The Biomedical Engineering Partnership Program, An Integrated Educational Approach To Biomedical Innovation And Entrepreneurship

Since its inception – four years ago as the Biomedical Engineering Institute – the Florida International University (FIU) Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) has adopted a broad definition of its role as part of South Florida’s largest academic institution. In addition to the mission of excellence in research and teaching, BME aimed at becoming an engine of biomedical innovation and a driver of regional economic growth. To achieve these goals, BME has developed an integrative approach to biomedical innovation that positioned BME at the center of a closed biomedical innovation loop. In that loop, BME faculty, students, and alumni are integrated at the three phases of biomedical innovation and commercialization: the ideation/innovation/research stage, at the development/realization step (via partnership with industry), and at the clinical implementation phase (through partnership with clinical organization). This approach propelled biomedical entrepreneurship to the forefront of the academic discussion at FIU, and created new opportunities for its faculty, students, and alumni. At the core of FIU’s Biomedical Engineering Partnership Program is the understanding that a successful biomedical innovation and commercialization process is dependent upon the integration of three equally significant components: academia, industry, and clinical medicine. In such a partnership academia provides the innovation or, specifically, the newly created intellectual property; industry provides the development and commercialization know-how; and clinical medicine provides access to and feedback from the customer/end user. This arrangement places BME at a leadership position where it serves as a process facilitator and integrator. BME is, thus, actively creating entrepreneurial opportunities and identifying opportunities for its faculty and students to participate in the academic, industrial, or clinical settings. Moreover, the program creates a framework that allows partners a look into the biomedical engineering academic program and to participate in formulating their prospective employees’ professional preparation. This paper will present the Biomedical Engineering Partnership Program as a case study for a university-lead partnership between academia, industry, and clinical medicine. It will discuss program structure, mechanics, and other issues arising from this unique partnership. It will also describe innovative joint programs that made the partnership successful: corporate and entrepreneurship options for Senior Design Project, business plan competition, and the twophase Collaborative Technology Innovation Program (CTIP). P ge 9.238.1 Proceedings of the 2004 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2004, American Society for Engineering Education Introduction FIU Miami's public research university – is South Florida’s largest academic institution and one of America's most dynamic institutions of higher learning. Since opening in 1972, FIU has achieved many benchmarks of excellence that have taken other universities more than a century to reach. The University has a nationally renowned faculty known for their outstanding teaching and cutting-edge research; students from throughout the U.S. and more than 130 foreign countries; and its alumni have risen to prominence in every field and are a testament to the University's academic excellence. The University has 34,000 students, 1,000 full-time faculty, and 105,000 alumni placing it among the nation's 30 largest colleges and universities and offers more than 190 baccalaureate, master's and doctoral degree programs in 19 colleges and schools. FIU’s sponsored research funding from external sources was $75.5 million in 2002-03 and over 50% and approximately 15% of its student population is Hispanic and African American respectively. The Florida International University College of Engineering was established in 1984 and is now South Florida's leading engineering educational resource. The College has approximately 1,600 enrolled students and 80 world-class faculty members. It is the top producer of Hispanic engineers in the country, and is ranked 18th in American universities in production of African American engineers. The College is made up of six departmentsBiomedical Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Industrial and Systems Engineering, Mechanical and Materials Engineering, and Construction Management and offers seven bachelor degree programs, 13 master degree programs, and four Ph.D. programs. FIU resides in one of the densest regions of biomedical industry within the US. A balanced mixture of large and small (entrepreneurial) companies constitute a medical device and pharmaceutical industry base that already ranks high in the nation in terms of employment and number of firms. This industry also benefits from a rich local environment for clinical trials due to the large number of clinical establishments dedicated to research, the high physician to population ratio, and the diverse patient pool. Miami-Dade County ranks 10 in medical devices employment and 13 in pharmaceutical employment with 3996 and 1583 employees, respectively. South Florida is home of the leading manufacturer of generic drugs (IVAX), and contains major divisions of four of the world’s largest medical devices companies (Johnson & Johnson (Cordis), Boston Scientific, and Beckman Coulter). Many former employees of these businesses as well as founders of the small companies that are now divisions of the large corporations also provide a rich selection of local entrepreneurs. The Beacon Council serves as the economic development arm of Miami-Dade County, and as such is leading the effort to sustain and grow the local biomedical industry, one of its two technology-based target markets (the other being telecommunications). Venture capital interest in biomedical technology is at an all-time high. Money raised in the US for funds dealing with biotechnology, medical devices and health care technology rose 320% in 2001, to $4.2 billion from $1 billion in 2000. Due to its current strength in South Florida and future potential growth, the biomedical industry is the number one priority for the local economic development group (The Beacon Council). For the same reason, biomedical engineering is the number one priority for the College of Engineering. P ge 9.238.2 Proceedings of the 2004 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2004, American Society for Engineering Education Furthermore, Fort Lauderdale and Miami are ranked 4 and 8 respectively by Entrepreneur Magazine among the best cities for entrepreneurs and Florida is ranked the 11 largest biotechnology center in the nation; the quality of Florida’s hospitals is ranked second in the nation by the Sixth annual HealthGrades Hospital Quality in America study and, in terms of workforce development, Florida is ranked 1 in the nation by the Agency for Workforce Innovation in total employment growth for the year ending July 2003. The above economic parameters were anticipated by FIU that, in the fall of 1997, dedicated more than $300,000 of recurring annual funds to establish a Cardiovascular Engineering Center (CVEC) in the College of Engineering. The Center was chartered with the mission to significantly increase the speed and effectiveness of cardiovascular technology transfer to commercialization and clinical implementation. In 1999, the Biomedical Engineering Institute (BMEI) was created to house the newly created biomedical engineering academic program and biomedical engineering research activity. Since then BMEI has become one of the fastest growing programs at FIU. A Master of Science (MS) and innovative combined Bachelor of Science (BS)/MS programs BS in Electrical Engineering (EE) or Mechanical Engineering (ME) combined with MS in Biomedical Engineering – was started in 1999. A BS program in biomedical engineering was launched in the Fall of 2002 and, in the Fall of 2003, the Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) became the academic unit housing the biomedical engineering research and academic programs in lieu of the BMEI and a combined BS/MS (Both BS and MS in biomedical engineering) were opened. The Ph.D. program is scheduled to open in the Fall of 2004. External funding in the form of a $1 million grant from The Whitaker Foundation and a $5 million endowment from the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation (and additional $5 million in endowment match from the State of Florida) have allowed for this rapid growth. Currently, six faculty have their full appointment in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and six additional faculty have joint, secondary, or research appointments in the Department. This faculty is active in research and technology development in five major biomedical areas: biomechanics, biomaterials, and medical devices; bioinstrumentation and bioimaging/biosignal processing; drug delivery and tissue engineering; medical physics and nuclear medicine; and bionanotechnology and systems biology. This faculty seven of which are new Assistant Professors within the last three years and only one a full professor secured over $5 million in external research grants and six invention disclosures over the past five years. FIU is now searching for two additional senior biomedical engineering faculty for positions endowed by the Coulter Foundation grant.