Thursday, February 7, 2013

Entrepreneurship for Science, Medicine, and Technology

Recently, CNSI started a new experiment. In partnership with the Price Center for Entrepreneurial Studies in the UCLA Anderson School of Management, the Institute offered the "Entrepreneurship for Science, Medicine, and Technology" course geared toward research scientists, medical practitioners, and engineers who want to learn more about the business side of technology transfer and entrepreneurship.

One of CNSI's most important goals is to encourage university collaborations with industry and enable the rapid commercialization of discoveries. To help meet this goal, the Institute is developing a multi-prong approach that will support its community regardless of where its members are in their career or their past experience with industry. The class, taught by Anderson Lecturer George Abe, strives to educate people with little or no experience with the entrepreneurial space, and, judging from the enthusiastic participation in the first two classes, people definitely want this information. The last class focused on issues such as incorporating your business and benefit packages, and Abe's 2-hour lecture was constantly interrupted with interesting questions and scenarios (many of them surrounding a hypothetical lemonade stand founded by the students in the front row). The group also happily skipped the midway break in the hopes of covering all of the week's material in time.

An important component of the course will be group work to develop product pitches for the class and possible guests. Already, students have offered up their own technology, and teams are forming for the first elevator pitch session happening next week.

If successful, the class may be offered again in the future.

Stay tuned!

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