Innovative Student Competition Tackles Canada's Dental Care Crisis
Nima Noyan, May 2023
The DEBI Team, (from left to right), Sebastien Roberge, Elena Voorand, Husam Medbak, Nima Lighvan, Bhavya Jani, Nima Noyan, Lauren Elkada, Jaskaran Singh Beniwal, Harman Johal, Daniel Han
As the dental industry in Canada receives significant attention and government funding, a groundbreaking student competition at the University of Western Ontario aims to help the nation's dental care accessibility problem.
The Dental Entrepreneurship, Business & Innovation (DEBI) organization, founded by fourth-year Schulich dental student Nima Noyan, bridges the gap between dental education and entrepreneurship skills needed to spark innovation and run a successful dental practice.
In partnership with the Morrissette Entrepreneurship Institute at the Ivey School of Business, DEBI recently launched its first-ever Dental Business Case Competition, "TranscenDent."
The event brought together students from dental, business, and engineering faculties at the University of Western Ontario, challenging them to address a critical question: "With 9 million Canadians lacking access to dental care, how can we leverage technology to increase access?". Ontario's Minister of Labour, Training, and Skills Development, Monte McNaughton, praised the competition as "one of the most positive and productive events" he has attended.
The competition took place between April 18th and April 22nd, 2023, at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario. The winning team developed a cost-effective solution to help individuals with special needs and dental anxiety access dental care.
DEBI President Nima Noyan expressed enthusiasm for the competition's success, stating, "We're thrilled with the success of this event and look forward to building on this event across all dental faculties in the future. We believe that every individual deserves access to quality dental care, and this competition was a big step in the right direction."
For further information, please contact: Nima Noyan, nnoyan@uwo.ca
Click here to download the press release with additional photos.
