Case Competition

The Minnesota Prepared case competitions provided a wide variety of students from the University of Minnesota and universities across the country with an engaging learning opportunity to increase their knowledge, creativity, and skills to address relevant public health challenges.

Case 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 Competitions

Students formed interdisciplinary teams and were presented with the case. Teams then worked together to develop solutions and a plan to address the public health challenges of the case. They then presented their solutions to a board of judges who selected a winning team and runners-up. Cash prizes were awarded.

To optimize efficiency and quality, Minnesota Prepared identified partners to assist with competition administration. These partners were experienced in running case competitions, therefore they contributed administrative and logistical support while Minnesota Prepared staff contributed case-writing and financial support.

2024 Competition

Minnesota Prepared partnered with the Clinician Administrator Relationship Improvement Organization (CLARION) to administer the 2024 competition. The case was written collaboratively by representatives from Minnesota Prepared, the Minnesota Department of Health, the Center for Interprofessional Programs (CHIP), the CLARION Student Board, the Center for Interprofessional Health, and the College of Veterinary Medicine. The case centered on pandemic preparedness, with an emphasis on trust and equity.

In January 2024, teams of students at Universities across the nation were presented with the case and given time to work collaboratively to develop presentations that responded to the challenges of the case. Teams presented their solutions via local competitions, with top teams advancing to the national competition at the University of Minnesota. The University of Minnesota local competition took place on February 24th, with 8 teams made up of a total of 23 students representing different healthcare professions. The national competition took place April 12-13th, with 47 students across 12 schools competing in 11 teams. A panel of expert judges selected a winner and runners-up. Cash prizes at the local and national competition were awarded to top teams.

First Place in the 2024 University of Minnesota Local CLARION Case Competition

Anandi Ganguli (Public Health)
Lauren Kress (Dentistry)
Juekun Wen (Pharmacy)

First Place in the 2024 National CLARION Case Competition: University of South Carolina

Abby Davies (PhD: Pharmaceutical Sciences)
Mikaela Ruvolo (Medicine)
Moji Awe (Doctor of Pharmacy)
Sreeja Varanasi (Medicine)

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 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 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