Applications closed Friday for Northwestern’s first Intramural Global Health Case Competition, attracting 53 interested students.

The students applied as individuals or in groups, which required representatives from at least three different departments or schools. They will be officially assigned to teams of three to five on Friday. The competition is limited to only eight teams, who will begin preparing for the competition one month in advance with practice scenarios.

Candidates were “extremely diverse,” from all levels and backgrounds, Kate Klein, assistant director of the Program of African Studies and one of the competition’s organizers, wrote in an email.

The teams will receive a case one week before the actual competition. They then must develop a solution to the problem, work with a mentor on Feb. 14 and present it to a panel of judges the day of the competition, scheduled for Feb. 15.

“The competition tries to simulate the real work of global health professionals, who are faced with limited time and must work in multi-disciplinary teams,” Klein wrote.

The winners will receive a $1,000 cash prize and an all-expense-paid trip to Emory University in Atlanta for an international global health competition that occurs during Spring Break. 

Though it operates similarly to the NU event, the Emory competition attracts teams from all over the world and includes a tour of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters. The on-campus competition would give the teams practice before they compete in Atlanta, Klein said.

The Program of African Studies, Office for International Program Development, Roberta Buffet Center and Center for Global Health are co-sponsoring the competition.

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