BioTech Entrepreneurship
This course is intended for motivated master students and doctoral students in economics and natural sciences who are interested in entrepreneurship and have start-up ambitions. It offers the opportunity to combine start-up activities with studies and to gain first experiences in the field of entrepreneurship, thanks to the DTE study concept "Road to Start-Up".
The fields of biotechnology, material science and pharma are catalysators for technology progress, which are merging more and more with innovations such as mRNA-based vaccines, biology inspired surfaces on cars, which reject dirt particles or cell-based CO2 recycling. Biotechnology-focused product development include methods and tools to actively shape our society. This theory-driven and actionoriented course provides an overview of technologies, methods and tools for conceptualizing and developing products. Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to: (1) explain what factors are involved in biotechnology product development and how to incorporate them into decision-making processes, (2) explain which technologies are relevant to specific processes, (3) use agile project management techniques in prototyping, and (4) use design thinking for product development.
Organizational details
Date: Winter semester 2023/2024
Degree courses: Doctoral and Master level
Scope: 4 SWS/6 CPs
Exam: To successfully pass the course, students must complete a project in which they apply the new product development approaches of the course. The project result will be presented in a presentation and evaluated afterwards
Date: Block seminar 25.10.2023 and 26.10.2023 12:00-18:00; bi-weekly lecture Thursdays, 09:00-11:30
Language: English
Start: 25.10.2023
Location: Online sessions and New Product Development Lab (KWT building/Innovation center)
Number of participants: 12
Course application:
Please send a mail to benedikt.schnellbaecher(at)uni-saarland.de , nicolas.kiefer(at)uni-saarland.de daniel.silva(at)uni-saarland.de (Cc) (1) with "Application BioTech Entrepreneurship" in the subject line as well as including (2) a brief letter of motivation (half DIN A4 page) (3) and your CV.
Registration open until: 18.10.2023
Learning objectives
The specific competencies that students are expected to acquire in the process include:
(1) The ability to consciously select, evaluate, and apply different decision-making strategies in the development of biotechnology products,
(2) an understanding of the relevance, characteristics, and context of application of biotechnologyrelated product development technologies (e.g. CAD software, 3D printing, etc.),
(3) the application of agile project management techniques to prototype,
(4) the use of design thinking for product realization.