WHO are we looking for?
Future health leaders with big, innovative ideas. The Health Innovation in a Virtual Environment (HiVE) programme is seeking Ghanaian clinicians, academicians, researchers, entrepreneurs, and other professionals in the health field who seek to advance their ideas and their careers along two primary pathways:
- Potential to launch health innovation startups, programmes, or products.
- Potential to conduct grant-funded research.
ABOUT the Health Innovation in a Virtual Environment programme
HiVE is designed to identify raw talent and take brilliant ideas from initial spark, to confident concept, to refined grant proposal or business plan. In 2019, HiVE will launch its pilot in Ghana with a three-month virtual “bootcamp” running from August-November.
The online training programme will give professionals in clinical, academic, and other health settings the skills to develop academic grant applications or launch startup enterprises. Participants will complete six, in-depth training modules teaching concepts ranging from market opportunity to intellectual property. HiVE delivers curriculum and mentoring in a flexible, virtual environment, allowing HiVE Pioneers to participate alongside their full-time work.
The Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) will be supported by its implementation partner, the African Health Innovation Centre (AHIC), in the delivery of:
- Individual mentorship with international experts
- Articles, quizzes, and other course materials
- Webinars with subject specific experts
- In-person workshops introducing the HiVE programme and innovation concepts
- In-person focus groups
- A certification of completion
For the HiVE pilot in 2019, participants from these cities and directly neighbouring towns are invited to apply:
- Accra, Greater Accra Region
- Tamale, Northern Region
- Bolgatanga, Upper East Region
- Ho, Volta
CRITERIA for participation
HiVE seeks the following qualifications and qualities in its HiVE Pioneers:
Experience | Candidates must be established professionals or academics in health, health-related, or entrepreneurial fields. Preferred participants will have 5+ years of hands-on experience in their area of work.
Developed Idea | Applicants should have a clear idea of what new health innovation they want to pursue as entrepreneurs or researchers. They may have already started developing or acting on this initial idea.
Scalability | Candidates are big thinkers with ambitious plans for growing their innovations and becoming leaders in their given field.
Innovative Aptitude | Candidates have the determination, creativity, and work ethic it takes to be a successful innovator.
Ethical Fibre | We expect HiVE participants to become leaders in the health field, inspiring trust and creating positive change with integrity.
We seek to build a diverse and inclusive health innovation sector and encourage candidates from traditionally underrepresented groups in academia, health care, and entrepreneurship to apply, including women, LGBTQI communities, people living with disabilities, and candidates from rural areas.
HiVE participants, mentors, subject-specific experts, and programme administrators are expected to behave respectfully at all times and are held to a code of conduct to ensure a safe, comfortable learning environment for all.
ELIGIBILITY requirements
- Academic/professional proficiency in English
- Residence in Ghana, specifically in or near Accra, Tamale, Bolgatanga, and Ho (Note: In future years, HiVE may expand geographically, but is restricted to those living and working in Ghana during the 2019 pilot)
- Ability to commit four (4) to ten (10) hours per week to HiVE between July and November, and attend one (1) to three (3) in-person events in their home community
- A proposed health innovation that is the applicant’s own, original idea
- Access to a computer to participate in internet-based learning activities
TIMELINE for application process
Phase One | Interested candidates are invited to attend in-person Innovation Workshops to undergo a sample health innovation training and learn more about the HiVE programme.
Phase Two | Candidates submit applications (see instructions below) for initial review.
Phase Three | Certain candidates may be contacted with follow-up questions and clarifications.
Phase Four | The HiVE Selection Committee meets to decide on the top five applicants from each region. Applicants are then informed of their application status: confirmed, denied, or waitlisted.
Phase Five | The applicants who are offered a place in the 2019 HiVE pilot programme have 72 hours to accept and sign memorandum of understanding.
Phase Six | Participants are officially welcomed and given basic orientation instructions. The HiVE programme begins!
TO APPLY
- If you would like to apply to become a HiVE Pioneer, please fill out this form. It may be helpful to download the application in Word form before completing the online form.
- Alternatively, if you are unable to access the online version of the form, you may download the following Microsoft Word document and email it to info@africanhealthinnovation.org.
Applications for the 2019 HiVE programme are accepted until 23.59GMT on 12 July 2019. We encourage applicants to apply early, as late applications will not be reviewed in the interest of fairness.