Trinity Alumnus Elliot Gunn – winner of the Global Essay Competition

Congratulations to Trinity College alumnus Elliot Gunn (Class of 2016) – winner of the Global Essay Competition at the St.Gallen Symposium (view symposium video).

“I had not expected to win but I would like to credit my education at Trinity College for imparting a strong foundation in looking at historically significant events through an interdisciplinary lens,” Elliot said. “I would also like to credit Professor Joy Fitzgibbon, my Trinity One prof in 2012-2013, for teaching what remains my favourite and most meaningful course in my undergraduate. On stage with my finalists, I spoke about Canada’s universal healthcare and the socioeconomic determinants of health, a topic that she was passionate about and which changed the way my classmates and I approached thorny public policy issues. More personally, I felt incredibly proud to have represented the University of Toronto at such an international event.”

Elliot is currently a MSc Economic History student at the London School of Economics. Elliot continues his connect with the College – he currently serves as the Managing Editor at the International Journal, which is co-run by the Bill Graham Centre for Contemporary International History at Trinity College and the Canadian International Council.

The Global Essay Competition is aimed at students worldwide and offers young people the opportunity to exchange ideas with 200 committed “Leaders of Tomorrow” and 600 established “Leaders of Today”.

Elliot Gunn addresses the global problem in the health sector in his essay “Restoring the Radical Promise of Universal Healthcare” (PDF). Specifically, Gunn looks at the publicly funded health care systems in Canada and the UK and their challenges. The demand for medical treatment can only be met inadequately, resulting in long waiting times for medical care, for example. To solve this, the student puts forward four concrete proposals: First, a long-term recapitalisation of the health infrastructure should take place through increased financial support. Furthermore, the use of existing capacities should be fully utilized. If pharmacists were given the competence to provide medical care themselves to a certain extent, costs and waiting times could be reduced. A third point aims at the use of productivity-enhancing technologies. In addition to the use of telemedicine, the digitisation of patient records could reduce administrative efforts, lower costs and make processes more efficient and error-free. Gunn’s final proposal involves public-private partnerships. In the Canadian province of Ontario, the expansion of private, for-profit clinics has already been announced. In such facilities, publicly funded treatments will be available in the future to reduce the waiting list for surgical procedures.” [source: University of St.Gallen]

>> Elliot shares his thoughts on problems in today’s healthcare systems and offers insights into the symposium experience as a «Leader of Tomorrow».

Categories: Alumni