WINDSOR, ONTARIO, March 4, 2021 – This year, SCAN Health’s groundbreaking, virtual business case competition provided students with the opportunity to develop solutions to a real-world challenge faced by health systems around the world – the coronavirus.

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted significant supply chain issues with sourcing and distributing protective equipment and medical supplies. Students assumed the role of a consulting team advising the Government of Canada on how to develop a coordinated supply chain strategy across the country to enhance healthcare capacity, safety and resiliency while managing the impact of COVID-19.

“This is a terrific opportunity for students to apply classroom learning to the health sector - one of the largest and fastest growing industries in the world,” says Dr. Allan Conway, Chair of the Judging Panel and Professor Emeritus and Former Dean, Odette School of Business, University of Windsor. “Through this competition, students develop essential knowledge on the role of supply chain as a key element in improving healthcare economics and outcomes. The quality of the solutions proposed by competing student teams from across the globe reflects very well on their university programs."

Students across Asia, Australia, Europe and North America participated in this year’s competition. SCAN Health congratulates the winning teams:

  • 1st Place (tie) – Mara Henke, Jakob Manthei, Romen van den Boom & Ymke van Warmerdam from Maastricht University (the Netherlands)
  • 1st Place (tie) – Zaryab Ahmed, Abhinav Bhatnagar & Tyler Boulanger from McMaster University (Canada)
  • 3rd Place (tie) – Max Bust, Janne Hesen & Stephany Ly from Erasmus University (the Netherlands)
  • 3rd Place (tie) – Timothy Hutama, Padmaja Nair, (Andrea) Xue Qin & (Sally) Yingxi Tang from Rutgers University (the United States)

The competition was hosted by the Odette School of Business and in partnership with HIMSS. The top teams will receive cash prizes and winners will present their solutions at HIMSS21 Global Health Conference and ExhibitionThe proposals can be found on the SCAN Health Knowledge Mobilization Platform.

Proposals were judged by an esteemed international panel including Dr. Conway; Dr. Randy Bradley, Associate Professor, University of Tennessee; Dr. Kiran Fernandes, Professor & Dean for Internationalisation, Durham University; Dr. Adel Guitouni, Associate Professor, University of Victoria; Dr. Colleen Metge, Associate Professor, University of Manitoba; Dr. Cheryl Mitchell, Academic Director, MBA in Sustainable Innovation, University of Victoria; Ms. Nancy Pakieser, Principal, Capstone 406, LLC; Mr. René Picard, Vice President Supply Chain Transformation, McKesson; and Dr. Giovani Caetano da Silveira, Professor, University of Calgary, and Director, The Canadian Centre for Advanced Supply Chain Management and Logistics.

This unique virtual competition enables emergent leaders from business schools around the world to compete and demonstrate their exceptional skill, knowledge and innovative ideas to advance supply chain strategy in health systems. For details on upcoming competitions, visit HIMSS Healthcare Student Opportunities.

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About HIMSS

Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, Inc. (HIMSS) is a global advisor and thought leader supporting the transformation of the health ecosystem through information and technology. As a mission-driven non-profit, HIMSS offers a unique depth and breadth of expertise in health innovation, public policy, workforce development, research and analytics to advise global leaders, stakeholders and influencers on best practices in health information and technology. Through our innovation engine, HIMSS delivers key insights, education and engaging events to healthcare providers, governments and market suppliers, ensuring they have the right information at the point of decision.

Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, HIMSS serves the global health information and technology communities with focused operations across North America, Europe, the United Kingdom, the Middle East and Asia Pacific. Our members include more than 100,000 individuals, 480 provider organizations, 470 non-profit partners and 650 health services organizations.

About SCAN Health

SCAN Health is an international knowledge translation platform funded by the Government of Canada, Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE) and hosted by the University of Windsor’s Odette School of Business. Spanning five countries, including Australia, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada – and with over one hundred partners from industry, healthcare, government and academia – SCAN Health will advance global capacity to adopt and scale best practices in healthcare supply chain to offer traceability of products and care processes from bench to bedside to patient outcomes.