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Science and Technology Commercialization
The science and technology commercialization graduate certificate provides commercialization knowledge for research scientists during their PhD programs in order to commercialize their work and prepare them to work as agents of commercialization in industry.
Applicants should also refer to the program website: http://beedie.sfu.ca/commercialization-certificate.
Admission Requirements
Applicants must satisfy the University admission requirements as stated in Graduate General Regulations 1.3 in the SFU Calendar. This program is open to the following applicants: current graduate students, post-docs, faculty members at SFU or UBC, and recent graduates of an SFU or UBC graduate program in science, engineering, health, or environmental sciences.
Program Requirements
This program consists of course requirements for a minimum of 16 units. Additional courses may be required depending on the student's background and at the discretion of the academic director.
Students complete all of
Innovation management frameworks are introduced and applied to articulate value propositions, assess viability, and manage resources in the commercialization of science. The students will apply these frameworks to an invention within their own lab or a related interest.
Frameworks for identifying customers, prioritizing target markets, customer segmentation, technology adoption, product development and product/service pricing. Students will define value propositions for an invention within their own lab.
Develop proficiency in performing financial calculations and in reading and interpreting financial statements. Students will choose a public corporation of interest and will intepret the information found in their annual financial statements.
Develop alternate business models for commercializing an invention or a related technology. By the end of the course students will be able to recognize the key aspects and considerations of a business model.
Developing and balancing critical management competencies at the individual, interpersonal, team and organizational levels. Focus is on effective organization, motivation and leadership.
Sources of capital available for taking an invention to market, including angel investors, venture capital, non-dilutive financing, and public markets. Students will create financial statements for their own technology commercialization. Prerequisite: Bus 792 Financial Literacy for Entrepreneurs.
Integrates the frameworks and content of the GCSTC courses. Students work one-on-one with a faculty advisor in drawing together: opportunity identification, value proposition, value creation industry attractiveness, competitor analysis, and commercialization strategy. This is the first part of a two part course. Graded on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis. Prerequisite: BUS 790 Lab to Market, BUS 791 Opportunity Identification and Assessment.
Integrate the frameworks and content of the GCSTC courses. Students work one-on-one with a faculty advisor in drawing together: opportunity identification value proposition, value creation, industry attractiveness, business model, financials, development plan, competitor analysis, partnership strategy, entrepreneurial team and commercialization strategy. This is the second part of a two part course. Graded on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis. Prerequisite: BUS 790 Lab to Market; BUS 791 Opportunity Identification & Assessment; BUS 792 Financial Literacy for Entrepreneurs; BUS 793 Business Models; BUS 796 Business Plan I.
Program Length
Students are expected to complete the program requirements in three terms.
Academic Requirements within the Graduate General Regulations
All graduate students must satisfy the academic requirements that are specified in the Graduate General Regulations, as well as the specific requirements for the program in which they are enrolled.