If you have an idea for a new product or research project in global health, the IGHI's Student Challenges Competition could make that idea a reality.

The Student Challenges Competition offers you a key opportunity to showcase your research idea and to win prize money of up to £5,000 to develop this further. Runners-up prizes will also be awarded.

The vision of the Institute of Global Health Innovation is to support the identification, development and widespread diffusion of healthcare innovation and in doing so to sustainably reduce global health inequalities across the globe.

The competition is open to all Imperial students and can be on any aspect of global health innovation. 

For example:

• Aiding patients with physical disabilities in the developing world;
• Improving sanitation and hygiene;
• Tackling chronic diseases;
• Finding new diagnostics for infectious diseases in remote areas;
• Enhancing and reshaping global health policy and processes.

IGHI are looking for technical, clinical and business innovations which must have the potential for wide scale global health impact and also allow for economic implementation and feasibility. 

The competition is now in its third year.  Previous entries have included the utilisation of satellite technology to monitor salinity in drinking water, a proposal to establish palliative care training workshops in Africa, and the practical application of stem cell biology to screen for cardiac toxicity. 

Short listed candidates will present to a panel of global health experts at the annual Dragon’s Den style event, where they will be given the chance to win funding to create a prototype or visit a potential research site abroad to implement their project idea.  

Past Winners

John Chetwood, winner of the 2012 competition tells us more about his project and how the competition helped him develop his idea in his video here and detailed further in his blog article here.

Gabrielle Prager, winner of Student Challenges 2013, guides us through her journey through the competition in her article for the IGHI blog.  

How Can I Enter?

If you think you have the winning idea, go to the how to apply page or email ighi@imperial.ac.uk. The deadline for submissions is 28 November 2014.