Ampersand: Biotechnology Entrepreneurs Seminar

Although the biotech industry is science-based, the risks of product and technology development, legal issues, and market pressures make the landscape full of uncertainty. Lectures and textbooks fall short of delivering true insight about the process and challenges of bringing ideas to real-world products. This second semester freshman seminar course is designed to develop an appreciation of how biotech companies achieve their goals by engaging students through interactions with experienced executives and entrepreneurs, whose shared knowledge and stories add depth and context to the learning process. This 1 credit seminar course introduces students to the basics of innovation and entrepreneurship as a framework for marketable discoveries, builds an appreciation of how biotech companies start, obtain funding, and navigate intellectual property, provides an overview of career options in biotech, and insight on the hiring process.