What is the Healthcare Innovation Challenge?

The Healthcare Innovation Challenge® will be the first healthcare related innovation competition of its kind. Innovation, entrepreneurship, and collaboration will come together in a forum designed to transform the quality, efficiency, safety and effectiveness of healthcare. Arizona State University's (ASU) Center for Healthcare Innovation & Clinical Trials (CHI&CT) has partnered with Idea Crossing, the creators and producers of the global Innovation Challenge®, to present a groundbreaking experience to academia and the Healthcare sector. This competition has been designed to bring together the best minds from a variety of disciplines to solve real-world healthcare challenges.

In this open competition, innovative concepts will be vetted publically to drive forward much needed change in healthcare while fostering cross-disciplinary collaboration. Sponsors of the Challenge will have a unique opportunity to influence the direction of the healthcare innovation questions, recruit tomorrow's healthcare leaders and gain early access to their fresh perspectives. Competing teams' Concept Plans will be distributed for public use under a Creative Commons license.

STRUCTURE
Timeline: January- May 1, 2009

Student Teams: 3-5 members per team, open to full-time and part-time graduate and undergraduate students representing multiple disciplines.

Question Categories:
- Information Technology in Healthcare
- Re-engineering Care/Interdisciplinary Teams
- Health Finance & Health 2.0

Student Submissions: 2-3 pages through online platform

Judges: sponsors, other healthcare professionals, educators and thought-leaders evaluate online submissions using a proprietary scorecard system.

PROCESS
1.Cross-disciplinary teams of 3-5 graduate and undergraduate students will be required to register online. Team leaders are encouraged to recruit teammates from healthcare related disciplines and/or disciplines not traditionally associated with healthcare.

2.Upon release of the challenge questions, all teams will be given several weeks to research, brainstorm and refine new ways to approach sponsors' innovation challenges.

3.Teams will submit a 2-3 page Concept Plan to the online judging panel.

4.After two-phases of intensive online judging by a panel of leaders from the healthcare, academic and business communities, the Top 6 teams (top 2 from each question category) will be announced.

5.Six finalist teams will travel to ASU, all expenses paid, and compete head-to-head, presenting their solutions to sponsors and the judging panel at an exciting final round Event on May 1, 2009.

6.$8,000 in cash will be awarded to the winning, most innovative team for developing a groundbreaking business model, product, service or strategy for healthcare.

BENEFITS
The healthcare innovation challenge is a ground breaking event that provides far reaching benefits to everyone involved.

Interdisciplinary Student Teams will benefit from this exciting and innovative opportunity to gain skill and experience working as part of a collaborative interdisciplinary team; a skill set that highly valued in the healthcare industry. The Challenge is also an excellent opportunity for students with innovative ideas to gain visibility, make contacts and interact with industry leaders and potential future employers.

Healthcare companies are invited to take advantage of this unique opportunity to highlight their company and become actively involved in healthcare innovation. Company sponsors will gain fresh solutions to healthcare problems, recruit top talent in the field, and build company awareness.

Healthcare educators can take advantage of the Challenge to infuse healthcare innovation into their curriculum and create an exciting learning opportunity for students. Faculty may want to incorporate this Challenge into student coursework or sponsor a team of students to represent their institution in the Healthcare Challenge.

For further information and FAQs, check our website (coming soon) at http://www.healthcare.ideacrossing.com