ENTREP 470: NUvention: Medical
Quarter Offered
Winter: Wednesdays, 6 – 8:50 p.m. CT, Evanston
Prerequisites
None; however, prior Farley coursework or practical experience in a relevant field is encouraged. An application is required.
Description
NUvention: Medical is an innovative, interdisciplinary course offered by the Farley Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. This intensive 10-week course brings together students from Feinberg Medical School, Kellogg School of Management, and McCormick School of Engineering to address real-world healthcare challenges.
Based on the BioDesign process, this quarter-long course provides hands-on experience in medical technology development. Students work in interdisciplinary teams to identify significant unmet medical needs and design new solutions through sustainable business models. Unlike other entrepreneurship courses, NUvention: Medical brings together students from various schools to uncover an unmet need rather than being provided with one. It also involves the entire process from idea generation to business development.
Throughout the quarter, teams select a med-tech problem area, investigate disease fundamentals, analyze existing solutions, and identify key stakeholders to develop a compelling value proposition. They then create need specifications, conduct market analysis, and ideate lead concepts while considering regulatory, intellectual property, and reimbursement constraints.
The course culminates in the development of prototypes, R&D plans, and comprehensive business strategies, including financial models and marketing approaches. Finally, teams pitch their companies to a panel of industry experts and funding professionals, showcasing their innovative medical solutions and business acumen.
NUvention: Medical teams are strongly encouraged to take ENTREP 495: NUvention: Launch, a follow-up course offered in the Spring Quarter, to iterate and further develop their business ideas.
Faculty
Apply
Applications for the Winter 2025 section of NUvention: Medical are open. The deadline to apply is November 11, 2024. Applications received after the deadline will be reviewed on a rolling basis until all seats are filled. Any questions can be directed to Farley@northwestern.edu.
Course Details
Requirements that this course satisfies: Serves as the experiential course for the Farley undergraduate minor in entrepreneurship and Farley graduate minor in entrepreneurship.
Duration: 3-hour course sessions, once per week (3-hour courses include regular breaks and are broken into lecture, discussion, and groupwork portions)
Class size: ~48 students (approx. 12 students per school)
Course Number: ENTREP 470, BMD_ENG 495, HCAK 615 and 616, INTERDEP 4017
Who Should Enroll: Graduate students and advanced undergraduates interested in expanding their knowledge of the intersection of medicine and entrepreneurship.
Application: Applications are required for this course.
Advisers
NUvention advisers are industry experts who bring real world experience into the classroom on a regular basis. They collaborate with the faculty and mentor students, providing feedback as the students innovate. Students often cite their advisers as playing a crucial role in their student journey.
Network of Experts
The Farley Center connects students with a robust network of innovation and entrepreneurship experts. These experts serve as guest judges, attend pitch events, and give talks and seminars.