The Aga Khan University’s (AKU) Centre for Innovation in Medical Education (CIME), Karachi, hosted SIMPACT 2026, the only health care simulation conference in Pakistan and East Africa, connecting clinicians, educators, leaders, innovators, and students from both regions in real time. This year’s theme, “Simulation Reimagined: AI & Beyond,” explored how artificial intelligence, immersive technologies, analytics, and next-generation learning systems are reshaping health training and, ultimately, patient safety.
The conference included pre-conference workshops, more than 80 research presentations, keynote talks and exhibits of home-grown innovations as well as the latest industry exhibits in healthcare simulation technology.
A central highlight of the conference was SIMVENTION, an exhibition of locally-developed, AI-powered health care technology and software reflecting the breadth of innovation emerging from Pakistan. Shortlisted projects included an Urdu-English talking avatar for medical training, a culturally sensitive chatbot for adolescent reproductive health and an AI-assisted tuberculosis screening pipeline.
Artificial intelligence is already transforming healthcare, from drug discovery and medical diagnosis to precision medicine and patient care, said Professor Atta-ur-Rahman, Professor Emeritus at the University of Karachi and former Chairman of the Higher Education Commission. The pace of this change means we must also rethink how we educate and prepare the healthcare professionals of tomorrow. Simulation provides an important environment for developing the skills, judgement and adaptability needed to navigate this rapidly evolving landscape.
Every hospital we build in Sindh is only as strong as the workforce trained to run it, said Chief Guest Dr Dabeer Ahmed Khan, Special Assistant to the Minister for Health and Population Welfare, Government of Sindh. In this day and age, it is essential to building a future-ready healthcare workforce—where simulation and artificial intelligence play an increasingly important role in preparing healthcare professionals with the skills, confidence and experience they need to deliver safe, high-quality care. It is the vision of Dr Azra Fazal Pechuhu Honorable Minister health and population welfare to upgrade their skills in order to provide the quality treatment in public sector hospitals.
As the largest simulation centres in their respective regions, AKU’s CIMEs in Karachi and Nairobi continue to lead the transformation of health education through simulation.
CIME has always been focused on using simulation to address the real challenges facing health care education and practice, said Dr Faisal Ismail, Conference Chair, and Regional Director, CIME South Asia. SIMPACT creates a space where ideas, evidence and innovation can be shared across institutions and borders. We firmly believe that technology and simulation are powerful tools for teaching and training of health care staff in Pakistan, and are essential to promote patient safety and improve the quality of care provided to patients.
The programme also featured a keynote address by Professor Thomas Thesen, Director of the AI and Digital Health Curriculum, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, alongside two panel discussions on future directions for AI in health care.
With its two-city hybrid format and its focus on AI as both a subject of study and a tool for simulation itself, SIMPACT 2026 spotlights the advancements that are taking place in Pakistan and health care education, training, and practice.