2026
THE KOPLAN AWARD:
Emory Morningside
Global Health Case Competition
Connecting Students From Diverse Disciplines to Address Complex Global Health Challenges
The 2026 competition is supported by the Marcus Foundation through The Koplan Award. This competition brings together students from diverse disciplines and institutions around the world to develop innovative, evidence-based solutions to a complex, real-world global health challenge.
The 2026 competition will be held fully virtually.
Scheduled for March 18th - March 27th, 2026, the competition provides accepted teams with one intensive week to analyze a rigorous, multidisciplinary case and develop a comprehensive strategy grounded in policy and practice. Teams will present their final proposals to an external panel of expert judges during the virtual competition finale.
The virtual format allows for broad global participation while maintaining the intellectual rigor, mentorship, and collaborative experience that define the competition. Participants will engage with peers across continents, work with experienced case advisors from a range of professional backgrounds, and apply systems-level thinking to pressing global health challenges.
The 2026 competition will be held fully virtually.
Scheduled for March 18th - March 27th, 2026, the competition provides accepted teams with one intensive week to analyze a rigorous, multidisciplinary case and develop a comprehensive strategy grounded in policy and practice. Teams will present their final proposals to an external panel of expert judges during the virtual competition finale.
The virtual format allows for broad global participation while maintaining the intellectual rigor, mentorship, and collaborative experience that define the competition. Participants will engage with peers across continents, work with experienced case advisors from a range of professional backgrounds, and apply systems-level thinking to pressing global health challenges.
Location
Emory University (virtual)
Competition dates
March 18 to March 27, 2026
Team Composition
We encourage graduate and undergraduate students enrolled at accredited universities to participate. Four to six students compose a team; students must represent at least three different schools or disciplines within their university. Medical residents, post-graduate fellows, and post-doctoral fellows affiliated with the university are also eligible.
Registration Fees
There is no cost to apply to the competition.
Accepted teams must submit a non-refundable registration fee to confirm participation. Because the 2026 competition will be conducted fully online, registration fees have been adjusted to reflect actual program costs while supporting equitable participation across global regions.
Fees are determined based on the World Bank's income classification for the university country, following the Consortium of Universities for Global Health's model for adjusted rates.
- High-Income Countries (HICs): $500 (USD)
- Middle-Income Countries (MICs): $250 (USD)
- Lower-Middle-Income Countries (LMIC): Fee waived
- Low-Income Countries (LICs): Fee waived
This tiered structure is designed to ensure meaningful access and global representation while sustaining the quality and integrity of the competition experience.
If you are unsure of your country's income classification, please refer to the following resources:
Prizes
The competition will award six different cash prizes.
Teams with the five highest first-round scores will advance to the final round and receive cash prizes. The finalist team that receives the most votes from non-finalist teams will receive the Participants' Choice award.
Marcus Foundation Prize(First Place): $6,000
Second Place: $3,000
Third Place: $2,000
Fourth Place: $1,000
Participants' Choice: $500
Honorable Mention: $500
Deliverables, Time Commitment, and Case Subject
Competition Deliverables
The 2026 competition will consist of two rounds:
First-Round Deliverable:
A live, 12-minute virtual presentation followed by 8 minutes of Q&A with first-round judges.
Final-Round Deliverable:
A live, 12-minute virtual presentation incorporating case twist, followed by 8 minutes of Q&A with final-round judges.
Teams will submit the slide decks of their presentations by the afternoon of March 27, 2026, prior to the final round. All presentations and materials must be delivered in English.
Time Commitment
The competition runs from March 18-27, 2026, with teams managing their own work schedules during this period. Teams may dedicate as much time as they choose to developing their case solutions.
During the competition week, each team will participate in a one-hour virtual session with a case advisor who will provide feedback on the team's draft proposal. Student team members may also consult external experts for general input; however, all analysis, strategy development, and final recomendations must be genterated independently by the student team.
Case Subject
The 2026 case is being developed by an interdisciplinary team of Emory faculty and students and is designed to reflect a complex, real-world global health challenge.
The case may incorporate dimensions such as health policy, public health implementation and planning, business partnership/investment, medical research, international development, logistics and management, cultural and ethical considerations, international law, and related disciplines. The case is intentionally structured to require systems-level thinking and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Competition Schedule
February 20, 2026 - Individual Team Member and Team Captain Information Due
February 20, 2026 - Registration Fees Due, online payment link
March 9, 2026 - Team Number Assignments Released to Teams
March 18, 2026 - Case Subject Released to Team Captains at 9:00 AM (EST)
March 21-24, 2026 - Virtual Case Advisor Sessions
March 24, 2026 - First-Round Deliverables Due at 11:59 PM (EST) (slide deck)
March 26, 2026 - Competition Day - Round 1
March 27, 2026 - Competition Day - Final Round
Competition Resources & Important Documents
Below are key resources to help you plan for the competition week, prepare your case solutions, and submit your deliverables.
- Rules and Code of Conduct Form (to be submitted via email to [email protected])
- Release of Liability Form (to be submitted via email to [email protected])
- Final Round Deliverable Submission Instructions
Making The Most Of Your Case Advisor Session
Dr. Mohammed Ali, an Associate Professor at Emory's Rollins School of Public Health and practicing family physician, provides his insights into how you can make the most of your time with your case advisor. He also provides helpful suggestions regarding case preparation and how you can take full advantage of your case competition experience. Dr. Ali helped launch the competition in 2009, has advised many EGHCC student case writing teams, and has served as a competition case advisor annually since the program's inception.
Good Case Solutions: A Judge's Perspective
Mr. Phil Jacobs, an Emory Global Health Institute Advisory Board member, successful businessman, and philanthropist, has judged Emory Global Health Case Competitions since 2010. In this brief video, Mr. Jacobs gives his perspective on the elements that make a good case solution.