Global Health Commercialization Competition

About the Competition

The Global Health Commercialization Competition serves as a dynamic platform for U-M faculty visionaries looking to contribute their technical solutions to some of the most pressing healthcare challenges facing the world today. The program exemplifies an interdisciplinary approach to global health equity, fostering a unique environment where market-driven strategies are employed to address critical health challenges in low- and middle-income countries. The program's emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration ensures that the resulting innovations are both impactful and sustainable, paving the way for a healthier global community. The competition is open to U-M faculty located on the Ann Arbor, Flint, and Dearborn campuses.

A collaborative initiative co-hosted by the William Davidson Institute (WDI) and the Center for Global Health Equity (CGHE), this competition provides U-M innovators with extensive proposal review and mentorship, as they vie for funding of $30,000. Additional programmatic support is provided by the office of Fast Forward Medical Innovation at Michigan Medicine.

Proposals for the 2024 Pitch Competition are due April 5, 2024. 

Learn More and Apply

The Pitch Competition

Participants will have fifteen minutes to present their business case to a panel, followed by a ten-minute Q&A session. The winning project will be awarded $30,000 in development funding, jointly provided by the Center for Global Health Equity and the William Davidson Institute. Additionally, the winning team will be eligible for additional consultative services provided at no-cost by MBA students as part of the Multidisciplinary Action Projects (MAP) program at the Ross School of Business.

Proposals due April 5, 2024

The winners of the 2023 competition celebrate their winning proposal!

1:1 Consultation Sessions

Prior to the pitch competition, each shortlisted team is entitled to a complimentary consultation session with a Fast Forward Medical Innovation (FFMI) team member. During this session, your project will be reviewed and you will receive recommendations on how to enhance its prospects. This free service aims to provide personalized, constructive feedback to substantially boost your likelihood of success in the competition.

U-M faculty member presents his project to the evaluation committee during the 2023 competition.

FAQs

All proposals must meet the following criteria: 

  • must be a product or service that can be commercialized in a low- or middle- income context
  • must be a product or service related to healthcare
  • at least one project lead must be a faculty member at U-M

Complete the Request for Proposals form, submitting via email to Claire Hogikyan at chogikya@umich.edu. 

Proposals will be evaluated by a review committee comprised of leadership from CGHE and WDI. Feedback will provided by April 28, 2024. The committee will select up to six outstanding projects to advance to the pitch competition event, which will be held on May 16, 2024. 

Prior to this pitch competition event, a representative from each project will have the opportunity for a consultation with a Fast Forward Medical Innovation (FFMI) team member, aimed at providing personalized, constructive feedback to significantly enhance their application.

  • April 5, 2024: All proposals due
  • April 28, 2024: Final decisions on competition eligibility
  • May 16, 2024: Pitch competition event

The winning team will provide a one-page progress summary report every six months and is expected to participate in at least one check-in meeting with representatives from CGHE and WDI. At the conclusion of project activities, the team will be asked to submit a final report detailing all activities completed, any relevant results, lessons learned, and next steps.