Medical Grand Challenge Introduction The Medical Grand Challenge (MGC) is a student led medical innovation program started by the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (NUSMed). It aims to encourage medical students to identify unmet healthcare needs and to work collaboratively with students from other faculties to form interdisciplinary teams to explore creative and out of the box solutions to meet these needs. This will be a year long event, starting with a soft launch in October 2017 and culminating in competition night in September 2018. The team projects will be evaluated and scored for business strategy, creativity, design quality and healthcare impact by an esteemed panel of judges. Rationale We hope to nurture the following attributes (6 C s) in NUS Undergraduates: 1. Curiosity to question things and not accept current limitations 2. Creativity to look beyond and find new solutions 3. Compassion to care about issues affecting human health and well being 4. Collegiality to be able to work in teams to achieve more 5. Collaboration to find value in working with people from different disciplines and backgrounds 6. Commercial Intelligence to be entrepreneurial and understand what works in the marketplace Ideally, the MGC would develop a strong sense of curiosity and mind for innovation and enterprise among students. We want Singapore s healthcare scene to remain competitive, relevant and robust. In the following years, the Medical Grand Challenge must be a pivotal component of the innovation curriculum in NUSMed. The students may start from a blank slate, but are expected to absorb new knowledge, come up with fresh ideas and innovate in solving our healthcare challenges. We hope for medical students to work and learn as a team alongside students from other faculties, so that meaningful synergies across medicine, engineering, computing, science, business and design can be best leveraged. By reaching across historic boundaries, the potential for unique collaborations is unlocked, and we achieve something bigger than the sum of its parts. This is the era where medical innovation is ripe to happen, and is also one defined by technological advancements and innovation. It is our sincere hope for NUS to be part of this exciting era of change and progress in healthcare and medicine. In the long run, the MGC should serve as a platform for medical students to solve the most pressing challenges in healthcare and medicine of today and for the future. We hope to see real contributions to our healthcare sector, whether by taking the medical innovations developed by students to market or otherwise. The importance of collaborations and partnerships across different industries and academic fields must be recognised as early as possible in the long journey of medical education.
Guidelines How do students form their teams? Medical students are expected to form their own teams once they have decided which Clinical Problem or unmet healthcare need they would like to address. Students can approach the mentor linked to the Clinical Problem they have chosen for assistance to form their multidisciplinary teams. A team must have the following: 1. At least 3 members. 2. The team leader must be a medical student from the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine. 3. Other than a medical student, there must be team members from at least 2 other disciplines e.g. Arts & Social Sciences, Business, Computer Science, Design & Environment, Engineering, Law, Music, Public Policy, Science, University Scholars Programme, Yale NUS, etc. Procedures Participation is purely voluntary, and all work is done outside curriculum time. Each team will receive a $500 start up fund to develop their innovation concepts for their identified healthcare gaps. Throughout the one year time frame, students brainstorm, evaluate the intellectual property landscape, develop a prototype for their solution, and construct a business plan. Teams have the opportunity to connect with clinicians and faculty from all over NUS and Singapore, NUS faculty and other industry personnel from a broad area of specialties will be enrolled to serve as their mentors, consultants, opinion leaders, and stakeholders. Rules and Regulation Submission Deadlines are to be strictly adhered. The following penalties apply to late submission. 1 to 7 days late: 10% deducted from total score for that submission 1 week to 2 weeks late: 30% deducted from total score for that submission More than 2 weeks late: 50% deducted Use of start up fund Please note that the funds are on a reimbursement basis with submission of official receipts. Please also note that the funds will only be distributed upon submission of the Final Project Submission and presentation at the Finale Night.
