Case-Study Competition

The Minnesota Prepared case-study competition provides students from across the University of Minnesota with an engaging learning opportunity to increase their knowledge, creativity, and skills to address a current public health challenge.

Case-Study Competition Goals

• Introduce undergraduate and graduate students to a community health challenge faced by Minnesotans, which governmental public health agencies are tasked to address.
• Provide pathways to engaging with public health practitioners, faculty, medical staff, and policymakers who face similar real-life situations.
• Create an opportunity for students to think critically about how to solve relevant community health problems.

Format of Case-Study Competition

Students from schools and colleges at the University of Minnesota will form interdisciplinary teams and be presented with the case study. Teams will work together to develop solutions and a plan to address the public health challenges of the case. They will then present their solutions to a board of judges who will select a winning team and runners-up. Cash prizes will be awarded.

2023 Competition

Minnesota Prepared partnered with the Center for Global Health and Social Responsibility (CGHSR) to administer the 2023 competition. Over 60 students across 12 schools competed in 10 teams. Each team had students from at least three UMN schools and colleges. The case-study was written by Minnesota Prepared graduate assistant, Isabel Ricke, with guidance from Minnesota Prepared investigators, Minnesota Department of Health professionals, and CGHSR colleagues. The case-study centered on a strain of avian influenza (H5N1) that had crossed over to humans, with the potential to become a novel pandemic.

In January 2023, teams were presented with the case and given a week to work collaboratively to develop presentations that responded to the challenges of the case. Teams presented their solutions via recordings to a panel of judges; this first round of judging selected 4 teams to advance to the next and final round. A hybrid final round of presentations, after which the winning team and runners-up were announced and awarded cash prizes of $3,000 for first place and $1,000 for second place, to be divided among the team members

First Place in the 2023 Global Health Case Competition 

• Ayush Shah, Team Captain (Medical School)
• Jamel Benhamida (Medical School)
• August Glomski (School of Public Health)
• Olivia Jensen (College of Liberal Arts)
• Diya Patel (Continuing and Professional Studies)
• Jason Roycraft (School of Public Affairs)
• Coach: Whitney Waldsmith, College of Veterinary Medicine

Second Place in the 2023 Global Health Case Competition

• Rashika Shetty, Team Captain (Medical School)
• Jeremy Giannone (Continuing and Professional Studies)
• Chuyi Sun (College of Liberal Arts)
• Nicole Wendel (College of Pharmacy)
• Jacqueline Wille (Medical School)
• Coach: Rob Thames, Global Health Ministries

Timing

The second Minnesota Prepared case-study competition is under development and will take place in 2024. Details about the case and partnerships are kept confidential until the competition is live so that no team receives an unfair advantage.