Technology Based Startups: Ideate, Invent and Innovate ((3 Units))

Catalog description

Prerequisite: Permission of the department. This course will provide students with the opportunity to extend their fundamental knowledge of entrepreneurship within the specific interdisciplinary context of technology commercialization. Working in interdisciplinary groups the student teams/groups will be taught design thinking approaches that put the customer at the center of the creative process. Brainstorming exercises will be held to solve open ended problems on special topics (e.g. biomimicry, software, medical devices, sensors etc.) so that teams can ideate and conceptualize product, process or service based ideas that solve real problems. In some cases, students can be assigned known research technologies and learn how to come up with applications that have commercialization potential. The evaluation will include, but not be limited to, evaluation of the underlying technology, determination of potential customer value proposition(s), determination of market feasibility, examination of licensing/spin-off options, identification of potential licensees, estimation of potential market size and value, and development of recommendations for further funding, growth (or abandonment). By working in teams, students will learn how to create/invent a product prototype, learn how to listen to potential customers and come back to describe the value proposition that will make the startup successful. (Formerly 4600:465)