Assessment criteria: Level 3 Molecules to Market

Addendum to the last post on this topic. Since this last post, several students have emailed to find out more about the marking scheme and assessment methods for this project module. The general assessment approach is the same in broad terms as would be applied to any laboratory based project, but as with the outreach projects there are some important differences. I shall summarise the similarities and differences here. The length of the final report, referred to as "The Business Plan" is the same as that for all Level 3 Projects. However, while there is some flexibility in respect of the organisation of the BP, it must contain the following elements.

1. Executive Summary

2. Background (to include a discussion of the science behind the idea, the market opportunity and competitor analysis, the financial requirements, revenues anticipated and the mechanism for funding the business as a real going concern. Remember, the objective is to make this a viable business, not just a virtual company!)

3. Financial plan (This should be sufficiently detailed to withstand scrutiny by a potential investor)

4. Marketing strategy (to include company name, logo, and provisional Internet presence)

5. Human Resources strategy (how you envisage the "size and shape" of the company, who does what, number of staff, levels, salaries etc.)

6. Miscellaneous Depending on the nature of the enterprise, you may which to present information regarding:proof of concept work, intellectual property strategy, location, premises, collaborators, partners etc.

7. References (all sources of information used in preparing the BP).

The BP will be assessed on the basis of content (including style, general English, organisation: all critical for success in business), critical insight (this is particularly important in all Level 3 work, as you know, and will apply to the depth of analysis of the science/technology and the market analysis: the financial planning is expected to be robust, but not sophisticated). 

There will be some discretion in respect of the final BP, depending on the number of students participating: this will be made clear at the outset. In principle, students should take ownership of specific sections of the document (identified by name) and collective responsibility for editing and approving the final version.

There are other elements of assessment in addition to the BP, these include business pitching, submission of an individual module diary and the preparation of a provisional (but functional) web site. These elements are discussed in the earlier post.