School of Health Innovation

School of Health Innovation aims to provide healthcare and life science researchers with tools and insight into how innovation can be put to work for the benefit of patients, the healthcare system and our society.

Starting a company together after meeting at School of Health innovation
Starting a company together after meeting at School of Health innovation. Photo: Øystein Horgmo/UiO

The School of Health Innovation provides the two courses “Health Innovation and Entrepreneurship” and “Entrepreneurship in Healthcare”. The programme is an initiative from the University of Oslo, in partnership with Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Karolinska Institutet, University of Copenhagen and Nansen Neuroscience Network. There is also a collaboration with the University of Bergen and the University of Tromsø. The School of Health Innovation is a Scandinavian programme open to PhD candidates and post doctors from medical faculties at the collaborating institutions. After completing the first-course “Health innovation and entrepreneurship”, eligible and qualified applicants may apply for the next level course “Entrepreneurship in healthcare.”

94% of students say the course has been relevant for their future career options. A few quotes from our students:

"We learned a lot about teamwork, developing products, developing ideas and how to protect your ideas. That’s biggest “take-home”, how to work outside the scientific mindset", says Joao Pedro Mauricio Rosa from Karolinska Institutet.

"I think the most important thing is activities that challenge you to think differently. Even though you start with some knowledge, you’ll be forced to use it in new ways and under time pressure." PhD from NTNU.

"Highly valuable course for every scientist! Even for people who plan to stay in academia, this course provides a perspective one can otherwise not learn in regular university courses."

Course 1

Health Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Learn how to turn research results and ideas into business ventures and how to create innovative services in a clinical setting. Our vision is improving health through strengthening researchers' capacity for innovation and entrepreneurship.

INFORMATION:

Duration: 2 modules (4 days per module) in March and April, 2024

  • Module 1: March 12-15, Oslo, Norway
  • Module 2: April 16-19, Holte, Denmark

Location: Oslo in Norway and Holte in Denmark
Participants: PhD students, postdocs, clinicians, young assistant professors, young clinicians, researchers
Maximum capacity: 60
Admission: Based on CV and motivational letter. For PhDs to be considered, it is required to include a supervisor recommendation letter (confirmation of acceptance of your enrolment in the course is sufficient).
Application deadline: February 1, 2024
Program: TBA. You can find the program from 2022 here. Be aware the course structure has changed
Language: The teaching language throughout the course is English 

About the course

The course will equip medical, healthcare, and life science researchers with tools and knowledge to innovate services for patients, create companies based on their research ideas, or bring their research ideas into existing companies.

You will meet with and learn from leaders in academia, hospitals, and healthcare companies.

Methods

Case-based learning is a core part of the programme, where the participants are given the opportunity to develop an idea from their own research environment. By the end of module 1 you will be grouped in a team of 4-6 people. You will decide on a topic based on a team member's own research. You will work with this team during the end of module 1 and module 2. This project will be the center for our case-based learning and so, you will use this project to apply all theoretical knowledge developed during the course. 

Please note that you may or may not work with your own project. This will depend solely on your team's decision. It is not a requirement to have a commercially-ready idea/project to participate in the course.

Admission

The School of Health Innovation is a Scandinavian programme open for Life Science/Health PhDs, postdocs, young assistant professors, and young clinicians from ANY Scandinavian public university or hospital (Norway, Sweden, and Denmark).

Admission is based on CV (2-pages in pdf), motivation. For PhDs to be considered, it is required to include a supervisor recommendation letter (confirmation of acceptance of your enrolment in the course is sufficient).

Expenses

The course is free of cost and the School of Health Innovation covers breakfast, lunch, and dinners pre-booked by SHI as well as three nights of accommodation for each module. We reimburse travel expenses up to 2,000 DKK per module. Taxa is to be preapproved and no additional accommodations are reimbursed.

Practical issues

The course gives 7.5 ECTS (PhD level). ECTS are optional, and one can also apply without ECTS.

Learning outcomes

After completion of the course the participants will be able to:

  • Learn how to build a business in healthcare based on their own research.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of the opportunities of health innovation and entrepreneurship for utilization of research.
  • Apply scientific background and new knowledge of health innovation to address challenges and develop services and products within a clinical setting and a biopharma/medtech setting.
  • Use various business tools for ideation and feasibility studies; to develop, prototype and test solutions in response to user needs.
  • Develop a business plan based upon a novel idea and communicate a business plan to people within the startup world.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of how Tech Transfer Offices and other innovation support actors can support the commercialization process.
  • Apply the basics in financing a startup company from private and governmental funding bodies.
  • Discuss and argue for different types of intellectual property and intellectual assets, and understand different patent strategies.
  • Assess their skills in health innovation and reflect on the exploitation of their own research.
  • Combine being a scientist and a health innovator/entrepreneur.

Examination

In order to get a certificate of participation and be entitled to 7.5 ECTS:

  • You must attend at least 80% of the course. Attendance will be registered.
  • Participate in the oral presentation by the end of module 3.
  • Written individual report (2-3 pages) in which you reflect on your main learning outcomes from the course and how you may utilize this new learning in your career. 

The grading is based on the pass/fail system.

Collaboration

The course is a Nordic enterprise developed in partnership between:

  • The University of Oslo (UiO)
  • Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)
  • Karolinska Institutet (KI) in Stockholm
  • University of Copenhagen (UCPH)

APPLY

Ana Osório Oliveira from Karolinska Institutet

Contact

Profile image

Samer Yammine

Project Manager

Contact info

Lene Nørby Nielsen, Program Manager, UCPH, DK: noerby@sund.ku.dk

Lilian Rasmussen, Program Manager, UCPH, DK: lilian.rasmussen@sund.ku.dk

Bjarte Reve, Program Manager, UiO, NO: bjarte.reve@considium.no

Katja D. Mjøs, Program Manager, UiO, NO: k.d.mjos@growthhouse.uio.no

Tonje Steigedal, Program Manager, NTNU, NO: tonje.s.steigedal@ntnu.no

Samer Yammine, Program Manager, KI, SE: samer.yammine@ki.se

Course 2 

Entrepreneurship in Healthcare

More information will follow later 2024.

Course syllabus

Other courses in entrepreneurship and innovation

If you do not want to leave Stockholm, a variety of courses in entrepreneurship and innovation are offered by the Unit for bioentrepreneurship at KI.

The very useful and appreciated 4.5 hp course “Exploring entrepreneurial opportunities in research” consists of three separate one-week long course modules spread over a term and will be offered each spring. It begins with the discovery and identification of intellectual assets in daily work. Then introduces relevant business tools to develop a business idea related to one’s research. Finally, the course participants will learn how to package an already developed business idea for introduction into the start-up world.

Courses at the Unit for bioentrepreneurship

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Content reviewer:
Liisa Olsson
20-12-2023