New Brunswick, N.J. – September 18, 2026 -- Rutgers University and RWJBarnabas Health launched the Rutgers/RWJBarnabas Health Innovation Hub, powered by Amazon Web Services, creating one of the nation's first technology hubs to unite a medical school, an academic health system and a cloud provider under one roof.
Hub pairs New Jersey's largest health system with AWS cloud and AI tools
The facility combines Rutgers' academic and research capacity, RWJBarnabas Health's clinical reach as New Jersey's largest academic health system, and AWS cloud and artificial intelligence infrastructure to address health care challenges spanning the classroom and hospital bedside.
Inaugural cohort to field up to five interdisciplinary student teams
Students across undergraduate and doctoral programs will join four- to 10-week rapid prototyping projects. The first cohort is expected to include up to five interdisciplinary teams tackling priorities identified by Rutgers faculty and RWJBarnabas Health clinicians, including clinical decision-support tools, medical education technology, student wellness, hospital operations efficiency and health equity initiatives.
Teams will receive AWS cloud computing credits, technical mentorship from AWS engineers, and access to the broader AWS Cloud Innovation Centers network, alongside mentorship and evaluation from Rutgers faculty and RWJBarnabas Health clinicians.
Hub will sit inside HELIX, future home of unified Rutgers medical school
The hub is housed in the Health and Life Science Exchange (HELIX) in New Brunswick, which will also host the New Brunswick campus of the future Rutgers School of Medicine, uniting Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and New Jersey Medical School. Pending 2027 accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, the unified school's first class is expected to enroll in 2028, positioning it as one of the nation's largest public medical schools by enrollment.
Model builds on Rutgers Health Hack, targets self-sustaining pipeline
The initiative extends the annual 48-hour Rutgers Health Hack, where students, faculty and industry partners including RWJBarnabas Health and AWS have previously collaborated, into a year-round structure. One resulting project under development is an AI-driven coaching system that uses students' academic progress data to generate personalized feedback alongside one-on-one coaching, intended to support students as Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and New Jersey Medical School integrate.
"This collaboration with RWJBarnabas Health and AWS means our students won't just learn about the future of health care – they'll build solutions that can reach real patients in real communities across New Jersey,