CCBIONEUR912 – Health Innovation course
Part 2 of this course. Part 1 was October 12–13, 2026. Explore how cutting-edge research can be transformed into real-world impact. This course in Health Innovation introduces key concepts in innovation and entrepreneurship and provides hands-on experience with developing and pitching innovation ideas and solutions of value for healthcare and society. The course includes a two-day Design Thinking workshop and aims to enable the participants to strengthen the innovation capacity in interdisciplinary research teams. UiB students will be awarded 4 ECTS credits upon successful completion of the course.
Dates
October 12–13 and November 9–10, 2026. Each day will run from 08:00 to 16:00.
Place
Onsite only.
October 12–13: Midgard (aulaen) (external link), Alrek Helseklynge, Årstadveien 17, Bergen.
November 9–10: EITRI (external link), Haukelandsbakken 31, Bergen
Registration
UiB students register through Studentweb. The deadline is September 1, 2026.
Content
The course is designed to inspire participants to explore and realize the innovation potential of their own research. Through lectures, case-based learning, and practical group work, participants will gain insight into how scientific discoveries can be translated into products, services, or solutions with value for healthcare and society.
The program includes contributions from experienced medical entrepreneurs and international partners. Participants will work in teams to develop an innovation concept and prepare a grant application for validation or applicability testing, concluding with a short oral pitch.
October 12–13 will consist of a two-day, hands-on workshop led by Federico Lozano (external link)(CEO of Pracademy, Stanford MBA), focused on strengthening innovation capacity in research teams. Day one explores the foundations of effective collaboration, including psychological safety, motivation, team dynamics, and creative confidence in interdisciplinary settings. Day two introduces Design Thinking and structured innovation methods, guiding participants through ideation, rapid prototyping, and early-stage testing using their own real-world challenges. The workshop combines evidence-informed perspectives with practical tools to help teams address complex challenges and accelerate innovation.
Learning outcomes
Participants will gain a solid understanding of innovation, entrepreneurship, and intellectual property in a research context. They will learn how to identify and develop ideas with innovation potential, assess their feasibility, and apply practical methods such as design thinking. The course also builds skills in communicating innovation through pitching, and fosters an innovation mindset relevant for research, collaboration, and future commercialization.
Who
Participants: This course is part of the CCBIO Research School for Cancer Studies and Neuro-SysMed Research School and is open to PhD candidates and other students who are interested in innovation, commercialization, and translational research.
Organizers: Academic responsible are Erling A. Hoivik and Carina Strell from CCBIO, and Yamila Torres Cleuren and Agnete Engelsen from Neuro-SysMed. Coordinators are Renate Seierstad (renate.seierstad@uib.no) from CCBIO and Synne Geithus (synne.geithus@uib.no) from Neuro-SysMed.