Promoting Creativity and Innovation in an Entrepreneurial Certificate Program through Science and Technology

An undergraduate certificate program in entrepreneurship and innovation has been developed at Purdue University in collaboration with the Burton Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship. Option areas are offered to students enrolled in the certificate program in order to explore specific discipline areas or markets. The objective of this paper is to discuss the development of a course within an interdisciplinary undergraduate biotechnology program as an option for students pursuing the entrepreneurship certificate. The course included the incorporation of guest speakers from biotechnology industries and academia that shared their experiences with the students. In addition, students learned interpersonal skills by working on interdisciplinary teams in order to complete their practical laboratory activities. The biotechnology option course has provided experiences that enabled the students to • understand the current trends and emerging technology within the biotechnology industry • identify where gaps exist between current technology needs and existing solutions • recognize existing gaps between biotechnology needs and current solutions as opportunities • explore potential solutions for new technology development to address identified needs within the biotechnology industry.