Welcoming the 2015 Grand Challenges Canada Summer Students

I was interested in working at Grand Challenges Canada because of the innovative and bold approach that the organization takes in tackling global health issues. I was inspired by Grand Challenges Canada’s broad range and extensive list of projects, far-reaching impact, and ability to foster creativity.

What do you hope to learn and achieve over the summer?

I hope to learn about how individuals can effectively collaborate to make a significant impact on pressing challenges around the world. I look forward to learning about the inner workings of such a reputable organization and the strategies used to ensure development work has a positive and long-lasting impact. I hope to broaden my horizons and learn more about the specific health concerns of different regions, and to become well acquainted with the Saving Brains, Saving Lives at Birth, and Global Mental Health projects. I hope to develop skills that can assist in getting these innovations off the ground.

• Why were you interested in working at Grand Challenges Canada?

My interests in global health are broad and are mirrored in the diversity of innovations supported by Grand Challenges Canada, from access to medicines initiatives to broader health systems strengthening programs. This organization has made significant headway in tackling many of the large challenges in global health. I applied because I wanted to learn more about the ‘Grand Challenges’ approach, as well as learn from the highly experienced and accomplished team behind it.

• What do you hope to learn and achieve over the summer?

This summer, I hope to become familiar with the full scope of innovations supported by Grand Challenges Canada, and to get an idea of the various strategies and approaches which are successful in improving health at the community, regional, and national levels. I hope to gain a working knowledge of the structure of the global health community and Grand Challenges Canada’s place in it. Finally, I am eager to work with the Global Mental Health portfolio and learn about successful strategies to destigmatize, support, and treat those living with poor mental health.

Matthew Hughsam
B.Sc. in Health Sciences
(McMaster University)
@matthewbhughsam

Connect with Matthew on LinkedIn

• Why were you interested in working at Grand Challenges Canada?

I am passionate about improving access to care in vulnerable populations, specifically through policies and innovations based on the best available evidence. My commitment to global health stems from my deep frustration with situations where shocking health inequities persist despite readily available solutions. Working at Grand Challenges Canada represents an invaluable opportunity to help support innovators in tackling the systemic barriers that limit the impact of these solutions.

• What do you hope to learn and achieve over the summer?

This summer, I hope to observe the innovation process from idea to implementation – to develop an understanding of the barriers faced by innovators in low-resource settings and the solutions to overcome them. In doing so, I will broaden my understanding of international development and strengthen my ability to think through and address global health challenges creatively. Through working on results and outcomes validation for Grand Challenges Canada’s diverse portfolio of innovations, I hope to develop my research and analysis skills. Coming from a more control
led and theoretical background, I am excited to apply my skills to new, complex issues unique to innovators working in low-resource settings.

Haniya Khan
B.Sc. in Health Sciences
(McMaster University)
@k_haniya

Connect with Haniya on LinkedIn

• Why were you interested in working at Grand Challenges Canada?

I became interested in working with Grand Challenges Canada because of the organization’s commitment to ensuring the sustainable development and implementation of transformative health interventions, through the integration of technological, social and business innovations. I was also fascinated by Grand Challenges Canada’s focus on employing rigorous evaluation tools and evidence to support the scale up of proven health interventions, which I believe enables the organization to achieve a greater global impact.

• What do you hope to learn and achieve over the summer?

During my time at Grand Challenges Canada, I hope to develop a better understanding of the groundwork that goes into fostering, supporting, and ensuring the self-sufficiency of interventions targeted at overcoming critical global health challenges.  I also hope to learn more about the organization’s work focused on testing new models of sustainable aid. Finally, I am looking forward to becoming more familiar with the numerous innovations supported by Grand Challenges Canada, and learning from the incredibly diverse team of individuals working here.

• Why were you interested in working at Grand Challenges Canada?

Grand Challenges Canada is a unique organization in that it is one of the few organizations in Canada with a strong commitment to fund global mental health projects. I hope to pursue a career in the growing field of global mental health in order to develop sustainable and innovative solutions for low and middle income countries where funding such projects are difficult.

• What do you hope to learn and achieve over the summer?

I want to bring my front line and research experiences together to gain a thorough understanding of how global mental health work is executed at micro, mezzo and macro levels. I also want to develop a comprehension of how other health projects work in collaboration with global mental health. This position will allow me to strengthen my skills and abilities to be a leader in this growing field. I also want to strengthen my skills in impact assessment and scaling up global mental health projects. Finally, I hope to learn more about the exciting projects at Grand Challenges Canada and what my colleagues are working on.

Maia Johnstone
B.Sc. in Health Studies & Psychology
(University of Toronto)
@MaiaJohnstone

Connect with Maia on LinkedIn

• Why were you interested in working at Grand Challenges Canada?

I believe that everyone is entitled to good health, not just those who can afford it. What drew me to Grand Challenges Canada was the focus on mental health and on early childhood development. Grand Challenges Canada’s commitment to projects that are being acknowledged as having long-term impact on individuals and communities impressed me deeply.

• What do you hope to learn and achieve over the summer?

During my time here, I plan to improve my research, analysis and writing skills, and to learn about the partners Grand Challenges Canada collaborates with and how different sectors intertwine in their work, in order to pursue a career in epidemiology and health policy.

