Registration for the 2014 Vanderbilt Global Health Case Competition is now open to undergraduate and graduate students In this university-wide competition, interdisciplinary teams develop and present innovative solutions to a complex global health challenge. Teams consist of four to six students representing at least three different Vanderbilt schools. Undergraduate, graduate, and professional students from all disciplines, backgrounds, and levels of experience are encouraged to register online as individuals, teams, or partial teams through January 17, 2014.
The Global Health Case Competition is hosted annually by the Institute for Global Health’s Student Advisory Council. The specific subject of the case remains a mystery until the competition kick-off on February 5, 2014, but the case may incorporate multi-faceted issues such as health care policy, international law, development economics, engineering, health education, gender equality, or emergency response. Participants do not need to have any prior knowledge of the case topic, and a background in medicine or public health is not required. The most successful teams take a pragmatic, multidisciplinary approach to the case and design a feasible and cost-effective response within the given constraints.
When the case is revealed on February 5, 2014, teams will receive a packet of information and competition guidelines. They will spend the next two and a half days researching, analyzing, and preparing their solution to the case, which they will present on Saturday, February 8 to a panel of expert judges from a range of backgrounds and areas of expertise. The winning team will represent Vanderbilt University at the annual International Emory Global Health Competition in Atlanta on March 29.
The 2013 Vanderbilt case addressed mental health challenges among youth in post-revolution Egypt. Previous case topics included multi-drug resistant tuberculosis in the Russian prison system and acute malnutrition in the Oromia region of Ethiopia.
For more information on the case competition, including a link to the online registration form, visit the VIGH Student Advisory Council’s website, www.vanderbilt.edu/vigh-sac, or email vigh.sac@gmail.com.