University of Kentucky students can register now to participate in the fourth annual Global Health Case Competition, an innovative graduate and undergraduate interdisciplinary team competition that develops strategies to address a critical global health challenge.

Registration closes midnight Friday, Dec. 15. The UK competition will be held Feb. 3. Register at http://international.uky.edu/GHI/Solve/Case.

The UK teams’ strategies are presented to a panel of judges, and the winning team is awarded $1,200 plus free admission to the Midwest Regional Global Health Conference, slated Feb. 24, 2018, at the University of Cincinnati.

After individual students register, organizers randomly match students into teams, comprised of four to six students from at least three different UK colleges. Applicants may request to be paired with a maximum of five other applicants at the time of registration, but team membership is not guaranteed, as priority must be given to the overall needs of the competition and team diversity. Post-graduate and post-doctoral fellows are not eligible to participate. Students who wish to participate may come from any UK college, but experience or interest in global health and problem-solving skills are crucial. 

During the competition, each team will showcase a visual presentation, followed by a Q&A portion with the judges.

Although the case topic is different every year, it always focuses on a pressing global health issue. For example, in 2017 students served as a multidisciplinary consultant team to the president of Honduras, in an effort to reduce gun violence in the country. The competition allowed the great minds of the nation, and the world, to come together and design a solution to the violence Honduras faces daily.

UK will host a Team Meet-and-Greet the week of the competition, where team members can officially meet and get to know each other, discuss strategies and participate in team-building activities. A team captain will be chosen for each group, and all team members will sign an honor code to ensure their full participation. Teams will be informed of the global health case the week of the case competition and will be provided a scheduled work day to collaborate with each other before the presentation.

This competition is hosted by the Global Health Initiative, whose mission is to advance research and educational programs for students to improve the health of people throughout the world.

global health 2017 winners2.jpg