Entrepreneurship and Valorization for medical sciences

Objectives    

Upon completion of the course the students will be able to:

1.     Discuss and apply the basic concepts and tools of entrepreneurship

2.     Formulate business ideas and in contexts related to (own) medical & life sciences research

3.     Develop business ideas into business models and plans

4.     Present these ideas (pitch) to different audiences

Overview

  For whom is this course?

·         For students who want to learn about potential business applications of the projects they work on. They or their research group have some IP – usually, a method that can address different diseases and they are asking themselves: What is the best market application? How can I best bring my idea to the market?

·         For students close to the completion of their PhD who are looking for alternatives to the academic life: What if they don’t stay in the academia after their PhD? What options can entrepreneurship offer to them? What could they, as an expert, offer to the market?

·         For those who would like to solve a specific problem in a financially sustainable way. Entrepreneurship is not always technology or invention driven. It can be an idea based on personal frustration (e.g. disinfection for mobile phones) or a larger societal issue you care about (e.g. poor healthcare in remote regions of Africa).  Entrepreneurship knowledge can help develop a healthy business model to deliver the necessary means for the impact you intend to create.

Whether you are coming with one of the above mentioned goals, all three of them, or something else altogether, with this course you will develop your knowledge and skills in business development and learn about entrepreneurship as a method of identifying, delivering and capturing value.

More specifically, in this course you will learn about the characteristics of promising business ideas, and you will be able to test and compare different business ideas based on their market potential and barriers for development and adoption. Throughout the course you will also learn how to formulate a business model, and what business aspects a good business model should describe. You will learn the essentials of different business professions including strategy, marketing, network, organization and financing that are necessary for running a business. As a strategy specialist you will learn to analyze the dynamics of the business environment and formulate the unique selling points of your business. As a marketing specialist, you will learn how to identify the customer segments, their needs and wants, and how to choose among them. And as a finance specialist, you will be able to navigate the different sources of obtaining capital for your idea.

Do you need to become an expert in each of these very different professions? Yes and no. As an individual entrepreneur you are often required to perform all of these roles to formulate your strategy, work with your clients and pay the bills. In a team there is more space for specialization, but it always helps to understand what to expect from other team members, whether you are the CEO or a marketing specialist. By discussing the different aspects of running a business you are not only learning the essentials of these professions, but you can also “try different hats on” – maybe you will discover a talent for marketing or finance? One of the course graduates got fascinated by financing medical businesses. He is now working in a Venture Capital firm as an investment analyst, combining his scientific background and love for finance.

The course is designed in the following way.

1.      Lectures. Each Thursday we meet to discuss a new topic / role in entrepreneurship. There will be reading material to back each of the discussions and case materials to illustrate it.

2.      Practice. We learn best by practice. For each topic you will receive simple assignments to practice your knowledge and skills in business professions.

3.      Inspiration. We also learn by example. I will be inviting business developers, entrepreneurs and investors who will share their stories with you and answer your questions.

4.      Perspiration. At the end of the course participants will present a “graduation project” that demonstrates their knowledge of the topics of the course.

Hours per week        

3 hours in class + homework

Teaching method    

Combined lectures/workshops, feedback sessions, guest lectures.

Assessment

Individual graduation project

Course Structure

The course consists of 8 weeks, 7 weeks of lectures / coaching sessions, and a final week with only the “exam” meeting for presentations of the project.