ENTREP 470: NUvention: Medical
Quarter Offered
Fall: Wednesdays, 6 – 9 p.m. CT, Chicago OR Evanston – simultaneous & in-person
Winter: Wednesdays, 6 – 9 p.m. CT, Chicago OR Evanston – simultaneous & in-person
Prerequisites
None, however prior Farley coursework or practical experience in a relevant field is encouraged. An application is required.
Description
NUvention Medical is a “real world” medical technology development course based on the BioDesign process. Our goal is to provide an intensive and practical introduction to the process of understanding significant unmet medical needs and designing new medical technologies to address them through a sustainable business.
A partnership between three Northwestern schools (Feinberg Medical School, Kellogg Graduate School of Management, McCormick School of Engineering), this course brings together students in interdisciplinary teams to simulate the ways in which medical innovations evolve from clinical needs and become viable ventures.
This course differs from other experiential entrepreneurship courses in that multidisciplinary teams made up of students from various schools uncover an unmet need rather than being provided with one. It also involves the entire process from idea generation to business development.
During this 10-week, single quarter course students will select from a list of med-tech problem areas and identify an unmet need. They will investigate the disease state fundamentals, existing solutions, and key stakeholders to identify a compelling value proposition. They will then develop need specification/criteria and market analysis to confirm initial feasibility and viability. Student teams will then ideate a lead concept for a solution considering regulatory, IP, and reimbursement constraints. They will test and develop the concept through multiple prototypes and the creation of an initial R&D plan. A business plan including financial models, sales and marketing strategies, and anticipated funding needs and timing is then constructed. Finally, student teams will ‘pitch’ their companies to a panel of distinguished judges made up of industry experts and funding professionals.
Student teams are strongly encouraged to take a follow-up course offered in the Spring quarter to help iterate and further develop their business ideas.
Faculty
Apply
Applications for the Fall 2023 and Winter 2024 sections of NUvention: Medical are closed. Any questions can be directed to Farley@northwestern.edu.
Course Details
Requirements that this course satisfies: Serves as the experiential course for the Farley undergraduate minor in entrepreneurship and Farley graduate minor in entrepreneurship.
Duration: 3-hour course sessions, once per week (3-hour courses include regular breaks and are broken into lecture, discussion, and groupwork portions); 2 quarters
Class size: ~48 students (approx. 12 students per school)
Course Number: ENTREP 470, BMD_ENG 495, HCAK 615 and 616, INTERDEP 4017
Who Should Enroll: Graduate students and advanced undergraduates interested in expanding their knowledge of the intersection of medicine and entrepreneurship.
Application: Applications are required for this course.
Advisers
NUvention advisers are industry experts who bring real world experience into the classroom on a regular basis. They collaborate with the faculty and mentor students, providing feedback as the students innovate. Students often cite their advisers as playing a crucial role in their student journey.
Network of Experts
The Farley Center connects students with a robust network of innovation and entrepreneurship experts. These experts serve as guest judges, attend pitch events, and give talks and seminars.