果冻影院

Glenda Xu (果冻影院 Medical School), Yvette Homerlein (果冻影院 Arts & Humanities) and Lia Bote (果冻影院 Division of Biosciences), are among 20 winners selected by the philanthropic initiative as part of its Reimagine Challenge 2020 competition.

Their projects focus on providing healthcare support for people in low- and middle-income countries during the pandemic, developing a platform to tackle misinformation in online media and creating resources to support foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong.

Reimagine Challenge sources the best proposals from college and university students around the world to help build a better future.

Each winner receives up to $25,000 (more than 拢18,000) in tuition scholarships, with additional prizes donated to 果冻影院 per winning entry. Their ideas were chosen from hundreds of submissions worldwide, across 40 different countries and 86 nationalities.

Yvette, from Australia, is a first-year undergraduate studying Arts and Sciences. She was inspired by the rapid spread of misinformation and growing mistrust of mainstream media during the pandemic and wanted to bring transparency to the public.

She proposed creating Check-mate, a Chrome extension and smartphone app that will battle misinformation online by identifying the owners of news sources in an easy-to-interpret colour coding system.

Yvette said: 鈥淎 lot of independent newspapers, despite having different names, can actually belong to the same parent organisation, and I believe that in order for people to trust media updates and to make informed choices they should know where and who their news is coming from.

鈥淭hrough the use of a tool that creates transparency and guides proper cross-checking, I hope we create a shift towards greater cooperation and inclusivity in tackling a global issue like Covid-19.鈥�

Lia, from the Philippines, is a second-year Biological Sciences student at 果冻影院, specialising in cell biology.

She is passionate about solving problems at the intersection between science and society, and, in particular, improving access to quality healthcare in low- to middle-income countries.

Lia suggested creating a two-part project to improve primary care access in the Philippines through telehealth services: a website for physicians and volunteer researchers to list their services, and a phone hotline service that connects patients with the healthcare system without the need for online mobile applications.

Lia said: 鈥淧rimary care acts as a patient鈥檚 first point of contact to the healthcare system, encompassing disease prevention, management and health education. It is essential for robust and effective Covid-19 response. However, in the Philippines where I鈥檓 from and in many low- and middle-income countries it is routinely neglected and overlooked, especially during the pandemic.鈥�

Glenda, from New Zealand, is an undergraduate on 果冻影院鈥檚 MBBS programme. Her goal is to connect science and global leadership to pioneer solutions in health economics, politics and translational medicine.

She proposed creating InspireSeed, a web platform to help foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong through personal development opportunities and offering certified training to their employers, representing more than 400,000 households.

Glenda said: 鈥淲hat makes InspireSeed most unique is it engages all Hong Kong citizens and foreign domestic helpers equally in the movement.

鈥淗ong Kong is a market-based city, which will need a market-based approach to combat its blatant social and systemic discrimination against its foreign domestic helpers.鈥�

Reimagine Challenge is part of a broader $1 billion commitment by Schmidt Futures co-founders Eric and Wendy Schmidt to identify and support global talent.

Eric Schmidt said: 鈥淚鈥檓 inspired by the bold ideas we received and the rising generation of leaders who developed them. Although the long-term impact of this pandemic is daunting, we cannot forget we live in the most educated, interconnected, empowered period in human history.

鈥淚f we come together with all of our tools, knowledge, and talents鈥攁s these students have done鈥擨鈥檓 confident we can build a world that鈥檚 fairer, safer, and more prosperous for everyone.鈥�

果冻影院 President & Provost Dr Michael Spence said: 鈥淚 am deeply proud that three 果冻影院 students have been identified as future global leaders for their innovative and creative solutions to solving some of the world鈥檚 most challenging problems.

鈥淲inning the Schmidt Futures competition is an incredible achievement which demonstrates the enterprising spirit and brilliance of 果冻影院鈥檚 students. I wish them every success for the future.鈥�

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• L-R 果冻影院 competition winners Glenda Xu, Lia Bote and Yvette Homerlein

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