UNB will hold a virtual competition next semester that will give undergraduate students the chance to fix some of New Brunswick’s healthcare problems.
Healthcare competition
UNB’s first Health Case competition, called “Connect the Thoughts”, is a competition funded by UNB’s Teaching Learning Priority Fund at the Centre of Engagement Learning (CETL) that motivates students to design solutions for real-life problems in the health sector of New Brunswick.
The “Connect the thoughts” competition consists of students placed in teams of four people that will be given all the necessary information to create a solution to a healthcare problem. After eight days, they will answer a series of questions about their solution and process and present it to the judges.
The interdisciplinary competition will be virtual, and it will be held from January 16 to January 24. Learn more about the schedule here.
Prizes
The winning team will receive a cash prize of $700; $175 for each member. There will be a second-place prize of $300, or $75 for each member.
Every student will receive a certificate of participation.
Participation requirements
Students who wish to participate can be from any UNB campus, any faculty, and no background knowledge or experience is necessary.
“We strongly encourage students of all disciplines to apply, whether directly health-related or not, as we believe meaningful solutions to such multifaceted issues require a diverse range of perspectives”, mentions the website.
Application process
To participate in the competition, students must fill out an application form and submit it before Wednesday, December 9 at midnight.
The form can be found on the Connect the Thoughts’ website.
Any questions about the application can be emailed to Julia Patten, the Delegates Chair at jpatten@unb.ca.
Additional information
According to the UNB Newsroom, this competition is being developed by a Student Advisor committee who is a mentee of Dr. Sarah Balcom from the Faculty of Nursing and Dr. Andrea Bombak from the Department of Sociology.
It also mentions that “Connect the thoughts” was inspired by the University of British Columbia’s Health Care Team Challenge and Emory University’s Global Health Case Competition.
