emphasize the uses of business strategy in multiple career areas; students in diverse biomedical fields such as cell bio
UCSF submitted proposal to PA-16-142: ‘Developing Business Strategy as a Scientific Skill’
PROGRAM SUMMARY The goal of this program is to develop and evaluate a business strategy skills course for biomedical graduate students. Teaching predoctoral students how scientists use strategic tools and processes to make business decisions in academic and non-academic settings will better prepare them to succeed in their careers of choice. Introductory business strategy courses exist within other institutions’ business schools, but this program is unique because it will: • be tailored to life sciences trainees, using cases provided by research faculty and industry alumni • emphasize the uses of business strategy in multiple career areas; students in diverse biomedical fields such as cell biology, chemistry and biophysics equally pursue careers in academia and industry • utilize a flipped learning model where interactive, class discussions are paired with online lectures and podcasts making the course more attractive and accessible to predoctoral students who want to apply the didactic knowledge to real-world situations. Methods - Strategy-related course topics will include business strategy, tools for strategic analysis, and strategic collaborations. This content will be delivered through several platforms including interactive in-class discussions, teaching videos, case studies, and podcast interviews of faculty researchers and PhD-level industry researchers and business professionals. Students have specifically requested that content be delivered via podcast in order to gain knowledge to while working at the bench. If funded, the project staff are ready to leverage existing resources to execute the project goals, with firm commitments from UCSF faculty and UCSF alumni in non-academic career fields to provide training for the interactive in-class discussions. The course will be delivered over 6 weeks, and offered as an elective for credit.
PROGRAM NARRATIVE This project will develop and evaluate a novel course to teach predoctoral research students business strategy skills that can be applied in both academic and non-academic settings. This content will be delivered through several platforms including interactive in-class discussions, online videos, and podcast interviews of faculty and PhD professionals. This skills training project is practical for graduate students across the spectrum of our T32 grant-funded biomedical population.
NEW-Podcasts • Industry PhDs • Academic Faculty
Basic Business Concepts • Lecture • Cases
NEWStrategic
NEWAdvanced Topics
Collaborations • Lecture • Cases
• Lecture • Cases
NEW-Strategy Tools • Lecture • Cases
Figure 1 - The new Business Strategy Skills programs would build on the Basic Concepts workshop, piloted in 2016, which proved the need for business training, but pointed out inadequacies in the brief workshop model and demonstrated need for a full course featuring additional components.