Stars in Global Health
Summer Student

Nour Sharara
Master’s of Public Health
(Harvard School of Public Health)
M.A. in Medical Ethics and Law
(King’s College London School of Law)
@NourSharara

Connect with Nour on LinkedIn

• Why were you interested in working at Grand Challenges Canada?

I am very interested in how we can leverage technology to solve the most pressing problems in global health. Spending time with Grand Challenges Canada will allow me to be exposed to a breadth of innovative projects. Moreover, the dual nature of Grand Challenges Canada as a think-tank and granting agency makes it an exciting place to work.

• What do you hope to learn and achieve over the summer?

I am interested in learning about the necessary milestones a given project should exhibit to move from proof-of-concept to transition-to-scale funding. I am looking forward to learning more about innovative models of global health financing and impact evaluations.

Rebecca Singer
2nd Year
(Princeton University)
@beccasingz

• Why were you interested in working at Grand Challenges Canada?

Last Fall at Princeton I took a seminar-style course on philanthropy in which our final project was to donate 50,000 USD that had been generously given to us by alumnus Terrence Meck. I thoroughly enjoyed this hands-on learning experience and was inspired to continue exploring by volunteering at Grand Challenges Canada with the Investment team.

• What do you hope to learn and achieve over the summer?

I would like to learn how to evaluate social innovations to find the boldest ideas with the biggest impact. In doing so, I look forward to exploring the topic of sustainable and scalable ideas so that impact can be replicated. I aim to help Grand Challenges Canada assume a leadership role in the field of Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) and develop an ecosystem for progress, development, and partnerships in the field of MHM.

Investments
Summer Student

Amna Manzoor
4th Year BBA Finance
(Schulich School of Business)

Connect with Amna on LinkedIn

• Why were you interested in working at Grand Challenges Canada?

Grand Challenges Canada is one the very few organizations in Canada that has successfully integrated impact investing and venture philanthropy as its core business model. Grand Challenges Canada is the place to be for an individual passionate about social finance and investing.

• What do you hope to learn and achieve over the summer?

I hope to learn what kind of impact is being generated from a financial and social basis from Grand Challenges Canada’s engagement in social finance. I am excited to ride the learning curve this summer and educate myself on a range of items such as combing through and bringing forth deals that have the potential to be scaled, bringing them to the Investment Committee and finally being part in the negotiation process and closing of the deals.

• Why were you interested in working at Grand Challenges Canada?

One of the many reasons why I was interested in working with Grand Challenges Canada is the organization’s unique and innovative approach to global health. In supporting and partnering with innovators in low- and middle-income countries, I consider Grand Challenges Canada’s function to be much more than a departure from the typical top-down approach but also a means of developing critical relationships, fostering solidarity and trust among the global health community. This focus on partnerships coupled with the notion of integrated innovation is, I believe, critical to the advancement of global health research and development and a necessary intersection to better understand as a young, global health professional.

• What do you hope to learn and achieve over the summer?

During my time working with the legal team at Grand Challenges Canada, I hope to learn more about the role of intellectual property practices in supporting the sustainability and commercialization of innovations while encouraging wide-spread access to life-saving technologies.  I hope to explore and better understand different approaches to data access and how such policies can best be leveraged to facilitate integrated and efficient global health research.

Stakeholder Relations
Summer Student

Hayden Rodenkirchen
3rd Year B.A. in International Relations
(University of Toronto)
@hrodenkirchen

Connect with Hayden on LinkedIn

• Why were you interested in working at Grand Challenges Canada?

The opportunity to work in stakeholder relations for Grand Challenges Canada draws together my interests and past experiences in diplomacy, finance, and global health research. Grand Challenges’ proactive model of international public-private cooperation and commitment to innovation in diplomacy is unique; I wouldn’t be able to do this kind of cross-sector work anywhere else.

• What do you hope to learn and achieve over the summer?

As a student of International Relations in an era characterized by collective action problems from pandemics to melting polar ice, my intellectual interest is in seeing how actors like Grand Challenges Canada can create common ground between the private and public sector, governments, the academy, and individuals within civil society to see these problems tacked. Given Grand Challenges Canada’s focus on results and outcomes, I’m also excited to learn more about how expansive global health challenges (such as early childhood brain-development) can be concretized and addressed in a way that allows for meaningful outcome measurement.

• Why were you interested in working at Grand Challenges Canada?

I came across Grand Challenges Canada when researching government-funded international development projects for a research paper I was writing this past year. My studies have taught me that health is the first step in international development, leading me to develop an interest in the organization. The message that “Where you live should not dictate how long you live” particularly resonated with me, and I am extremely interested in contributing to that mission over the summer.

• What do you hope to learn and achieve over the summer?

Through working at Grand Challenges Canada, I am hoping to learn about the integrated approach that is required when approaching international development. While science and technology provide the backbone of global health, other fields like economics, political science and communications also play crucial roles. As Communications Summer Student, I am looking forward to learning about all the different aspects, stories and results of Grand Challenges Canada and communicating them to the public in a manner that is clear to understand, appealing to look at and easy to access.