Welcome to my new Blog that is intended to run in parallel with my courses in which students draw on their studies in the Life Sciences to generate business ideas in a virtual setting. The basic idea is simple. A team (or virtual company) is formed by on average 3-6 students, who then propose an initial idea that harnesses a piece of Intellectual Property (IP) drawn from Life Science research, or an idea for a piece of technology or a service business that might enhance some aspect of the commercial or academic Life Sciences. Examples could include from an idea to treat a particular disease, to improving the analysis of high throughput data to genetically modified insects, plants or animals.
The educational aim of Molecules to Market (M2M) is to
encourage students to draw on their subject knowledge (and beyond) in an holistic way (thereby dismantling the walls of modularisation), by channelling and harnessing their enthusiasm and energy towards the development a robust business model for their virtual business. I have found that this "device" leads to a formidable increase in work ethic and before you know it students are not only completely confident about discussing aspects of Science at a high level, they also develop their team working aptitude; they develop independent trouble shooting and research skills in a way that is almost catalytic, compared with the traditional delivery of the same topics through lectures.
This is the first post and I shall use the Blog to provide examples of past (see left), present (and I hope future) student ideas and to point to resources that I hope will stimulate students and colleagues to use M2M as a vehicle for science education. Finally, I should say that I have delivered this course to high school students from the age of 14, to new postgrad students: it is a versatile teaching method.
I look forward to your comments and to using M2M to broaden the experience of young scientists
