Public Health Ontario is hosting our first ever Student Case Event at The Ontario Public Health Convention (TOPHC). The event will take place as part of the in-person program for TOPHC on March 26, 2025, in Toronto, Ontario.  This exciting learning opportunity will help prepare, inspire, and engage upcoming generations of public health professionals. 

What’s involved?

Teams will create and present a proposal for an innovative, evidence-informed intervention designed to address a complex public health issue and improve population health outcomes.

To participate, students must pre-register a team of 3-5 members by the February 10, 2025. Qualifying teams will receive notification of their acceptance and the case scenario in advance. They will also receive subsidized tickets for both the in-person and virtual conference programs.

How do I participate?

  1. Build a team of between 3 (min) and 5 (max) students or trainees

  2. Create a team name

  3. Identify one team member as the team lead (they can be a central point of contact for correspondence)

  4. Complete pre-registration by February 10, 2025

Key Dates (2025)

  • Pre-registration: January 13 to February 10

  • Confirmation of Acceptance: February 24

  • In-person presentation: March 26

  • Winners Announcement: April 2 (virtual)

Awards and Supports:

  • Prizes for top performing teams

  • Subsidized TOPHC 2025 tickets for qualifying teams

Contact information: tophc.registration@oahpp.ca

Who is eligible to compete?

  • Self-selected teams of 3-5 students/ trainees* interested in public health.

  • Participants must be enrolled in an undergraduate, graduate, or equivalent program in an accredited academic institution in Ontario as of January 1, 2025.

  • All disciplines and regulated professional programs are welcome.

We encourage students to consider representing a variety of disciplines, professions or educational levels (e.g. undergraduate, graduate) in their teams. However, we welcome applications from all eligible teams.

*Post-graduate individuals who are undergoing continued training in their profession or discipline (e.g. medical residents).

Admission Fees

There is no cost to apply. Qualifying teams will receive subsidized tickets for both the in-person program on March 26, 2025 as well as the virtual conference on April 2, 2025.  

For more details please visit www.tophc.ca.

Why participate?

Be part of the solution: Engage audiences in an inspiring vision for Ontario’s public health future

Learn: Gain practical experience and expert feedback

Connect: Build relationships across disciplinary, geographical and institutional boundaries

Excel: Demonstrate your talent, passion and creativity in a supportive environment

Detailed guidelines and schedule

  • To complete your pre-registration, you must prepare a brief slide deck that demonstrates your interest in the event and upload it within the registration form.

    Important: Complete your slide deck prior to beginning the form, as progress in the form cannot be saved.   

    While the topic of this year’s case is yet to be released, what we can tell you is:

    • The case will focus on issues related to climate preparedness, adaptation, or response in a public health context.

    • Teams will be required to develop an innovative proposal that can be implemented across one or more public health units. 

    The slide deck must be uploaded in PowerPoint/PDF and include 5 - 10 slides (maximum). Please use Tahoma, Arial, or Verdana fonts with a minimum font size of 16 points. 

    Your slide deck should include the following:

    • Title slide including your team name, participant names, and academic institution(s)

    • A brief explanation of your team’s motivation for participating in the event.

    • 2-3 ways in which your team would prepare for your participation in the event.

    • An annotated bibliography of 3 sources of information related to climate preparedness, adaptation, or response. For each source, provide the citation and a 150-word summary (maximum), including your rationale for selecting it. Any citation style is accepted, but all citations must be in a consistent style.

  • Qualifying teams will receive by email:

    • Their participation confirmation.

    • The release date of the case.

  • Participating teams will receive by email:

    • The description of the case.

    • The guidelines of the deliverables and deadlines.

    • The judging criteria.

  • A draft version of your presentation is due by March 19th, 2025 at 5:00pm (EST).

    You can continue to refine your presentation until the live presentation day, where all final presentations will be due by 12:15pm.

    More details will be shared with qualifying teams.

  • More details on the day’s agenda will shared with qualifying teams.

  • Qualifying teams will be given the opportunity to participate in the TOPHC virtual conference day on April 2, 2025.

    Top performing teams will be announced and awarded prizes at the virtual conference.