Introduction:Biomedical researchers need skills in innovation and entrepreneurship (I&E) to efficiently translate scientific discoveries into products and services to be used to improve health.Methods:In 2016, the European Union identified and published 15 entrepreneurial competencies (EntreComp) for the general population. To validate the appropriateness of these competencies for I&E training for biomedical researchers and to identify program content, we conducted six modified Delphi panels of 45 experts (6–9 per panel). Participating experts had diverse experience, representing such fields as entrepreneurship, academic research, venture capital, and industry.Results:The experts agreed that all 15 EntreComp competencies were important for biomedical research trainees and no additional competencies were identified. In a two-round Delphi process, the experts identified 120 topics to be included in a training curriculum. They rated the importance of each topic using a 5-point scale from not at all important (1) to extremely important (5) for two student groups: entrepreneurs (those interested in starting their own ventures) and intrapreneurs (those wanting to be innovative and strategic within academia or industry). Consensus (mean importance score >4) was reached that 85 (71%) topics were of high importance for the curriculum. Four topics were identified by multiple panels for both student groups: resiliency, goal setting, team management, and communication skills.Conclusions:I&E training for biomedical trainees should address all 15 EntreComp competencies, including “soft skills,” and be flexible to accommodate the needs of trainees on different career trajectories.

This debate paper asserts that implementation science needs to incorporate a key concept from entrepreneurship—market demand—and demonstrates how assessing an innovation’s potential market viability might advance the pace and success of innovation adoption and sustainment. We describe key concepts, language distinctions, and questions that entrepreneurs pose to implementation scientists—many of which implementation scientists appear ill-equipped to answer. The paper concludes with recommendations about how concepts from entrepreneurship, notably market viability assessment, can enhance the translation of research discoveries into real-world adoption, sustained use, and population health benefits. The paper further proposes activities that can advance implementation science’s capacity to draw from the field of entrepreneurship, along with the data foundations required to assess and cultivate market demand.

This article explores undergraduate-run business development services firms catering to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as a new educational opportunity for students as the gig economy expands and as a growth alternative for SMEs. It describes how to structure the firm in the space between students, the university, and the regional community, and why this is an important model moving forward. This approach offers the dual benefit of providing SMEs with high-quality services at affordable rates and provides undergraduates with authentic work experiences that teach students to be flexible, operate on a per-project basis, and prepare themselves for “portfolio careers” of the future. Founded in 2015, Bear Studios has completed 82 projects with 62 different companies, split between health care (49%), education (20%), software (16%), consumer goods (6%), and other industries (9%). Involving 43 student fellows and having generated over $52,000 in billings to date, the company expanded to Baltimore and is expanding into the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. Students can become better prepared for postgraduate careers through this model. We propose how students can gain valuable work experience prior to graduation as a participant in the new workforce, while functioning as a cost-effective alternative for SMEs.

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