The Hopkins team, made up of graduate biomedical engineering students David Noren, Blanka Sharma, Raymond Cheong and Saurabh Paliwal, recently traveled to Edinburgh, Scotland, where they presented their ideas for a fictional commercial biotechnology product to a group of judges representing the UK business and legal professions. Under the fictional name of Innovative Clinical Unlimited, the team outlined the use of an automated device to image the retina which would allow primary care physicians to diagnose potentially blinding diseases before patients lose their sight.
"Our team found the workshop and competition offered a fun platform to learn basic business planning and were very effective in conveying the challenges faced by modern entrepreneurs," said team captain Noren. "We worked hard at honing our strategy and in the end we are all very excited to have won."
Following workshops presented by leading figures in the UK biotechnology industry, proposals were judged on criteria including research and development strategy, commercial potential and financial planning. The Hopkins team was one of four taking part in the North American finals in Oxford, England and Edinburgh, Scotland; the other three groups represented the University of California, San Francisco, the University of Toronto and Georgia Institute of Technology.
The UK's progressive science and technology environment makes it the partner of choice for world-leading researchers, developers and academics eager to turn knowledge into innovation. Learn more about how the UK is developing science and technology for a new world at www.uksciencetech.com.
ABOUT BIOTECHNOLOGY YES: The Biotechnology Young Entrepreneurs Scheme is an innovative academic business plan competition that raises awareness of the commercialization of ideas from the biosciences for postgraduate students and postdoctoral scientists. The UK-based competition is allowing students in the U.S. and Canada to participate in an effort to strengthen the transatlantic bonds between the countries and provide students and researchers with no business background an opportunity to learn about entrepreneurship and commercialization. Biotechnology YES is managed and organized by the University of Nottingham Institute for Enterprise and Innovation and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council in the UK.
ABOUT BCUSA: An arm of the United Kingdom's international organization for educational and cultural relations, the British Council USA (BCUSA) increases recognition of the wide array of learning opportunities available in the UK and facilitates educational cooperation between the US and UK. The organization also showcases British creativity by introducing the American public to high-quality, groundbreaking artistic achievement, and highlights the UK's scientific innovation in disciplines ranging from biotechnology to planetary science. Through its work, BCUSA endeavors to promote an image of the UK that is up-to-date, vibrant, in the vanguard of new thinking and fully representative of the country's geographic and cultural diversity. For more information, visit BCUSA online at www.britishcouncil.org/usa.