CIRACET Summer Internship Program 2026: Preparing Puerto Rico’s Next Generation of Healthcare Innovators

This summer, the CIRACET Summer Internship Program (CSIP) 2026 brought 23 university students to Ponce for a four-week interdisciplinary immersion in real-world healthcare innovation. The cohort included students from Puerto Rico and from universities such as Marquette University, the University of Oklahoma, and the University of Texas at Austin. Their disciplines ranged from Biomedical, Aerospace, and Software Engineering to Medicine and Information Systems. Within the ecosystem that CIRACET and the Healthcare Innovation Center (HIC) have built to connect academia, industry, and clinical practice, interns worked alongside project leaders and mentors on challenges drawn directly from the organization’s clinical, technological, and operational priorities.

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The cohort delivered ten projects that reflect the breadth of HIC’s work. In digital health and AI, one team developed an MVP concept for a smartphone-based hospital-at-home monitoring application. The app uses images or short videos to capture vital signs and sends tiered alerts to care teams. Another team designed a shared decision-making tool within CSN for people living with inherited bleeding disorders, a community estimated at about 500 people in Puerto Rico. In biomedical technology, interns built a low-cost IoT prototype that monitors pressure in a simulated ventilator system, detects leaks and obstructions in real time, and includes a roadmap for future integration with CAMS. Research teams examined emerging technologies in neurological rehabilitation, proposed a home-based neurorehabilitation system for post-stroke patients, and produced evidence reviews on fascial rehabilitation, aphasia therapy, and subchondral support for the osteoarthritic knee. On the operational side, interns designed an ISO 9001–aligned institutional metrics dashboard, a SharePoint-based corporate wiki, modernized CDIS work instructions with training videos, and an updated risk and opportunity register.

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The program’s strength came from the ecosystem around it. Collaboration with Philips, NovaHeart, iHnnova LLC, Ortho Med, and healthcare professionals including Dr. Gilberto Alvarado, Dr. José E. Novoa, and Dr. Sheila Rivera extended students’ learning beyond the classroom. A weekly speaker series covered a wide range of topics. Philips specialists explained how AI is applied to CT and MRI imaging. Dr. Novoa, of the Fundación para el Futuro de la Salud, discussed the challenges and opportunities in transforming Puerto Rico’s healthcare system. Paola Morales Carvajal described her path from biomedical engineering to startup founder, and Dr. Jorge L. Castro explained how scientific research becomes viable health technology. Hospital visits, networking, and a new three-day onboarding process gave interns firsthand insight into how technology, clinical practice, operations, and patient needs come together.

For Puerto Rico, the value goes beyond a single summer. The program applied the Medici Effect, the idea that innovation emerges where disciplines intersect, to help students see a healthcare solution through its full journey, from identifying a need to validating a prototype. The results reflect that impact. All 20 participants who responded to the program survey said they would recommend it, and 95 percent reported it contributed significantly to their professional development. Each prototype, framework, and evidence review is a practical foundation that CIRACET and HIC can build on through future research, partnerships, and implementation. Together, these outcomes strengthen the island’s capacity to design solutions for its own patients and providers.

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CSIP 2026 also reflects the commitment of the mentors, managers, and coordinators who guided each team. Participant and staff feedback is already shaping the next edition, including more substantial team projects, deeper clinical components, and stronger public-speaking development. As HIC continues to connect global healthcare innovation with local needs, programs like CSIP help develop the engineers, clinicians, researchers, and entrepreneurs who will shape Puerto Rico’s healthcare future. Organizations can reach HIC at info@hicpr.com or (787) 709-4525.

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