Common FAQs for Innovate4Health

When are applications due for the Innovate4Health design sprint?

The Innovate4Health application form must be completed on-line by Monday, September 19, 2022 at 11:59 pm U.S. Eastern Time (New York). For teams selected to join this year’s cohort, the Innovate4Health design sprint will run from early October 2022 through January 2023.

How does our team sign up for Innovate4Health’s design sprint?

Teams can sign up for a listserv to receive news and updates about Innovate4Health here. To complete the on-line application form, teams with 2-5 students can fill out an application entry form here.

What is involved in completing the application form?

The Innovate4Health application form must be done on-line at one sitting. The form is not able to save previously inputted responses. So it is best to draft the responses your entire team plans to enter by reviewing the application items before completing the on-line form. In case technical glitches might arise, we recommend that the form be submitted ahead of the deadline and not at the last minute.

Each team member will need to enter his or her name, email, name of institution, affiliation with institution (student, faculty, staff, admin, etc.), country of residence, and level of educational pursuit. For the entire team, there are several application questions to answer on the team’s idea for an innovative solution, its qualifications and potential for carrying it out, and its motivation for joining and contributing to the Innovate4Health design sprint. In addition, team members will need to upload a CV for each member, all combined into one file. Team members also need to give permission for the recording of live, what we call synchronous, sessions during the design sprint, and also pledge, if selected, to participate fully in design sprint activities.

Can our team save its response to the application form before submitting?

No, the on-line application form cannot save responses previously inputted. We highly recommend that your team draft the responses off-line separately and then transfer these in one sitting to the on-line application for submission.

When do I need to submit information about my other team members?

This has to be done at the same time when submitting the on-line application form. So please be sure to have this information collected BEFORE beginning the on-line application form. Again, the information required on the application form can be found here.

What is the Innovate4Health design sprint timeline?

The design sprint application deadline closes on Monday, September 19, 2022 by 11:59 pm US East Coast time. Teams selected for the design sprint will be notified by early October, and the Innovate4Health design sprint sessions will run from October 2022 through January 2023. Further details on the timeline will be posted here.

What are the rewards from submitting a successful application?

Successful teams will be invited to participate in a mentored design sprint to advance their innovation solution between October 2022 and January 2023. They will join a select cohort of future change agents and have the opportunity to learn from experts in health systems change, infectious diseases and policy change. Drawing upon the work of the Innovation+Design Enabling Access (IDEA) Initiative at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and partners like ReAct—Action on Antibiotic Resistance and the International Federation of Medical Students Association (IFMSA), we will share approaches to help teams refine their ideas, develop plans for implementing projects, and shape advocacy for their policy change goals. The IDEA Initiative serves as the Strategic Policy Program for ReAct and also as the Secretariat for the Antibiotic Resistance Coalition.

From which countries can students apply?

Participants must be current students, be at least 18 years of age, and meet the eligibility criteria outlined on the Innovate4Health website to participate. U.S. export control and/or economic sanctions program regulations may forbid the design sprint organizers to include certain applicants, who are in or from certain countries, in some or all aspects of the design sprint.  For a listing of countries currently subject to U.S. economic sanctions, please use the following link here.

What type of students are eligible to participate in the Innovate4Health design sprint?

Innovate4Health has been designed to encourage systems and design thinking for tackling global health inequities. We encourage all students that meet the eligibility criteria in the Innovate4Health rules, and who are enrolled at a university or college for undergraduate or graduate programs, to consider participating in the design sprint. Student teams can represent different academic disciplines. Participants, however, must provide their own computers and are responsible for their own Internet access to join the on-line sessions and resources.

Are non-students or healthcare professionals permitted to participate?

While we recognize that many healthcare professionals are deeply involved in addressing health inequities throughout the healthcare delivery system, the Innovate4Health design sprint is primarily aimed at engaging students, ideally working across disciplinary boundaries. As such, we ask that teams be exclusively made of students. However, you are welcome to encourage any students you know to participate in the competition, and to mentor them if you have time!

Are polytechnic students permitted?

Yes, polytechnic students at the university level are permitted to participate.

Can I choose my team members?

Yes, choosing team members is up to you. Teams should be between 2 and 5 students.

Can I apply as an individual?

Individuals are only accepted as part of a team. Teams must be between 2-5 members in size.

Can I be on more than one team?

Yes, but we urge you to be cautious with how you distribute your time across more than one team.

How many applications can a team submit?

A team can only submit one application.

How are participants selected for the design sprint?

Individuals selected for the Innovate4Health design sprint are only accepted as part of teams, and teams must have a minimum of two members. Teams that submit an application for Innovate4Health must also agree to a pledge that “all members agree to participate in all stages of the design sprint and submitting deliverables during the ideation, implementation, advocacy and potentially the final presentation stages. Failure to participate in any stage will result in a certificate not being awarded to the team.”

What sort of projects are NOT allowed for an Innovate4Health project?

The Innovate4Health design sprint seeks to encourage students to apply a systems perspective in innovating and addressing impactfully health inequities in low-resource settings exacerbated by emerging infectious diseases, from drug-resistant infections to COVID-19. The design sprint is NOT set up to invent new technologies (such as a new diagnostic, drug treatment, vaccine, or medical equipment), the evaluation of which might require basic science lab work or a clinical trial. Nor is it meant to validate the value or reliability of clinical decision-making tools or algorithms. The strategic redeployment of existing technologies, use of information technology or mHealth applications, redesign of healthcare systems, proposal of new business models or use of economic incentives, however, all do fall within the scope of Innovate4Health. In the application, we hope to learn WHY your team thinks a certain intervention or approach can address health inequities and HOW your team might be positioned to help scale up or advocate for such a project. Projects CAN focus on technologies, but from the vantage point of addressing their inequitable access, availability, or affordability.

Who is organizing Innovate4Health?

The Innovate4Health design sprint is organized by a team based at the Innovation+Design Enabling Access (IDEA) Initiative and ReAct–Strategic Policy Program at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in collaboration with partners in the global network of ReAct--Action on Antibiotic Resistance and the International Federation of Medical Student Associations (IFMSA).

Any other questions?

Please contact us at Innovate4AMR@gmail.com., selection of finalists, and other services and support for competition participants) are subject to change or revision by the Innovate4Health organizing team at any time.