June 17, 2019 | Karen Snapp
“Commercialization in Context: Life Sciences”
A collaboration between the CBC, the Graduate School (TGS) at Northwestern and Kellogg, concluded its Alpha offering on June 5, 2019
TGS 518 Alpha Cohort
The ten-week course was offered in Spring 2019 and took place on Wednesday evenings in Wieboldt Hall on the NU Chicago campus from April 3 – June 5. Twenty-five graduate students and post docs from all three CBC campuses attended the course. The aim of the course is to build critical and analytical thinking abilities in the context of commercializing life science research with an emphasis on intellectual property and how to procure and leverage IP rights on the path to commercialization.
Clinical Professor James G. Conley, Kellogg, organized the course and provided stimulating lectures on how life scientists may secure and leverage the intangible knowledge produced by their research. Lectures, in class discussions, case studies, guest speakers (including CBC Executive Director, Jim Audia), and final projects presented by class members were among the learning formats used to help the class critically evaluate innovations and their intangible sources of advantage. Material included case challenges in big pharma, medical devices, university-based and commercial agricultural plant breeding, university based small molecule discoveries that became therapeutic successes plus other life science topics.
Based on student comments, the class was a success! Students stated they learned a lot, wished the course lasted longer, enjoyed working on their group presentations, praised Professor Conley’s teaching style and the knowledge they gained provided insight into career opportunities. The CBC intends to continue our collaboration with Kellogg and TGS and anticipate offering the course in Spring 2020. Prior to the Spring quarter, an Information Session describing the purpose and logistics of the course will be held in late Winter 2020. We’ll keep you posted!