Success for entrepreneurship course BioBusiness

The structure of BioBusiness is based on taught modules that focus on entrepreneurship, life sciences and venture finance. During the week, participants are required to draft a development plan for an enterprise of their own; these projects are evaluated at the end of the course by a jury, which gives the Helsinn Award to the best BioProject. In addition, lectures are complemented by case studies and extensive discussions. The programme reflects a highly interdisciplinary approach and targets young and future bio-entrepreneurs in particular, by giving them an opportunity to learn, talk, discuss, maybe invent and share their experiences.

The course took place in the Executive Center of Università della Svizzera italiana, Lugano, and the number of participants was limited to 30.

“The programme is outstanding and brings immediate and measurable value to my company,” said Stavros Therianos, CEO and founder of Diagnoplex. And Jörg Ziegler, co-founder of One Drop Diagnostics, explained: “I can use many of the topics directly in my daily life as a co-founder of a start-up and all the contacts will be of great help in the future.”

Nils Goedecke, CEO and founder of MicroDuits, took part in the programme with partner Ralf Streichan, the second time that members of the company management have attended: “We specifically asked for a second participation because of the excellence of the course, which provides an outstanding mix of lectures combined with information presentation and working in class on tasks, alongside the networking throughout the week – it's impossible to say what the best part is. In my opinion, this course is a must for entrepreneurs who come from a scientific background and want to discover new ground by building their own organisation.”

About BioBusiness
BioBusiness was first launched in 2010. Since then the course has been taught on an annual basis to a target audience of scientists, bio-engineers and bio-entrepreneurs, who want to commercialise drugs/technologies and/or are involved in the early stages of a life sciences enterprise. Course participants are carefully selected on the basis of their educational background and entrepreneurial intentions. So far, some of the most promising Swiss life sciences start-ups have participated in the programme and a significant number of course participants come from other European countries, including Italy, Germany, France, Austria and the UK. Dr Heidrun Flaadt is head of the BioBusiness training programme at the Università della Svizzera italiana.