2023 Global Health Technology Challenge
Competition eligibility criteria:
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Teams can be comprised of undergraduate students from any major.
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Design must address a global health need using a technical approach.
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Projects can emanate from coursework or other extracurricular activities.
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Teams should incorporate the design constraints encountered in providing healthcare in resource-limited settings.
About the Competition:
The Rice360 Institute for Global Health Technologies 13th Annual Undergraduate Global Health Technologies Design Competition will feature student teams from national and international universities who will present low-cost technologies they have designed to address global health challenges in resource-limited settings. The 2023 Competition will be hosted on April 21, 2023, on the Rice University Campus in Houston, Texas, with virtual participation options also available to student teams.
All teams selected as semi-finalists will have the option to receive coaching from mentors in global health. Using insights from coaching, teams will prepare oral presentations (<6 minutes), which will be presented live at the competition finale on April 21 to a panel of judges from a diverse range of disciplinary backgrounds, including medicine, engineering, and public health. Judges will select awards for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place, along with a new award for 2023 honoring the design that best considers diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout the design process.
Award Information
This year, we are thrilled to announce prize awards for the competition. Judges will select award winners based on the evaluation rubric here.
The 2023 competition awards include:
1st Place: $500, 2nd Place: $350, 3rd Place: $250, and the People’s Choice Award: $350
Crystal Sea Award: $500
The Crystal Sea Award ($500) honors student innovators who leverage innovation to address an unmet health need. The Award aims to incentivize and celebrate student-led innovation that improves global health equity. The 2023 Crystal Sea Award will be awarded to a team whose design best expands innovation in the areas of materials sciences or digital innovation. Dr. Ning Li will present the Crystal Sea Award at the Rice360 Design Competition in Houston on April 21, 2023. The Crystal Sea Award honors Dr. Li's grandfather, Haiqing Du, a materials science professor in Hunan University China.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award: $500
The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award ($500) honors student innovators who thoughtfully consider issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout the design process. The Award aims to elevate and celebrate student-led innovation that advances equity through the design of global health technologies that address unmet health needs, particularly for marginalized populations.
January 9, 2023
Team Applications opens
February 24, 2023
Team Applications Close at 11:59 PM CST
Entries will be judged on the quality of the problem definition, the effectiveness and potential impact of the design solution, and the likelihood that the design solution can be successful in improving healthcare delivery in a low-resource setting.
Please see the judges’ rubric for additional details on the assessment of applications.
March 3, 2023
Semi-finalists teams notified
April 12, 2023
People's Choice Award voting opens
April 21, 2023 @ 4PM CST
People's Choice Award voting closes
April 21, 2023
Semi-finalist teams present to an interdisciplinary panel of judges.
Semi-finalist teams will be invited to join in-person on the Rice University Campus in Houston, Texas, with virtual participation opportunities also available.
9:00 am - 6pm CST
How to Apply
Undergraduate teams should apply online here.
The application form includes:
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Problem Definition (50 words or less)
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Abstract (300 words or less), must include:
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Description of the design problem and assessment of need for solution
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Design criteria and constraints
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Description and status of your proposed solution along with successes, limitations, and future work.
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If you choose, you may include one figure or table with caption.
*Please kindly note that references and credits do not need to be included in abstract.
Project Video:
Each team should submit a video about the problem your team aims to solve and your team’s general approach. Please kindly note that team videos should not include any proprietary information surrounding the project. Teams will upload this video in the application form as an unlisted YouTube video.
Video content should include:
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What global health challenge motivates the technology?
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What is the global health need your technology addresses?
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Who will benefit? (Example: “Patients in low-resource hospitals where suction pumps are needed but there is no electricity.”)
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How will the technology fit/fill the need? (Example: “The suction pump avoids the need for electricity as it is solar powered.”)
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What is your proposed solution? Please specify any results/findings if you have had a chance to test the technology. (Example: “We have tested the suction pump measuring the vacuum it generates using a vacuum gauge” or “we have compared the suction pump to an existing suction pump at the hospital”, or “we plan to do a pressure test”…)
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What are your successes, limitations and future plans?
Past Competitions
Competition Videos
Evaluations of applications
Applications will be evaluated by design judges using this evaluation rubric. We encourage all teams to consider this evaluation rubric when preparing your applications.