The first session of SmiLe e-Campus, a training program focused on entrepreneurship in the life sciences that is open to participants from all over Europe, is coming to an end.
The 27 participants who completed the program gave consistently highly favorable feedback. They particularly appreciated SmiLe’s invaluable knowledge of all things life science-related, as well as the direct connection to the industry through the unique collaboration with GE Healthcare and Philips Electronics. The program was funded in part by the European organization EIT Health.
SmiLe e-Campus was created by SmiLe and its partners to
help increase interest in and knowledge about entrepreneurship within the life sciences among students, researchers and other interested parties. The hope is that in the long run it will provide benefit by contributing to the commercialization of more health-related innovations.
The SmiLe e-Campus program is part of the entrepreneurial development journey at SmiLe, where innovators receive basic knowledge at SmiLe e-Campus, after which they can develop their business concepts and fledgling companies in the Health2B program, and ultimately grow their companies toward commercialization with support from all of the resources and experts offered by SmiLe’s incubator program.
“The early market focus for innovations and the collaboration with GE Healthcare and Philips at SmiLe e-Campus makes us truly unique, and the feedback we received shows there is strong demand for this type of program,” says Ebba Fåhraeus, CEO of SmiLe Incubator.
Feedback from some of the participants:
“I thought the course was excellent, very enjoyable and inspiring, and I learnt so much about entrepreneurship. Thank you again for such a great opportunity.” – Carol O’Brien, PhD graduate.
“ I really enjoyed the e-Campus experience and I learned a lot of useful things that I can hopefully use in my future work.” – Diana Mindroc, MSc and Research assistant at Cancer Research Centre.
“The program has been very inspiring. I got a deeper knowledge of several areas that I have touched upon during the development of my own company.” – Maria Rosén Klement, PhD and co-founder of the startup company PainDrainer.
Facts:
About the program: SmiLe e-Campus is a free online program aimed at startup companies, students in higher education and budding business people who want to start a company or a career in the life science sector. The first session of the eight-week online program ran part-time during the autumn. The program, which is funded in part by EIT Health, is a collaborative effort involving SmiLe Incubator, GE Healthcare, Philips Electronics and EIT Health. www.smileecampus.life
About the content: the program consisted of about 20 lectures by experts in their fields. Topics included various business models specific to the life sciences, patent strategies, marketing and pricing strategies for products and services within the healthcare industry, how to prepare to bring in external investors to startup companies, and how to collaborate with large pharmaceutical companies and the strengths associated with doing so.
About the participants: A total of 27 participants from several European countries completed the program. Their educational backgrounds varied and included 10 participants who hold a PhD degree, 12 with an MSc degree, and 5 with a BSc degree. About two thirds of all participants are currently studying at the undergraduate, masters or PhD level, or have recently earned their degree. About one third are employed.
For more information, please contact: Ebba Fåhraeus, vd för SmiLe Incubator, +46 73 40004339, Ebba@smileincubator.life
About EIT Health Campus: EIT Health Campus provides educational programs as part of EIT Health, an EU organization that works for life science innovation in Europe. These programs provide the brightest participants with the most current knowledge, skills and strategies to turn them into healthcare leaders and entrepreneurs who will shape the future of health in Europe. Campus programs are intended to enhance industry knowledge and provide novel skills.
EIT Health supports the Campus to inspire increased entrepreneurship and to spread knowledge to more countries. Campus applicants should have a desire to engage in life science innovations, but do not need to have fully developed business concepts. It is also open to recent graduates and to people with no experience of entrepreneurship. Region Skåne is one of EIT Health’s Swedish partners.
About GE Healthcare: GE Healthcare, a company in the General Electric Group, manufactures laboratory instruments and medical diagnostics equipment. Its headquarters is located in Chicago, Illinois, USA
About Philips Electronics: Philips Electronics, Koninklijke Philips N.V. with headquarters in Amsterdam in the Netherlands, was previously one of the largest electronics companies in the world, but now focuses on health tech.
SmiLe Incubator is a life science business incubator based in Medicon Village in Lund. SmiLe helps entrepreneurs to commercialize their ideas. There are currently 25 companies in SmiLe, which together with alumni companies, have attracted more than EUR 280 million in venture capital to date since 2014. SmiLe offers business coaching, a large network of contacts and a dynamic community, as well as well-equipped laboratories which is unique of its kind in Sweden. SmiLe is a non-profit organization and receives basic funding from Region Skåne, Lund Municipality, Lund University and Medicon Village. SmiLe´s sponsors are Agilent, Sparbanken Skåne, Awa, Høiberg, Prevas, Setterwalls, Zacco, Aqilion. SmiLe’s listed alumni companies have a market capitalization of almost EUR 750 million (Q4 2019). www.smileincubator.life
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