Global Health Solutions 2025
Join the University of Copenhagen’s annual global health case challenge “Global Health Solutions” on 13-15 August 2025! Spend 3 days in sunny Copenhagen, while working in teams with students from different backgrounds on a real-world global health challenge. This year’s case topic is “Caught in the Crossfire: Managing Chronic Disease in War Zones” and it is provided by the Danish Red Cross.
The University of Copenhagen’s innovation centre, UCPH Lighthouse, and School of Global Health are hosting this 3-day design sprint where students from various disciplines work in teams to come up with innovative solutions for managing chronic disease in war zones.
The team with the most promising solution will get a chance to pitch it at The 2025 SDG Olympiad in Geneva on 10-13 October.
Why should you join?
- Aid Red Cross in their humanitarian work
- Meet new people and build a network across disciplines
- Be inspired and learn new skills within problemsolving, pitching, and innovation
Who can join?
The Global Health Solutions design sprint is open for applications for all students from bachelor to PhD level from the University of Copenhagen as well as other educational institutions in Denmark and abroad. We welcome all disciplines and backgrounds.
Students are expected to cover their own travel and accommodation costs. These will not be reimbursed.
Register here before 21 July 2025
Application process
After the application deadline we will go through all the applications and select the participants. Applicants are encouraged to put energy and care into the motivation-section of the online application, as this will be used as the basis for team formation.
We carefully match individuals into teams of four to five students where we strive for the greatest possible diversity with regards to disciplinarity as well as team work roles.
Application
You will receive the result of your application soon after the application deadline on 21 July.
Note: If you have problems with the application form, please try a different browser.
Programme
- Wednesday 13 August, 09.00-21.00
Case introduction with case provider, innovation methods, teamwork and inspirational talks
- Thursday 14 August, 09.00-21.00
Teamwork, prototyping and pitch training
- Friday 15 August, 09.00-20.00
Teamwork, and pitch session with case provider
About the programme
Global Health Solutions is a three-day design sprint designed to strengthen university students’ problem-solving competencies and increase their engagement in real-world global health related issues.
Through a combination of academic skills and innovative methods, approx. 50 students will collaborate in multidisciplinary teams to come up with the best solution to a case question provided by an external public or private partner. Each team presents their solution as a short oral pitch to a jury panel on the final day.
The design sprint starts with a case presentation by the case provider after which students work in teams to come up with the best solution. The programme is dedicated to case-solving and teamwork. Underway, each team will also be given feedback from relevant resource persons.
The design sprint will provide you with in-depth knowledge about the principles of innovation, entrepreneurship and feasibility, effective communication, stakeholder mapping as well as the complexities within global health innovation and the selected global health challenge such as equity, social justice, individual privileges, power dynamics and the post-colonial influence on global health.
You will acquire the skills to identify, assess and integrate facts and data relevant to the case into the solution as well as apply innovation and problem-solving methods taught during the design sprint. You will learn how to co-create and communicate in a multidisciplinary and international context, and how to pitch your ideas persuasively.
Prize
Everybody is a winner :-)
However, we will honour the solution best aligned with the need of Red Cross and the official criteria of the The 2025 SDG Olympiad with a paid trip to the final event in Geneva on 10-13 October. Here, the winning team will get a chance to pitch their solution at an international case challenge organised by the SDG Solution Space at the University of Geneva. Winning teams from other universities across the world will also join and present their winning solutions. Before going to Geneva, the winning team will have a chance to mature their idea with the support of innovation consultants in UCPH Lighthouse.
Contact information
If you have any questions, please write to sgh@sund.ku.dk
More information
Read more about last year's Global Health Solutions here.