Changes in Teams The aim of this competition is to encourage the formation of inter professional for synergies and cross fertilization of ideas. Hence, the rules stipulate that each team must have at least 2 members from another discipline. However, the Organizing Committee also recognizes that team members may drop out for personal or academic reasons, which may be beyond the control of the rest of the team. It would be unfair to penalize the entire group by disqualifying them from the competition if this occurs. To be fair to all participants, especially those who adhere to competition regulations, the Organizers will be imposing a penalty of 20% of the Final Score for teams who cannot meet the team requirements by the date of the Final Project Submission. Additionally, the Organizers will be imposing a cut off of 12 March 2018, which is the date of the Mid Term Review, for the Organizing Committee to be informed in writing via the MGC email of any changes in teams. Afterwards, all teams are assumed to be finalized and fixed. Plagiarism The organizers take a strong view against plagiarism. All teams that are found to have plagiarized any part of their submission will be immediately disqualified. For more information on plagiarism and what constitutes plagiarism, please refer to the NUS Plagiarism guidelines. Idea Submission The idea submission is the first proposal that teams submit. Upon approval from the judging panel, the MGC Committee will then proceed to give teams the green light to enter MGC officially and be awarded the seed grant of $500. Teams whose proposals are deemed ineligible for the seed grant for various reasons set by the judging panel may be allowed to continue participating in MGC, but at their own expenses. Mid Term Review The format for the mid term review will be a Written Pitch of length no more than 1000 words, excluding citations and acknowledgments to answer the following questions: 1) Explain how your product works 2) Provide a Cost Benefit Analysis of your product against competitors 3) Explain your business plan and marketing pitch Teams are also expected to briefly touch on the relevance of their product to: A) Healthcare Regulatory Laws B) Intellectual Property Laws and discuss potential ethical difficulties (if relevant) and how they intend to address them. A key reference would be the upcoming talks organized by the MGC Faculty Chairs. Deadline for submission is 31 March 2018 The Mid Term Review is used to gauge your project s effectiveness, feasibility and attractiveness. We will be sending judges comments after their review of the project. Note that this has no implication on the final assessment. Also note that the team s configuration is finalised following submission of the mid term review.
Final Project Submission Teams must submit a Video Pitch, plus the Written Pitch by 19 August 2018. The format and criteria are as follows: 1) Video Submission A) The video should be in Window Media Player Format. B) It should be a maximum 3 minutes long. C) Video is to be uploaded on the MGC Facebook page. Insert the link to the Facebook page on the MGC portal as part of the Final Submission (a field to input the URL will be provided). Please note that the number of likes and shares garnered for your video is used to determine the winner of Best Social Media Presence Award, one of the 5 special prizes (details below). 2) Written Pitch Submission The format for the final submission of the Written Pitch will be a report of length no more than 1500 words, excluding citations and acknowledgments to answer the following questions. 1) Explain how your product works 2) Provide a Cost Benefit Analysis of your product against competitors 3) Explain your business plan and marketing pitch Submission of the Written Pitch is to be done via the MGC portal. Please note that as the portal does not support any attachments, teams may include a link in their report to an online platform that contains their diagrams or images. This platform may be a Google Drive or any platform that is accessible to the Judges and the MGC Committee. Finale Night All teams will need to prepare A) Oral Pitch B) Booth For Booth, teams must provide and display a poster. A prototype and powerpoint presentation (displayed on a laptop) is also recommended, but not compulsory. The specifications for the Poster are: A) A0 size The Finale Night will be held in National University Health System Tower Block. A booth will be provided to each team to present their project to audience members, potential partners and distinguished guests. Teams are also expected to present to students, members of the public or the media present at Finale Night. Five shortlisted teams will be informed on Finale Night to present their oral pitch to the judges. The specifications for the pitch are: A) 5 minute, including any demonstration or video The oral pitch should cover key details of the product, including its impact on healthcare, product viability and marketing and commercialisation. The mode of presentation and the effectiveness of the pitch will also be assessed.
