The GTA is one of the largest health science hubs in the world. Dozens of hospitals, tens of thousands of people and billions in research dollars is the backdrop to a health-care system that is feeling the strains of an aging population, increasing costs and a demand for novel approaches to health that move beyond intervention to personalized evidence-based health and care.
At the heart of this innovation engine are ideas—some simple, some complex, some individual, some collaborative. Ideas form the seeds of innovation. But not every idea is a good idea; not every good idea is a workable idea; not every workable idea can be developed into an innovation; not every innovation can become sustainable or scalable. It takes thousands of ideas to create hundreds of projects, to create dozens of startups to create a few viable innovations.
The HealthEDGE Initiative was born from a need to catalyze more ideas around real and current problems with the health-care system to fuel the massive health science innovation engine that has been created in the GTA. HealthEDGE is a platform for change, but it starts with people; people who see challenges, gaps, leaks, bugs, problems, and opportunities.
We asked the community to submit bugs, gaps, problem opportunities or challenges. We reviewed those and posted three challenge areas:
- Healthcare Delivery and the Patient Experience
- Rapid Diagnostics and Monitoring
- Training and Culture
Now its up to the community to come up with solutions.
How can you get involved?
- Sign up for our mailing list for updates (see the sidebar)
- Sign up for various workshops on Business Model Canvas, Market Research, Pitching Tips, Regulation etc.
- Get your team together, collaborate and talk to Mentors on Jan 19th to prepare for pitch submissions.
- Submit your Pitch by Jan 26th for a chance to pitch to the Expert Panel and receive one of the 3 available $5000 fellowship awards. Each team must have at least 1 student currently enrolled in a program at the University of Toronto. (See the Terms and Conditions for eligibility. Not eligible? Join a team and help them win.)
HealthEdge Challenge 2018
“Devices for Better Care, Better Health and Better Health Science”
DEADLINE: All applications must be received by 11:59 PM on Friday January 26, 2018. Incomplete applications or applications with missing documents will not be reviewed.
Teams considering applying must attend the Lunch and Learn Workshop on January 15, 2018 on Intellectual Property Basics.
To register, click here.