Global Health Impact Lab
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Where Global Health Learning Becomes Real-World Impact
About Global Health Impact Lab
Experiential Learning in Global Health
Students gain hands-on experience addressing real-world health challenges through competitions, applied learning programs, photography storytelling, and mentored project-based work. These experiences help shape the next generation of global health leaders by translating academic knowledge into practice.
Each program offers immersive, multidisciplinary opportunities that build leadership, foster collaboration, and cultivate a pipeline of future change-makers.
Experiential learning directly supports two core goals of the Hubert Department of Global Health: fostering global health scholarship and preparing emerging leaders to advance health equity locally and globally.
Where Students Become Leaders
Global Health Case Competitions
Collaborative Problem-Solving on Real Health Challenges
Two Opportunities for Innovation
Emory global health case competitions give students at Emory and around the world the opportunity to collaborate on innovative, multidisciplinary solutions to current global health issues.
Two flagship events anchor this programming each year:
- The Intramural Emory Global Health Case Competition, created exclusively for Emory students
- The Koplan Award Emory Global Health Case Competition, which brings teams from universities worldwide together to compete
These competitions help students build critical skills in public health analysis, health systems strategy, and entrepreneurial thinking.
Emory students form interdisciplinary teams to tackle complex health scenarios, develop recommendations, and present their proposals to expert judges. Participants strengthen critical thinking, teamwork, and communication skills.
Students gain:
- Realistic case analysis experience
- Team leadership and collaboration practice
- Feedback from global health professionals
The Koplan Award honors outstanding interdisciplinary solutions in global health, recognizing leadership and innovation inspired by the transformative legacy of Jeffery Koplan, MD.
This international competition brings university teams from around the world to Emory to solve high-stakes global health challenges. Students apply cross-disciplinary knowledge to create actionable, evidence-based solutions.
Students gain:
- International collaboration and visibility
- Mentorship and networking with global leaders
- Experience designing solutions for complex, real-world problems
Students apply to both programs through an online application form. The application includes:
- Basic student team and team information
- Academic background and area(s) of study
Application form links will be listed here when available.
For the Emory Intramural Global Health Case Competition, students apply as a team, partial team, or individually and are then matched into interdisciplinary teams if needed. We usually receive more applications than we can accommodate, and teams or individual students are placed on a waiting list.
For the Koplan Award Emory Global Health Case Competition, universities apply as pre-formed teams and are selected on the basis of when they submit their application. We usually receive more applications than we can accommodate, and university teams are placed on a waiting list.
Global Health Student Photography Contest
Capturing Global Health Through the Student Lens
This annual contest invites students to document and reflect on the human dimensions of global health. Through photography, participants tell stories of resilience, equity, and community. Winning images are showcased across digital platforms and public exhibitions.
Students gain:
- Creative storytelling experience
- Visual communication skills
- Public recognition and exposure