Judging The project will be judged by an esteemed panel of judges, comprising, but not restricted to, Business, Medicine, and Engineering Professors. Any decision will be final and not open to appeal. The organizers reserve the right to amend the judging panel, based on the demands of the competition and the personal availability of the judges. The organizers will also not disclose the names of the judges until finale night to prevent undue interference by teams. Grading The seed funding application is purely formative assessment. The weightage for the assessments is entirely dependent on the final submission of the project. Assessment of written pitch and the video submission will be done holistically. Submission for teams without the $500 seed funding Teams without seed funding will not be disadvantaged in the review process. However, to be considered for the Competition, all teams, whether they have received seed funding or not, must submit the Written Pitch for the Mid Term Review by 31 March 2018. This will be the cut off deadline to sign up to participate in MGC. Key Deadlines for Submission Date What to Submit 4 December 2017 Idea Submission Submit Idea approval form 18 December 2017 Idea Approval 19 January 2018 Meet the faculty workshop 5 February 2018 Second Idea Submission 19 February 2018 Second Idea Approval 31 March 2018 Mid term review Submit Written Pitch 19 August 2018 Final submission Submit Written Pitch Video submission 14 September 2018 Grand Finale Night
All Deadlines are at 1159 pm. Present Oral Pitch Booth Awards Teams will be assessed based on their final submission comprising a written pitch and a video submission. The top 5 shortlisted teams will present their oral pitches to the judging panel on Grand Finale Night, where the top 3 teams will be announced. There are also 5 special prizes to recognize niche areas in teams proposals. Grand Prize: $20,000 1st Runner up: $15,000 2nd Runner up: $10,000 Special Prizes of $5,000 each: People s Choice Award, Best Social Media Presence, Most Environmentally Friendly, Most Charitable Project, Best Video Description: 1. Best Social Media Presence Award This award recognizes the project which has achieved the most significant public influence and support on social media. This is based on the teams Final Project Submission Video submission. 2. Most Environmentally Friendly Award This award recognizes the project which addresses environmental awareness and demonstrates environmental sustainability initiatives. 3. Best Video Award This award recognizes the project with the most creative video that can best explain the project. 4. Most Charitable Award This award recognizes the project which addresses a global issue and display potential healthcare improvement in places which lack healthcare facilities. 5. People s Choice Award This award recognizes the project which has garnered the most number of votes from the audience during the Grand Finale Night. The special prizes for Most Environmentally Friendly, Most Charitable Project and Best Video will be decided by the judges based on the final submission. People s Choice Award will be awarded to the team with the most number of votes from the audience on Grand Finale Night.
Terms and Conditions By submitting a project for judging, you agree to be subject to the NUS Code of Conduct, Plagiarism and Intellectual Property Rules. You also agree to submit to questions and queries from both the organizers and judges. You also accept that the organizers reserve the right to change the rules and guidelines to better adhere to the spirit of the Competition and reserve the discretion to decide how early any notice is given for any rule change. You also undertake that your project is original and novel, and that no part of your work is plagiarized. Idea Submission There is no grading involved in Idea Submission. Teams proposals will be reviewed holistically by a team of judges and those deemed suitable will get an approval and be awarded the seed grant. The criteria for assessing the Idea Submission includes the following, but is not limited to:
1. Final Submission Criteria and Weightage Below Expectations 1 3 Meeting Expectations 4 7 Exceeding Expectations 8 10 Remarks Healthcare Impact 30% - What is the extent of the intended outcome? - How relevant is it to the targeted healthcare landscape? Innovation 30% - How novel are their proposed ideas? - Does the solution address the problem? - Are they able to identify obstacles and tackle them in a resourceful manner? Collaboration 10% - How successful are the partnerships with relevant personnel and organisations? Product Viability 15% - Are their ideas technically feasible? Marketing and Commercialisation 15% - How creative is the Marketing Strategy? - How feasible is their Business Model? - Is the marketing targeted at the appropriate audience? Overall Score and Comments
2. Finale Night Oral Pitch Criteria Below expectations 1 3 Meeting expectations 4 6 Exceeding expectations 7 10 Remarks Effectiveness of Pitch Was the pitch effective in introducing their product? How engaging was the team in their pitch? How persuasive was their pitch? Healthcare Impact What is the extent of the intended outcome? How relevant is it to the targeted healthcare landscape? Product Viability Are their ideas technically feasible? Marketing and Commercialisation How feasible is their Business Model? Is the marketing targeted at the appropriate audience? Overall Score and Comments
