Content provided by Simon Fraser University

A new part-time certificate program from Simon Fraser University’s Beedie School of Business will teach scientists and engineers how to create and capture commercial value from their scientific inventions.

The Graduate Certificate in Science and Technology Commercialization will provide students with the frameworks, perspectives and techniques for fostering product development and commercialization, whether for existing firms or their own start-up ventures.

The certificate is open to graduate and post-doctoral students, faculty and recent alumni of both SFU and UBC graduate programs in science, engineering, health and environmental sciences.

“More than 80 per cent of our science and engineering PhD graduates do not go on to academic jobs, yet while at university they are not taught the skills for commercializing lab research,” says Elicia Maine, professor of technology management and academic chair of the new certificate.

The program, taught by leading Beedie faculty, is designed for researchers seeking to contribute to high-impact economic and social innovations, particularly in sectors such as nanotech, biotech, clean tech and advanced materials.

Students learn how to assess opportunities, prioritize markets, manage innovation, profit from uncertainty, arrange financing, take leadership, and develop and validate a business model.

They’ll also hone their entrepreneurial pitching skills, build their own personal network in the regional technology sector, develop a business plan, and participate in New Ventures BC’s entrepreneurship competition.

Participants study part-time over three semesters, with classes held one evening a week at SFU’s Segal Graduate School of Business in downtown Vancouver.

Applications for the certificate are now open, with the first cohort commencing September 2015. The deadline for scholarship applications is April 1, 2015.

As Canada’s engaged university, SFU is defined by its dynamic integration of innovative education, cutting-edge research and far-reaching community engagement. SFU was founded almost 50 years ago with a mission to be a different kind of university—to bring an interdisciplinary approach to learning, embrace bold initiatives, and engage with communities near and far. Today, SFU is a leader amongst Canada’s comprehensive research universities and is ranked one of the top universities in the world under 50 years of age. With campuses in British Columbia’s three largest cities—Vancouver, Surrey and Burnaby—SFU has eight faculties, delivers almost 150 programs to over 30,000 students, and boasts more than 130,000 alumni in 130 countries around the world.

For more information about the program, click here.