Monday, December 2, 2013

International Opportunities

In addition to the myriad of opportunities TI:GER students have to get involved with the local start-up community, international offerings are a great way to broaden our view of the global market. Our program entered into an exciting partnership with Copenhagen Business School's BBIP program and participated in a week long exchange with 8 of their students. The program involved two teams (4 from Copenhagen and 2 TI:GER students each ) working to commercialize life sciences research. Our four TI:GER students flew to Denmark earlier in the semester to meet the rest of their teams and learn more about the science they would be working with.

After this initial week trip, the TI:GER students kept in touch with their Danish teammates and worked on developing business and commercialization plans remotely. Using video conferencing and collaborative software, they were able to continue their work despite geographic limitations.

In late November it was the TI:GER program's turn to play host as the eight Danish students came to Atlanta for a week to continue work on their business plans in person as well as learn about the local life sciences start-up community. They went on tours of nearby businesses, Georgia Tech laboratory facilities, and even made it out to a Hawks game to have some fun. All the while they were working diligently on their business plan presentations between tours and events. We even got some of them to join us at Mary Mac's to eat traditional southern fare - It was a hectic (but productive) week!

I was able to attend their presentations at the end of the week and was truly impressed by how much work these teams had accomplished during the semester, especially given the challenging distance. Both groups utilized the business model canvass and received feedback on their current go-to-market strategies. They received some good notes from the faculty in attendance and will be incorporating these suggestions into a written business plan in the coming weeks.

This partnership was a great way for TI:GER students to get international experience, work with an even more diverse team, and delve into a new product offering. New opportunities like this keep the TI:GER program fresh and the students engaged throughout their graduate school experiences.

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