FAQS 1. I missed the Innovation Challenge/Bootcamps/Meet the Mentor Session am I still allowed to take part? Yes! The deadline for idea proposal submissions for the Medical Grand Challenge is 4 December 2017. 2. How do I go about forming teams? A team must have at least 3 members. The team leader must be a medical student from the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine. Other than a medical student, there must be team members from at least 2 other disciplines e.g. Arts & Social Sciences, Business, Computer Science, Design & Environment, Engineering, Law, Music, Public Policy, Science, University Scholars Programme, Yale NUS, etc. 3. What if I am unable to form teams through the ways listed in 2? Can I sign up as an individual? Please drop us an email at mgc@u.nus.edu and we will do our best to put you in touch with fellow students with whom you may wish to form a team. Please do also make full use of our Facebook networking group (www.tinyurl.com/mgcnetwork) to mingle with potential participants! 4. Am I allowed to use my existing FYP project / technology / research for the competition? Yes. However, we ask that all student teams declare any prior work done, including any patents applied for, competitions participated in, publications made, etc, in the idea proposal submission. Teams should work to demonstrate the value add and progress made through the MGC. 5. Do double degree students count as being from two different faculties? Yes. If you are a student from a Business/Engineering double degree, you may count yourself as either a business or an engineering student in meeting the team configuration requirements. 6. Are non NUS students allowed to participate in the competition? This will be determined by the Medical Grand Challenge s Panel of Faculty Advisors. Kindly send any and all relevant queries to mgc@u.nus.edu 7. What if we are unable to form teams with the stipulated structure/numbers for team configurations by 4 December?
In the case you are unable to form a team by 4 December 2017, kindly drop the organising committee an email at mgc@u.nus.edu and we will do our best to assist in team formations. 8. How would shortlisted teams be selected? Teams that qualify for the $500 seed funding will be selected based on the idea proposal submissions and the published rubrics for the idea proposal submissions. 9. When would shortlisted teams be selected? Shortlisted teams would be selected following the idea proposal submission deadline on 18 December 2017. Teams selected would be informed latest by 18 December 2017. 10. How many teams would be selected to receive the $500 seed funding for the rest of the competition? The number depends on quality of submissions we receive. 11. Are students allowed to be on more than 1 team or to work on more than 1 project at the MGC? Students are allowed to be on more than 1 team. Students and teams are allowed to submit more than 1 proposal. However, in order to maximise our engagement of students, should there be teams that are more than 70% similar in team configuration, only 1 of their submitted proposals may eventually be shortlisted for the $500 seed funding. (e.g. two 4 member teams with 3 similar members will not have more than 1 proposal selected, but two 4 member teams with 2 similar members will be regarded as "two different teams.) 12. Would all seed funding ($500 grants) be given out? No. Seed funding will only be given out to deserving teams who meet our benchmark standards of quality as determined by the judges. If fewer teams meet this benchmark, not all seed grants will be given out. 13. Can I re submit a proposal for application of the seed grants? Student teams who were not successful in their first application (i.e. submission before 4 December) for the seed funding will be eligible to re submit their improved idea proposals with no limit to the maximum number of submissions.
14. Am I allowed to participate in the NUS Medical Grand Challenge if my team was not awarded the seed grant? Yes, you may we would like to have as many students and teams experience the NUS MGC programme as possible, even if your team was not awarded the $500 seed grant previously. We believe innovation is creative process that may not always be linear and hence that teams who may not have been shortlisted previously still have the potential to develop very exciting products and to compete for our grand prizes. We do ask, however, that teams adhere to our 4 December 2017 deadline for declaring their intention to compete in the Medical Grand Challenge. In short, teams are allowed participate in the MGC and to compete for prizes even if they were not awarded any seed funding through the programme. 15. What can the finalist teams use the $500 seed fund on? Guidelines on the use of these seed funds would be released to shortlisted teams on 18 December 2017. Funds will be awarded on a reimbursement basis and generally, to be used only for the development of their ideas and prototypes. In the meantime, students and teams with queries may forward them to mgc@u.nus.edu. Teams may feel free to obtain other external sources of funding for the development of their project.