THOMAS JEFFERSON UNIVERSITY
JEFFERSON GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES
GC698: INNOVATION ENGAGEMENT
A. Basic Course Information
Course Title: GC698 Innovation Engagement
Credits: One semester credit, offered on a Pass/Fail basis
Class meeting schedule: 1.5 hours per week for 8 weeks
Date and time: Mondays, Noon to 1:30 pm
Semester to be offered: Spring I
Location: First floor lobby, 901 Walnut Street /The Jefferson Acceleration Zone
(JAZ)
B. Course Director Information
Gerald B. Grunwald, Ph.D.
Professor of Pathology, Anatomy and Cell Biology
Dean, JGSBS
gerald.grunwald@jefferson.edu
Donna Gentile O’Donnell, Ph.D.
Special Assistant to the President
Vice President for Innovation Partnerships and Programs
dg.odonnell@jefferson.edu
C. Course Description
This one credit course will bring Jefferson students into contact with a number of
aspects of innovation as it is developing at TJU and beyond. The focus will include
local, regional and national perspectives, from start-up challenges to a primer on
venture capital and prototype generation. It will also expose participants to
opportunities that are emerging in their respective areas of interests as students in
any of the disciplines, practitioners, researchers, and nascent inventors.
D. Course Objectives
Through participation in this course, the student will be able to:
1. Describe some critical attributes of an entrepreneur and entrepreneurship.
2. Evaluate their own capacities for entrepreneurial engagement.
3. Develop a rudimentary understanding of funding strategies for a start ups.
4. Articulate some aspects of federal regulatory and federal funding trajectories.
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E. Prerequisites and/or Co-requisites
This course is open to students enrolled in all Jefferson schools and programs, as
well as to non-degree students. Masters students may register for this course only
once for credit as an elective. PhD students should register for this course as an
elective.
F. Texts and materials
There is no assigned textbook for this course. Students will be provided with
appropriate reading materials from the literature for background and follow-up
review.
G. Course Schedule and Activities
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Date
Speaker
Presentation Title
1
1/5/2015
Mr. Fritz Bittenbender
BIO: National trends and regional
implications
2
1/12/2015 Ms. Karen Keating Mara, Esq.
Start-Ups: What you should know, and
your lawyer should tell you
3
1/26/2015 Ms. Barbara Schilberg, Esq.
BioAdvance: building and sustaining a
Life Sciences Greenhouse
4
2/2/2015
Dr. Evan Malone
The Craft of Fabrication: from concept
to prototype to newco
5
2/9/2015
Dr. Louis Berneman
Venture Capital 101
6
2/23/2015 Mr. Dean Miller
PACT: A regional overview of the
funders of innovation
7
3/2/2015
Dr. Brenda Gavin
Investing in Life Science and Health
Care: Challenges and Opportunities
8
3/9/2015
Dr. Alex Vaccaro
9
3/16/2015 Mr. John Springrose
Physician Entrepreneurs: Challenges
and Opportunities
Serial entrepreneurship and 3D
printing: past as prologue
10 3/23/2015 Mr. Sam Schwartz
Innovating within large corporations
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H. Course Requirements/Policies
Students are expected to attend all presentations and participate in class
discussions. Presentations begin at the indicated time. If a student is unable to
attend a class, they must notify the Course Director at least 24 hours in advance.
More than one unexcused absence may result in a failing grade. Students are
expected to attend a minimum of eight 1.5 hour seminars to receive credit for the
course. Attendance will be verified through a sign-in sheet. In addition, each
student will write 2 one page reaction papers to 2 of the seminars attended.
I. Policy on Accommodations for Disability
Students who seek an accommodation for a disability should refer to the “Disability
Accommodations” policy found on the JGSBS Website under “Policies and
Guidelines” and “Student Support Services and Organizations.” Because
documentation is required and will be reviewed thoroughly, students are advised to
request accommodations at the time of matriculation and before the start of any
course when an accommodation is requested.
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