A new certificate program being offered on campus intends to help life scientists protect and commercialize their ideas.
The Certificate in Entrepreneurship and Management for Life Scientists, which begins in October, covers topics such as regulatory policy, intellectual property and ethics; managerial accounting and financial management; marketing and strategic decision making; and leadership. The courses will be offered on Friday afternoons and Saturdays. Students can take individual modules or the entire certificate program and complete it in one year. The certificate includes four required modules that total 60 hours and two elective modules, for a total of 12 elective hours. Students enrolled in doctoral programs in the life sciences, veterinary medicine, M.D. programs, post-doctorate students and working professionals with graduate educations are eligible for the certificate program.
Though not intended to replace a master’s of business administration degree, the certificate program can give people with degrees in life sciences a competitive edge in the workplace and the marketplace through classroom learning, internships and networking with people in their fields. Instructors for the program are nationally recognized leaders in their fields, including law, business and the life sciences, in addition to guest speakers in various biotechnology ventures. The instructors include Jay Kesan, a professor of law and of agricultural and consumer economics who has written extensively on intellectual property; and Lawrence Schook, a Gutgsell Endowed Professor of animal sciences who has created two biotechnology startup companies, and Rajshree Agarwal, the John Georges Chair of Technology Management in the College of Business.
The intensive exposure to business concepts and the networking and internships that are particularly focused on student needs and areas of expertise are among the best features of the program, Agarwal said. “While not coming close to either the time or cost commitment of an MBA, the CEM offers an attractive alternative to get a bird’s-eye view of business issues salient in life sciences.”
The program is an expanded, lifescience-focused version of a 10-week certificate program offered each spring through the Executive Development Center in the College of Business.
A joint initiative of Business and the Institute for Genomic Biology, the CEM provides an overview of business concepts but also explores topics of special interest to life scientists, such as managing the Food and Drug Administration approval process.
Corporate sponsors Peter Fox, founder of the Champaign real estate firm Fox Development Corp., and G. Steven Burrill, chief executive officer of Burrill and Co., a San Francisco-based life sciences merchant bank, have provided support as have the Academy of Entrepreneurial Leadership, the College of Law, the Office of the Vice President of Technology and Economic Development and the Office of the Provost. Scholarships that cover up to 75 percent of tuition are available; the application deadline is Sept. 12.
Agarwal, the academic program director, and Sandy Carroll, the administrative program director, will lead the program’s orientation on Oct. 24.
More information about the program is available online.
