PHAA National Public Health Student Think Tank Competition

The Students and Young Professionals in Public Health (SYPPH) committee are pleased to offer the National Public Health Student Think Tank Competition as an opportunity for students to engage with current issues in public health, showcase their innovation and interact with established professionals.

Interested students are invited to submit a written response of no more than 750 words to address the following prompt: 

How do we redesign systems to better promote prevention, wellbeing and health equity? Choose one public health challenge and propose a systems-focused solution.

Four shortlisted students will be invited to develop their response into a presentation of no more than 7 minutes, to be presented in a national webinar.  The winner will be invited to present their response at the Australian Public Health Conference, in Geelong, 15-17 September 2026. 

Download the submission guidelines and entry submission form:

•Submission guidelines

•Entry form

Please fill out the entry form and submit your response by 5pm AEST Monday 6 July 2026.

The winner of the competition will receive:

● Registration to attend the 2026 Australian Public Health Conference;
● Flights and accommodation to attend the conference (up to the value of $2,000); and
● A one-year student membership to the Public Health Association of Australia.

Three runners-up will also receive a one-year student membership to the Public Health Association of Australia.

We encourage all students at a tertiary level with a passion for public health to apply. This includes undergraduate, postgraduate, part-time, full-time and those studying remotely. We encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, LGBTQ students and students with a disability to apply and invite anyone to discuss with us if they require any special requirements.