The President's Challenge
Western University proudly presents the 2nd edition of The President's Challenge—a multi-week competition designed to empower and inspire university teams to address the urgent needs and issues plaguing our society.
Join the Western Community in solving
real-world problems at The President's Challenge!
A message from the President
In Western’s strategic plan, Towards Western at 150, we challenged our community to act boldly in the face of grand challenges and to find innovative solutions. The President’s Challenge is a call to action for students to bring their brightest ideas to the table.
Dr. Alan Shepard, President & Vice-Chancellor
Ideas to shape the world
The President's Challenge welcomes innovative minds to share solutions that address the most pressing challenges facing our society. As we embark on this exciting journey, we encourage you to form teams of two to four members, pooling your diverse skills and perspectives to craft ground-breaking solutions that could change lives. Imagine the impact your ideas could have on a global scale.
How it works: A platform for innovation
Open to all Western, Huron, and King's students, The President's Challenge invites interdisciplinary teams to develop innovative solutions to the critical issues facing our society. This competition is carefully designed to enhance your academic, oral presentation, and entrepreneurial skills, all while fostering a spirit of action on global issues. By presenting your unique ideas to a panel of academic and community leaders, you are not just competing; you are actively contributing to positive change.
The 2025 President's Challenge
Canadians spend more time waiting to access specialists than citizens in any other country in our reference group (placing 11 out of 11 in high-income countries, CIHI). Once we access a specialist, we then face additional waits for diagnostic testing (especially imaging like CT or MRI) or for a procedure if deemed necessary (placing 11 out of 11, CIHI).
There are pockets of success and best practices, but we typically have difficulty scaling and spreading these successes. Looking across Orthopedic, Neurology, Dermatology, Ear Nose and Throat, and many other specialities, we can see examples of timely speciality access and/or time to definitive diagnostic testing and treatment. Unfortunately, there are many areas across the province and country (both urban and rural) where the total time for a patient to get to the conclusion of their treatment takes years, which can impact morbidity and mortality.
We don’t often talk about the patient’s journey: once a patient has a tentative diagnosis, how do they access the appropriate specialist, what happens after the consultation, and what are the timelines associated with all the diagnostic and treatment components of the journey?
The 2025 President's Challenge is to propose a patient’s journey that moves us to the top of the rankings amongst those high-income countries regarding access, diagnostic testing, and treatment. Successful solutions must also consider the steps necessary to implement their solution in Canada.
Prizes, How to Apply and Important Dates
Prizes:
Organized by the Western Morrissette Institute for Entrepreneurship Powered by Ivey Business School, the competition includes a healthy prize with the winning team receiving $10,000 in cash! The following are the prizes for The President’s Challenge:
- Cash prizes: $10,000, $5,000, and $2,500 for first, second, and third-placed teams, respectively. The fourth and fifth-placed teams will receive $1,000;
- Travel will be covered for the top 5 teams who participate at the Showcase in Toronto;
- and finalists may have the opportunity to explore their solutions further, either through research or white papers, or assistance in building new ventures.
The President's Challenge is open to all Western, Huron and King's students.
How to apply:
The Intent-to-Compete form for The President's Challenge will open soon. All student teams must complete our Intent-to-Compete form.
Teams chosen for The President's Challenge will need to provide a completed proposal for the final part of the competition. Specific criteria for the proposal and presentations will be updated shortly.
For more details on eligibility, please read the Competition Rules.
Important dates & deadlines:
Panel, Reception, and Info Session: January 28, 2025 - Register Here
Workshop Series: Saturday, February 1, 2025
Intent to Compete Deadline: February 4, 2025
Proposals Due: TBD
Western Semi-Finals: February 26, 2025
President’s Challenge Final and Showcase in Toronto: March 31, 2025