Molecules to Market finale for FCP201 Students

Last week, second year Faculty of Science students presented their business posters for assessment in the University's (relatively) newly refurbished Council Room. The sun was shining, the room was buzzing and we were fortunate to have Dr. Geoff Wainwright from 2Bio (that's their "impact science" logo left), along to provide a professional level of interrogation! As in previous years, student teams, or as we call them committees, will have spent a semester developing an initial idea into a robust business plan. Some ideas fall by the wayside and some become tweaked and re-worked until the idea seems reasonable enough to stand up and defend. Readers of my earlier posts will be aware of the range of assessment instruments used when delivering Mols2Mkt to students at different levels. The most advance assessments come in multiple parts and include submission of detailed business plans, marketing and promotion materials and videos, but for level two undergraduates, with a"catchment" that may include undergraduates from any of the seven departments from the University of Sheffield's Science Faculty, the poster session works really well. 

This year, 11 committees formed the same number of companies and the biggest difference from previous years has been the development of Science Education ventures. Two committees chose quite different approaches to promoting engagement in Science in schools. The other companies included anti-aging solutions (both Pharmaceutical and Personal Care related), companies in the AMR domain for detection of microbes versus viruses and the development of novel anti-microbials....not to mention an interesting take on the opportunity to provide healthy burgers from stem cell advances. (I shall update the post, with a gallery of this year's posters, now that the assessment is over). 

This year's winners were the educational outreach organisation called Science Ignite, whose innovative ideas and enthusiastic commitment to taking experimental Science (from Physics to Biology) into schools was palpable. As a reward, the team will be invited to a large school on Merseyside to trial their ideas. I am hoping we can keep this momentum going into their third year as well. The more young science undergraduates that engage in education, the better! Those teams who missed out on the Winners' Enclosure, will be invited to a session delivered by 2Bio after the summer vacation, providing a deeper insight into the world of spin outs and IP in today's economic and technological climate, thanks to our judge Dr. Geoff Wainwright. 

What were the judges looking for on the day? As you can tell from the brief account of the company ideas, a diversity of ideas prevailed. This is usually the case. So the judges are not usually that concerned about the area of Science, but rather about the team (an impression that has to be conveyed in around 20 minutes), the appeal of the poster, the enthusiasm of the presenters and the way they demonstrate their engagement with the concept. In fact, I have never seen any evidence that business ideas and start ups are advantaged by age and experience. In fact quite the opposite, some 15 year old school students are capable of formulating an idea and developing a convincing business case that is as good as many that comes from experienced academics or inventors.

It was clear on the day that most students engaged with the course, although most only ever means at best 85%. In view of the fact that the course relies heavily on the development of a team spirit, the emergence of a team leader and a general interest in Science: students who prefer the conventional lecture format to learning, are generally the 15% or so. It is important to recognise of course that this teaching format doesn't work for everyone, but I do take the view that we must expose our undergraduates (and school students) to these situations, for at least some of their time before they leave University or School. After all, at Sheffield, in a department like my own, where the major part of our undergraduate coursework is delivered in the form of laboratory classes and projects; a few student led modules can only help with their preparation for life after exams!

Ever since I first introduced this method into teaching into the Department nearly ten years ago, I have become increasingly convinced by its value. Perhaps the most important consequence is that this approach promotes an holistic approach to course material.Hopefully creating a new wave of polymaths! It amazes me how many students choose a scientific basis of their business that is outside of the curriculum material and yet in doing so, can draw on core material in a way that they rarely do "these days" (or so it seems to me and my network of colleagues). Somehow, this approach seems to capture the imagination of the majority of the students and this is followed by a strong motivation to learn in a way that complements our more traditional teaching methods.

The course is delivered by a small team that includes MBB staff, Emma and Liz and a small number of "guests" who provide enterprise related master-classes, which we tend to vary year by year in order to keep the course as vibrant as possible. So thanks to all who have played a role, but mostly to everyone who created such impressive ideas and made this year's Molecules to Market another memorable experience.