IMIM Industry and Innovation Day 2018

Students learn how to bring ideas to market and experience networking activities

The IMIM Industry and Innovation Day 2018 was made possible thanks to EIT Health, the Erasmus+ International Master in Innovative Medicine (IMIM), the University of Heidelberg, the IWH and EIT Health Alumni.

On Saturday, 3 March, the International Master in Innovative Medicine’s first Industry and Innovation Day came to life at the International Academic Forum Heidelberg (IWH). Around 30 students learned about their peers’ research projects, about how to bring an idea to the market and how to successfully present it. In&Inno 2018 also combined a wealth of networking activities and detailed insights on many career perspectives in the life sciences, from academia to large pharma industry.

After an introduction to the event and its aims, the day started with presentations by second-year IMIM students about one of their research projects: two of them developed their project at a University, while the remaining two joined a company for one semester. As an extended value to other students, the presenters focused not only in the scientific aspect, but also on their personal experience and conclusions.

The next event was an interactive workshop about Bringing Science to Market, guided by Frank Rust (SOMMERRUST GmbH) and Georg Fischer (mindshift.one). Design Thinking and Business Model Innovation were introduced to the participants, and they were challenged to identify a need based on interviews with other students, and come up with a solution for it, following the principles of Design Thinking. During lunch, Frank and Georg were approached by students wanting to know more about their expertise. Despite full stomachs, the presentation coach Colin Bennett (Flames a Mile High) inspired a room full of listeners with his talk on the “Psychology of Persuasive Presentations.” Here, students learned that in order to captivate their audience, they need to get their attention, and make them not only believe in but also care about what they are presenting.

The highlight of the day was the Industry from the Inside session, with speakers from regional start-ups and life science companies presenting their companies and their work there. First, Eva-Maria Markutzik from EIT Health Germany shared their different programmes interesting to students; and then, representatives from Merck, Roche Diagnostics, Hummingbird Diagnostics and ChecaMed introduced themselves, their companies, and answered the students’ many questions. The last session of the day allowed students to present their research or business ideas to their peers and to the industry representatives and academic partners from the IMIM programme. During dinner, the conversations continued with students learning more about different career opportunities and the life in academia, Biotech and Life Science companies.

During this day, students were brought closer to industry and could find answers for their questions. They also learned about other student’s experiences in research and expanded their network.

Participation of representatives from Merck, Roche Diagnostics, Hummingbird Diagnostics and ChecaMed turned this day into a special and long-lasting experience.