School of health innovation

The School of health innovation provides the two courses “Health innovation and entrepreneurship” and “Entrepreneurship in health care”. The programme is an initiative from the University of Oslo, in partnership with NTNU and Karolinska Institutet and in 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 postdoctors 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 off 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 2: Entrepreneurship in Healthcare, autumn 2020

Learn how to develop a research idea into a new company from experienced entrepreneurs, life science executives and academics.
 
As a student at "Entrepreneurship in healthcare" you will experience Scandinavia's most advanced support systems for healthcare entrepreneurs. Furthermore you will receive training in entrepreneurship and how to build a business from BI - Norwegian Business School. 
 
The overall aim of this course is that you as a researcher or clinician will learn from experienced life science entrepreneurs or business development executives, how to develop a research idea into business and to develop a business.
 
"Entrepreneurship in healthcare" is a part of The School of Health Innovation (HIS). HIS is a collaborative initiative from University of Oslo, NTNU, and Karolinska Institutet. The school is developed in collaboration with Nansen Neuroscience Network.

Dates for modules

7-8 September 2020, Oslo

7-8 October 2020, Oslo

Dates for modules in Oslo in collaboration with BI. We will strive to organizing the course with traditional lectures at a hotel in Oslo. However, we are constantly adhering to the government guidelines during the current COVID-19 pandemic. If it is not recommended to meet for traditional lectures, we will switch to a digital format via Zoom lectures. Further information will follow on this matter.

Description of course

Mentorship in companies in collaboration with BI (General entrepreneurship).
 
You can either bring your own project idea that you believe may be commercialized, or you will be given a project idea from the mentor organization.  You will use this project idea as the basis for developing a business plan. 
 
This track requires 4 days of participation in classes in Oslo and mentorship follow up from your business mentor.  You and your mentor will decide when and where to meet for the mentorship. You will have to set aside approximately 1-2 weeks to develop your business plan during the course. 

Examination

The exam will have two parts: 

• Development of a written business plan for a research idea that may be commercialized. This idea may be generated from your own research, or given to you from your mentor organization or work group. The business plan should be minimum 10 pages. 
• An investor presentation, that will be held at the final meeting in Stockholm in December.

The course gives 5 ECTS.

Practical issues and expenses

There is no course fee. Accommodation is booked by HIS, but you are expected to pay yourself upon check out after each module. You should seek reimbursement from your department/lab for these costs. Participants who want to stay longer have to book and cover this themselves.
 
Participants have to book journeys and cover traveling expenses, or apply to own employer or other funder for covering. Participants from KI should discuss logistics for travel with Samer Yammine.

Prerequisite for entry:

Successful participation in School of Health Innovation course 1 or acceptance by admittance committee. PhD programme in life science, PhD graduate life science, post-doc programme in life science or clinician.

Submission

Application deadline: 1 July  at 23:59.

By sending this application, you commit to attend all classes and engage in all preparatory activities, and Mentorship sessions during the course.

Applicants for the programme will be notified by email approximately two weeks after the application deadline.

APPLY

Course 1: Health innovation and entrepreneurship, spring 2021

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.

The teaching language throughout the course is English. 

The course is organized in three modules with separate dates and venues.

Course syllabus

Dates for modules

Module 1, Oslo: TBA 

• Venue to be decided
• Programme to be published (pdf)

Module 2, Trondheim: TBA

• Venue to be decided
• Programme to be published (pdf)

Module 3, Stockholm:  TBA

• Venue to be decided
• Programme to be published (pdf)

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, and cases are developed in collaboration between the partnering universities and companies presenting in the programme. Project-based learning is another central part of the programme, where the participants are given the opportunity to develop an idea from their own research environment.

Admission

The School of Health Innovation is a Scandinavian programme open for PhD:s and postdocs from Faculty of medicine at UiO, NTNU, KI, and other Nordic universities.

The number of students is limited to 50 and admission is based on CV, motivational letter and supervisor recommendation letter.

Practical issues and expenses

There is no course fee. Accommodation and flight costs are covered by Karolinska Institutet for registered PhD students and postdocs during the course period.

Participants from KI should discuss logistics for travel with Samer Yammine.

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 establish 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

You must attend at least 80 per cent of the course in order to be allowed to take the exam. Attendance will be registered.

The examination will be based on the following:

• Oral group presentations related to cases
• Group innovation project presented at the end of the course. The project may be based from your own research or developed during the course.
• 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.
The course gives 7.5 ECTS.

Submission

Final date for submitting this application TBA. Applicants for the programme will be notified by e-mail.

Mentor companies

Some of the mentor companies and incubators supporting the programme:

• Serendipity partners, VC Fund - Oslo
• AstraZeneca - Göteborg, Sweden
• Inven2, TTO Oslo
• Pre-Diagnostics (Diagnostics company – Alzheimers) - Oslo
• Network of companies that work with Nansen Neuroscience Network and Oslo Cancer Cluster
• Aleap health incubator - Oslo

Collaborations

The course is a Norwegian/Swedish enterprise developed in partnership between:

The University of Oslo (UiO)
Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)
Karolinska Institutet (KI) in Stockholm
The healthcare business clusters Nansen Neuroscience Network

The course is open to applicants from all collaborating universities and institutions.

It is developed in collaboration with:

The University of Bergen (UiB)
The University of Tromsø (UiT)
Oslo Cancer Cluster and Norway healthtech
UiO:Life Science
The Research Council of Norway
South-Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority

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