Helping researchers develop the entrepreneurial capabilities, communication skills, and market understanding
to translate research into commercially-viable ventures.
to translate research into commercially-viable ventures.
overview / Connection to ecosystem development
This engagement demonstrates how structured customer discovery can serve as a foundation for entrepreneurship education, helping researchers develop commercial skills while strengthening connections among entrepreneurs, industry, investors and innovation stakeholders.
The approach can be incorporated into university entrepreneurship programmes, commercialization initiatives and regional innovation ecosystems.
Similar approaches can be used by organizations seeking to:
The approach can be incorporated into university entrepreneurship programmes, commercialization initiatives and regional innovation ecosystems.
Similar approaches can be used by organizations seeking to:
- develop entrepreneurship and startup programs
- strengthen entrepreneurial ecosystems
- foster collaboration among entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers and industry
- support evidence-based entrepreneurship policies and commercialization best practices
Context
Prof. Maja Remskar and her research team from Slovenia, developed a prototype of a miniature sensor for monitoring and prevention of airborne inflicted diseases. The prototype successfully measured nanoparticles and droplets for airborne diseases. The project held a patent and was an incubated technology of the Jozef Stefan Institute. Visit: www.nanotul.com (now AeroDrops).
In 2022, EIT Health provided a grant to Nanotul.com of Slovenia for mentoring and coaching to pursue technology commercialization of its patented miniaturized sensor for real-time airborne disease monitoring and reporting. Nanotul is a company spun out of the Joseph Stephan Institute in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
The portable device measures changes in capacitance due to the impact of single droplets and nanoparticles on the sensors.
The portable device measures changes in capacitance due to the impact of single droplets and nanoparticles on the sensors.
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Industry Sector: Mining, Military and Aerospace
Focus:
Potential Market Applications: For testing of inhaler-dosed drugs and analysis of droplets in the atmosphere of crowded places.
Supporters / Champions
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The Process
We designed and facilitated an experiential customer discovery programme that enabled researchers to develop entrepreneurial thinking, improve commercial communication skills and validate market opportunities through direct engagement with customers and stakeholders.
Randy Shawn Fisher and John A. Fraser were engaged as EIT Health Mentors to advise Professor Maja Remskar and her Research Team about Technology Commercialization Strategies and How to ‘Go-to-Market’ including:
- Definition Potential Products / Market Applications
- A Value Proposition
- New Market Segments
- Updating Intellectual Property protection
- Ensuring clear lines of communication between Institute researchers and administration and shareholders.
- Creating a Commercialization Strategy to define whether to create a spinoff company (Nanotul was so created before the grant was awarded); OR License to an existing company.
Beyond customer Discovery: Building entrepreneurial capability
While the immediate objective was to validate the commercial opportunity for a novel portable medical device, an equally important aspect of the engagement was helping academic researchers transition from a research mindset to an entrepreneurial mindset.
This included supporting the team in:
Rather than simply conducting interviews, the engagement became a practical entrepreneurship learning experience in which researchers learned by doing.
This included supporting the team in:
- translating technical concepts into language understood by customers, investors and commercial partners
- understanding how businesses evaluate problems, opportunities and purchasing decisions
- developing customer-centric communication rather than technology-centric presentations
- learning how to engage stakeholders through discovery conversations rather than product pitches
- building confidence in interacting with industry, healthcare providers, investors and policymakers
- understanding the behaviors required to move research from the laboratory into the marketplace
Rather than simply conducting interviews, the engagement became a practical entrepreneurship learning experience in which researchers learned by doing.
Impact / results
- Development of Commercialization strategy and importance of IP rights agreement between the Jozef Stefan Institute as the owner of the patent and Nanotul Ltd. as a partner.
- Utilizing customer discovery and different value propositions per mining, military and aerospace markets.
- Preparation of Conference collateral, Pitch document and identification of end users and strategic and distribution partners, benefiting from assistance with communication and presentation skills.
entrepreneurship skills developed
Participants gained practical experience in:
- Customer Discovery
- Opportunity Validation
- Value Proposition Development
- Business Communication
- Stakeholder Engagement
- Evidence-Based Decision Making
- Market Assessment
- Commercialization Strategy
- Entrepreneurial Thinking
- Investor-Oriented Communication
applications
This approach can support organizations that are:
- designing entrepreneurship education programmes
- expanding startup accelerators and incubators
- strengthening university commercialization initiatives
- developing innovation ecosystems
- supporting technology transfer offices
- preparing researchers for venture creation
- training scientists in customer discovery and market validation
- improving collaboration between academia, industry and investors
Broader impact
Beyond validating a commercial opportunity, this engagement contributed to strengthening the innovation ecosystem by helping researchers develop practical entrepreneurial capabilities that can be applied across future commercialization projects.
The approach supports organizations seeking to:
The approach supports organizations seeking to:
- develop entrepreneurship education programmes
- strengthen research commercialization initiatives
- prepare researchers and scientists for venture creation
- increase engagement between academia and industry
- improve collaboration with investors and innovation stakeholders
- create stronger pipelines from research to market