OSMS-SPARK
Applications are closed. Stay tuned for the next round...
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OSMS-BC Firestop
OSMS-BC Firestop is our reoccurring open house event that takes place before the OSMS-SPARK pitch event. The last one was on May 29th 2021... stay tuned for the next one!
Learn about the open-source philosophy, hear about what we've been working on, and meet the community.
RSVP to show your interest using the button below!
What is OSMS-SPARK?
This is the first round of OSMS-SPARK, a series of pitch events in which individuals or teams can pitch their project ideas to a panel of OSMS-BC judges and compete for winnings that will allow them to successfully carry out their ideas.
OSMS-SPARK is an opportunity for you to bring out the entrepreneur in yourself. We aim to enable you to create and see through a technical project that addresses a medical, societal, economical, or environmental problem caused by COVID-19 with a focus on Canada. OSMS-BC, as an open source non-profit organization, will provide partial financial support, mentorship and other additional resources to help you bring the project/idea to completion.
What is OSMS-BC?
OSMS-BC (Open Source Medical Supplies British Columbia) is a BC-based branch of Open Source Medical Supplies. Launched in March 2020, Open Source Medical Supplies (OSMS) has brought together a global network of over 70,000 makers, fabricators, community organizers, and medical professionals working to meet the unprecedented medical supply challenges stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. We are a strong team of engineers, designers, business professionals, and students that came together to provide support to various stakeholders in their effort to tackle COVID-19. We aim to provide a valuable contribution in mitigating the pandemic and effectuating a province where access to healthcare supplies and accurate health information is ubiquitous and dependable.
How well your project addresses a problem caused by COVID-19.
How efficient, effective, and practical your project is in addressing the problem.
Robustness of your project proposal (i.e., background, methodology, timeline, needs, etc.).
Robustness of your pitch (must effectively communicate project goals and execution strategy & follow OSMS pitch outline below)
Areas of Impact?
Think big! Think outside the box! The possibilities for technical solutions in restructuring, rebuilding, and benefiting BC in light of COVID-19 are many and far reaching. Possible areas of impact include COVID-19 treatment, COVID-19 testing, contact tracing, vaccine distribution, medical supplies, sustainability, education, misinformation, mental health, disabilities, social or economic inequity, food distribution, poverty, homelessness, and drug addiction.
What's in it for you?
The winning pitches will receive a minimum of $1000 in funding, access to OSMS-BC's network, mentorship, technical expertise and review, volunteers, and marketing to ensure project success as well as additional resources to ensure project completion. Our network includes numerous private enterprises across Canada, academic institutions, government, and other non-profits.
Representation is important and we encourage submissions from unrepresented groups such as women, visible minorities, and Indigenous peoples.
Want to donate?
Want to donate to support SPARK and the OSMS-BC? Do so here:
https://my.charitableimpact.com/groups/building-frontline-equipment
Donations can get tax receipts!
How should your Pitch Deck be structured?
Who are you?
What problem caused by COVID-19 are you addressing?
What is your solution?
How will you achieve your solution?
What is your project's background, methodology, and timeline?
Once complete, how will you promote and market your project to the wider public?
Who is your competition?
How will you fund your project?
What are your other project needs?
The entire pitch should not exceed 15 minutes (10 minute presentation + 5 minute Q&A).
How do you apply?
The "Apply" button at the top of the page will take you to a Google Form in which you must complete two sections after inputting your email address, "Basic Information" and "Technical Project Specifications". The Technical Project Specifications will ask 2 short answer questions (problem and solution). Following this, you must upload a Project Proposal (PDF only) which includes your background, methodology, and timeline. Besides these key sections, we encourage you to be creative in your presentation.
Important Dates?
OSMS-SPARK will be accepting applications until May 17th, 2021 at 11:59pm.
If you have been selected to present at the event, we will contact you by May 22nd, 2021 at 11:59pm.
The OSMS-SPARK pitch event will take place on May 29th, 2021 at 1:00pm over Google Meet.
If selected, you will receive a time slot between 1:00pm and 3:00pm.
OSMS-SPARK will announce winners no later than June 5th, 2021 at 11:59pm.
The Judges
Angela Forgues
(she/her)
Angela Forgues is the Head of Medical Research at Open Source Medical Supplies. By day, she is a Program Manager in Research and Analysis at Aurora WDC, a boutique strategy and technology firm, where she serves as a healthcare and life sciences expert for health/pharma/life science engagements. She has extensive training in epidemiology and population health, as well as clinical expertise. Her research is published in top academic journals, including a paper in Demography where she and her colleagues explored the long term biological and social impacts of exposure to the 1918 flu pandemic.
Leigh Christie
(he/him)
Leigh Christie is a Vancouver-based engineer and entrepreneur who has co-founded 3 companies, a non-profit, and one charity. Leigh is currently focused on connected devices for health and safety at MistyWest, an engineering product design company he co-founded in 2003. In addition to years of bootstrapped entrepreneurship and hacking, Leigh honed his skills and gained critical artistic insights through his completion of a Masters Degree in the ACT program (Art, Culture and Technology). Prior to MIT, Leigh gained his undergraduate degree in Engineering Physics from the University of British Columbia. Post undergrad, Leigh went on to design battery packs and EV components for several automotive clients.
Delila Gama
(she/her)
Delila Gama is the Design Team Wrangling, Government Liaison, Visions, and Documentation Lead & OSMS-SPARK co-Lead at OSMS-BC. She is a prospective Undergraduate Applied Sciences student at the University of British Columbia and hopes to specialize in Mechanical Engineering, later pursuing Aeronautical Engineering. She represents the student volunteer voice on this panel as she has extensive design team experience and has maintained relationships with multiple non-profit organizations, companies, manufacturers, and industry professionals in the Open Source Medical Supplies network.
Trevor Penner
(he/him)
Trevor Penner is a detail-oriented engineer who solves unique and interesting problems in challenging industries - he loves to find new or better ways to do things, particularly if something has never been done before. His 20-year career has allowed him to apply design, programming and project management experience to lead teams that create innovative solutions for client needs in automated transport, amusement ride, and factory automation.
Trevor graduated from the University of Victoria Engineering department and for the last 14 years has been working through an engineering consulting company he founded in 2007.
Project Examples:
Want to donate to support SPARK and the OSMS-BC? Do so here:
https://my.charitableimpact.com/groups/building-frontline-equipment
Donations can get tax receipts!