A multidisciplinary team of graduate students representing the USC School of Social Work, USC Marshall School of Business and the Keck School of Medicine of USC won the fourth-annual USC Global Health Case Competition, which took place Feb. 9-10 at the university park and health sciences campuses.
Jay Lytton, MSW/MBA candidate; Mitch Otu, MD/MBA candidate; Amy Patel, MBA candidate; Edwin Kulubya, MD/MBA candidate; and Fereshte (Nina) Kharazmi, MPH candidate, comprised the winning team.
The competition, organized each year by the USC Institute for Global Health, featured a case challenge addressing the social impact of global giving programs at TOMS, the company known for its one-to-one retail sales model.
Approximately 80 students representing more than 10 USC schools participated in the competition. Shira Shafir, director of social innovation and impact at TOMS was among the judges who watched the top three finalist teams’ presentations.
The team’s solution involved a plan to incorporate local song, dance and storytelling to educate Cameroonians on the importance of wearing shoes, drinking clean water and maintaining good sanitation practices.
“I was really impressed with the group that ended up being the winner and the work that they did and the solutions they presented to the case,” Shafir said.
Following the competition, Shafir presented about global health and social innovation at TOMS for the USC Global Health Lecture Series.
The winning team will go on to compete at the International Emory Global Health Case Competition March 27-28 at Emory University in Atlanta, GA.
