Evaluate your research from the laboratory for business potential and acquire valuable skills.
Research2Market™ is a comprehensive custom research commercialization training program. With its immersive, experiential approach, the program aims to build a pipeline of researchers with a sustainable, entrepreneurial mindset and skills to launch their research innovations into the market.
This custom training for early researchers in post-secondary institutions and beyond for research commercialization offers facilitated & mentored Research2Market™ Bootcamps, Researchpreneur workshops, the VR Pitching Bootcamp, and group mentoring sessions built on four pillars for learning how to effectively and efficiently translate a promising idea from the laboratory to the marketplace.
This structured experiential program helps researchers gain valuable insight into entrepreneurship, industry requirements and challenges while acquiring valuable skills. The program engages the entrepreneurial researcher to design value propositions matching customer needs as well as learn how to execute an idea/MVP validation process iterating and aligning business and operating models to achieve market fit. It will help early researchers transition from the lab to commercialization and accelerate the economic and societal benefits of their research projects.
Through a simulated market environment, you can develop insight and learn to apply an entrepreneurial mindset. You will learn skillsets and hone competencies with tools necessary to evaluate and translate research into applications that can benefit society by understanding innovation and entrepreneurship.
Below are the components in our researchpreneur program:
Research2Market™ bootcamps:
The Research2Market™ bootcamp is a 15-hour facilitated, mentored experiential program; a condensed version (suitable for students) of Centennial Research2Market™ program modelled on US NSF (I-Corps™) meant for researchers (based on The Lean LaunchPad®). The curriculum integrates scientific inquiry and industrial discovery in an inclusive, data-driven culture driven by rigor, relevance, and evidence.
The program comprises interactive workshops, facilitated as well as multiple mentor-supported experiential sprints and working sessions for participants. Workshops introduce participants to the three building blocks of a successful lean startup:
- Alexander Osterwalder’s Business Model Canvas
- Blank’s customer development model, and
- Agile methodology
You will work in diverse teams in several sprints with multiple deliverables requiring leadership, collaboration, problem solving, critical thinking, researching , prototyping, validation, pitching and presentation skills. In this process, you will learn to commercialize technologies as well as present and practice pitching, all supported by mentors to learn about the venture creation process from business and industry experts acquiring valuable future skills.
COE Researchpreneur Workshops:
A number of Researchpreneur workshops are offered and listed below. You are required to engage in at least 5 of these workshops, with the first two being mandatory.
- Sustainability Training:
- A series of three workshops where participants learn about the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as well as specific actions that stakeholders can do to mobilize sustainability and how the economy and environmental sustainability can co-exist.
- From Idea to Building Your Startup:
- Learn how to identify a product or service with a market opportunity, take it to life with the best business model to pursue. Validate the concept and build something that didn’t exist before.
- Build your Leadership Potential:
- Learn to unlock your potential to be a change-leader in your business, personal life and society!
- How to Handle Objections with Confidence and Ease:
- In this interactive and insightful session you will learn the step-by-step process for handling any objection that comes your way with confidence and ease.
- How to Present with Confidence:
- Discover the blueprint to connect with the audience and make a great impression.
- Embracing Entrepreneurship as a Mindset:
- Discover the transformational potential in embracing entrepreneurship as a mindset in your life, business, and career!
- Know Your Market – Market Research:
- Learn to do a proper market analysis and prevent costly expenses.
- Marketing Masterclass for Researchers:
- Learn how to market your business in a cost-effective way that achieves real results.
- Personal Branding for Career Success:
- Transform complex subject matters into compelling messaging to grab your audience’s attention and persuade them to buy your product/service.
- How to Break Through to Success in Your Career and Business:
- Tap into and reach your full potential. Learn about the powerful Results Model that explains what determines the results you’ll achieve, and how to break through to the level of success you desire.
VR Pitching Bootcamp
Improving communication skills—particularly presentation skills to teams, partners, customers and funders—can increase researchers’ contribution to the commercialization process.
To facilitate this, you will also go through our Virtual Reality (VR) Pitching Bootcamp, which integrates pitch presentation with practice sessions using innovative immersive learning technology and simulated environments that replicate real-world venues and audience experiences.
The Bootcamp culminates in a Pitching Gala, where you will take the podium and build additional confidence to present and answer questions while being evaluated by judges based on your pitch story, delivery, and audience engagement, with winners awarded cash prizes.
Mentorship:
This program also provides you with group mentoring support by business and industry experts with mentoring and coaching background and experience, to improve areas such as professional skills, communication and collaboration, marketing, finance, strategy, funding, as well as mentoring and experience relevant to both academic and non-academic research environments.
10 group mentoring sessions will be available per annum. These group mentor sessions will further support your learning and knowledge application. You will work in diverse teams and will be evaluated based on team results, ensuring peer learning and that no one is left behind. Additional limited small group or one-on-one support is also available on an as-needed basis.