The Center for Instructional Innovation is pleased to announce its inaugural Innovation Challenge Pitch Competition that will take place January 27–April 17, 2020.
The competition aims to provide innovative, creative, and entrepreneurial solutions for a significant healthcare challenge that affects the quality of lives of hundreds of thousands of patients. Student teams under faculty advisement are invited to participate in this Challenge Competition to win up to $3000 in awarded scholarships and offer a creative and innovative solution to the challenge. The competition will open for registration January 27, and will culminate in an authentic business pitch ceremony where the teams will showcase their innovative solutions, ideas, and technologies to a captivated audience and a panel of esteemed judges on April 17.
The challenge in our inaugural competition focuses on a significant discomfort, distress, and anxiety caused by the use of colostomy bags that is used by patients of all ages all over the world. For some, these bags are temporary in nature, but for the rest, they are permanently following them through the rest of their lives. Competition teams will be provided with a framed challenge and guidance in a form of a case study and invited to offer their solutions born from incredible imagination and genuine creativity.
We encourage students and faculty to develop interdisciplinary student groups from all disciplines for this competition. Together, we can foster creativity and disruptive innovation at Augusta University and offer incredible real-world solutions to enhance patient quality of life.
The judges consisted of Joseph Dworaczyk, Tom and Kandee Clark, and Christopher McKinney.
The winning teams are as follows:
First place: Team Osteopac
Members: Chidozie Ugwumadu, Lavannya Atri, Sahanna Sundar, and Oluwamayokun Oshinowo.
Faculty advisor: Amol Sharma
Second place: Team Multifaceted
Members: Rithwik Koppaka, Christine Bruda, and Vani Senthil.
Faculty advisor: Soma Mukhopadhyay.
Third place: Team OsteoMEwear
Members: LaTreece Watson, Jennifer Nail, Morasa Safi, Jenna Eden, and Ben Brown
Faculty advisor: Roger Duke
Available Downloads: Literature Review Case Study PANEL OF JUDGES
Registration Opens
Registration Closes
Information Session (expected to attend) - Introduction to the Challenge
Information Session (expected to attend) - Creative Problem Solving
Information Session (expected to attend) - Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Business Pitch Competition
*registered students will be allowed to view recorded video sessions
Event Introduction
Zach Kelehear
Vice Provost for Instruction
Augusta University
Official Competition Judge Panel
Christopher McKinney
Office of Commercialization
Augusta University
Team Dr. Tom Clark and Kandee Clark
Executive Director of the
Alliance for Fort Gordon
Mallary Myers
VP/Chief Innovation Officer
Augusta University Health
Joeseph Dworaczyk, PMP
Program Manager at Seneca Solutions
Former Colostomy Patient
