportunities for conversations with our lecturers, either 1:1 or in a small group with other participants on the topics of your own career trajectory, project, paper and other questions you are eager to explore in a more intimate setting.

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Office hours, as an informal space for a conversation whose structure and content is determined by you, are exactly that: room for free exploration, fueling your ascension in the career path of your choice.

 

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Leadership conversation series: talks, debates, and Q&A sessions with esteemed professionals who have pushed the boundaries of what is possible in their fields.

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This conversation series was inspired by the Q&A sessions our team participated in, those conversations that no matter how long they last, are always way too short. Irrespective of how many of your questions got answered, there was always this one that got away. We strongly believe that the people we have chosen to participate in this part of the programme have the potential to induce similar feelings in our participants. Previous participants likely felt the same, as we now ask our lecturers to stay at least 30 min after their discussion to allow time for all your additional questions. That being written, you will be the final judge of how good our curation skills were this year.

The first leadership Q&A evening is reserved for an introductory panel on the topic of how leaders we admire have built and manage data science and engineering teams within the health and care systems they operate in. This conversation sets the tone for the rest of the week, with the cumulative decades of experience, superb leadership skills and candidness of the leaders we have invited into the dialogue. What is the ideal portfolio of skills one needs to have at every step of their career, every transition e.g. from one field to another that they are keen on making? Is there such a thing as “ideal”? Where is the room for upskilling at the job and what are the required skills one needs to bring to it? These are some of the questions we aim to tackle together with you during the first evening of our Bumblekite machine learning programme.

 

Meltem Salb

 

Introduction to and the closing of the day: time to prepare for and reflect on the day that has passed.

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Equally importantly to an excellent start of the day is the process of unwinding and closure at its end. We would love to hear your thoughts, insights, hear more about the challenges that arose, as well as to celebrate the wins of the day. We strongly believe that taking a pause, reflecting on the experience you went through during the intense day is an essential part of the process of acquiring new skills and knowledge.

 
 

partners

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Acknowledgements

We would like to recognise and thank the following individuals who have been supporting the Bumblekite 2025 iteration: Andrew deMello, Shashank Shekhar. We would also like to thank all the members of the operational staff of our collaborating organisations for their invaluable work in supporting their executive team members.