The core component of the Life Sciences Technology Innovation Fellows program is a 6-credit workshop course (NBA 5175, Life Science Entrepreneurship in Practice) held over the fall and spring semesters exclusively for the participants of the program. Fellows will complement this course with a fundamentals of entrepreneurship course (1-3 credits) that introduces relevant theory and one or more elective courses that are relevant to a start-up leadership role that the participant might consider (3-5 credits to reach a balance to 12 credits).  

Details about each component can be found below. 

NBA 5175, Life Science Entrepreneurship in Practice (6 credits over two semesters):  

Fellows will form interdisciplinary teams of researchers and business students to work on the development of a business idea based on Cornell (or Tri-Institutional) scholarship while also being introduced to the New York & Cornell life science communities. Participants will meet once a month on weekends, alternating between Ithaca and New York City, to advance their proto-startups by discussing learnings and key objectives with a panel of experienced entrepreneurs, investors, industry experts, and faculty. The goal is to apply the judgment and experience of the panel to each team’s business concept and help the participants build their own entrepreneurial judgment. This course also features many guest speakers who contextualize the student’s experience with their own entrepreneurial and commercial journeys, and includes site visits to life science facilities in New York State.  

The final session of the workshop course includes an invite-only showcase event where the teams will reveal their progress through pitching to a curated audience with the capacity to provide ongoing support. 

Fundamentals of entrepreneurship course (1-3 credits): 

This foundational course will ensure all fellows thoroughly understand the entrepreneurship principles to be applied throughout the course. Course options include, but are not limited to:  

  • NBA 5070, Entrepreneurship for Engineers and Scientists 
  • NBA 5100, Social Entrepreneurship 
  • NBA 5590, The Venture Capital Industry and Private Equity Markets 
  • NBA 5640, The Business of Entrepreneurship 
  • NBA 5645, Dilemmas in Founding New Ventures 
  • NBA 6230, Actualizing Your Startup I 
  • NBA 6330, Actualizing Your Startup II 
  • NBAW 5300, New Venture Management 
  • NBAY 5300, Entreprenurial Finance 
  • PHAR 5009, Accelerating BioVenture Innovation (ABI) 
  • Or other equivalent courses at the graduate level with program permission.  

One or more elective courses (3-5 credits to reach a balance to 12 credits):  

Fellows will complement the above with coursework that is relevant to a start-up leadership role they might consider. There is a wide array of courses that will qualify for this requirement offered across the university. Graduate-level coursework that fellows have already completed, including coursework that relates directly to research, can qualify for this requirement.