Western students answered a call to action for a second year with a resounding response.
More than 200 students from nearly every faculty took part in this year’s President’s Challenge, a multi-week competition hosted by the Morrissette Institute for Entrepreneurship, Powered by Ivey, that brings innovative, creative thinkers together to generate solutions for Canada’s most pressing problems.
This year’s challenge addressed the long wait times Canadians face after they are referred to a health-care specialist. With a median wait time of nearly 28 weeks, Canada ranks at the bottom of 11 high-income countries. Participants were challenged to find practical solutions that would put Canada at the top of the rankings.
“I’m delighted to see such a positive response once again to the President’s Challenge,” said Western President Alan Shepard.
“This is a terrific opportunity for students to learn from one another, engage in innovative thinking and find ways to make unique and creative contributions to solve real-life problems, all while developing their leadership and entrepreneurial skills.”
Over the course of a month, 60 teams of two to four students developed and workshopped proposals that charted a patient’s journey, including all the steps to implement their ideas in Canada.
“Students are deeply moved by the problems in our health-care system,” said Eric Morse, executive director of Morrissette. “We are encouraged to see so many who want to become part of the solution.”
Increasing interest in the President’s Challenge
Fifty-three teams took part in the inaugural challenge in 2024, exceeding expectations.
“Throughout last year, the most frequent question we received from students was, ‘When is the next one?’” said Morse.
The team proposing Referra-Link, (L to R) Darren Porciello, Jenna Diab and Luke Aprile, placed first in the 2025 President’s Challenge. (Morrissette Institute for Entrepreneurship)
Students in the 2025 competition pitched their proposals to a panel of health and technology experts at the semi-finals on March 13. The top five teams then presented at the President’s Final and Showcase on March 31 in Toronto in front of leading experts in health care: Dan Carbin, Connie Clerici, LLD’22, Dr. Michael Peddle and Dr. Chris S. Simpson.
“This feels like something that could have actionable change. And we are here at the start of it. That’s so exciting,” Luke Aprile said just before heading to the finals, where he and his teammates, Jenna Diab and Darren Porciello, took first place.
The team proposed Referra-Link, a solution for streamlining referrals through a centralized pool to prevent uneven patient distribution among specialists. Team members said the entire journey through the President’s Challenge was a rewarding experience.
“It’s been truly eye-opening, teaching us how to think critically and approach large-scale problems in new ways,” Diab said. “We’re grateful for the opportunity to present Referra-Link and receive such valuable feedback from industry experts. A huge thank you to our mentor Katie Herbert, the judges and Morrissette Entrepreneurship for fostering innovation and supporting student-led solutions to real-world challenges.”
For Aprile, Diab and Porciello, fourth-year students in medical science, business and computer science, respectively, the competition tested their analytical and research skills as they first had to understand how existing systems in health care function.
“Our main challenge was trying to come up with a solution that doesn’t involve massive spending or increases in resources,” Porciello said.
Now, the team is excited to explore possible next steps to bring their idea to life. Diab says their solution works because it doesn’t require overhauling current systems. “Referra-Link would integrate seamlessly with the health-care systems already in place so it can be implemented at low cost.”
Entrepreneurial expertise at Western
Every team had access to mentors from Morrissette, as well as health-care and business experts in the community. In addition to helping participants narrow their focus and determine the steps for applying their ideas, they helped them make a compelling pitch to the judges.
The team proposing NavigAid, (L to R) Ashna Chari, Fasih Rehman and Erica Diana, advanced to the President’s Challenge Finals and Showcase. (Morrissette Institute for Entrepreneurship)
Another team that presented at the finals credits its success in the semi-finals to the advice from Sunday Ajak, BA’23, a business advisor at Morrissette and former president of the University Students’ Council. Erica Diana, Ashna Chari and Fasih Rehman, all health and medical sciences students, proposed a universal health record called NavigAid that would consolidate multiple health records across the system.
“The business side of things is not really up our alley,” said Ashna Chari. “Sunday strengthened our presentation by preparing us for questions from a business and logistics perspective.”
“He also showed us how to present our ideas so non-health-care professionals can get on board and understand what we mean,” Erica Diana added. “The judges asked us, ‘Doesn’t this already exist?’ We explained how our system would be different by preventing medication errors and time-wasting duplication.”
Students say the competition advanced their skills across multiple disciplines. It also boosted confidence when facing a field of competitors with more experience.
Skills development creates opportunities
“We’re second-year undergrads up against a lot of master’s and PhD students, so we felt out of our depth,” Chari said. “But the competition showed us it doesn’t matter where you are in life. You just believe in yourself and your abilities. That mindset will carry forward to a lot of things I do now in my day to day.”
Some teams were already looking forward to next year’s competition, even before this year’s event concluded.
“The first thing that we said to each other was, ‘We’re doing this again next year,’” Diana said. “Even if we don’t make it as far as we did this year, it would still be a great opportunity to put what we’ve learned into use to solve real-world problems.”
Many participants are encouraging even more students to take the President’s Challenge next year.
“This competition showed us just how much access to expertise and resources is available at Western,” Diana said. “If you have an idea for a new solution, all the things that can make you successful are right here.”
President’s Challenge 2025 Order of Finish
1st ($10,000) — Luke Aprile, Jenna Diab, Darren Porciello — Referra-Link: Software that streamlines referrals through a centralized pooling system unique to each specialty to prevent uneven patient distribution among specialists
2nd ($5,000) — Kento Hayash, Callum Lew, Sydney Burns, Julia Piskunowicz — PhysicianFlow: An add-on to electronic medical records (EMRs) that eliminates unnecessary administrative tasks for physicians and unites all EMRs through a common platform
3rd ($2,500) — Jubin Alex, Heba Beshai, Priya Thomas — Central Care Hub: A platform that facilitates seamless coordination of health care services between general practitioners, specialists and diagnostic centres for patients needing hip and knee joint replacements
4th-5th ($1,000 each) Unordered:
Fasih Rehman, Erica Diana, Ashna Chari — NavigAid: A universal digital health record that consolidates patients’ medical history, referrals and diagnostic test results into one system
Ananya Gupta, Millan Deol — canSOAR: A platform that automates administrative work, streamlines referrals, synchronizes updates and optimizes scheduling
