How to become a sciencepreneur

The Entrepreneurial Skills workshop series offers early career researchers a hands-on introduction to innovation. Half-day courses cover topics such as realizing the entrepreneurial impact of your research, building a sustainable business model, and how to get first customers.

► Find a link to register at the end of every workshop description.

March 9 | 9:30 – 12:30

Lecturer: Michio Painter

Content:
This session introduces researchers in the natural sciences to the practical question of how scientific work can translate into real-world impact. Participants explore how to recognize the value hidden in their own research results, how to trace that value to concrete use cases, and how to think in terms of future products rather than publications.

The workshop shows how reframing research objectives as testable hypotheses about applications opens new pathways for entrepreneurship. You will examine how scientific reasoning aligns with early venture creation, what changes when moving from academic curiosity to problem-driven innovation, and how to identify where your expertise could meaningfully change an industry.

Learning objectives:
The goal is to equip researchers with a clear sense of how their work can matter beyond the lab, and how entrepreneurial thinking expands (not replaces) the scientific mindset.

• Understand where scientific innovations generate value for specific users or industries
• Translate research insights into hypotheses about future applications or products
• Recognize the mindset shift from academic exploration to entrepreneurial problem-solving
• Identify early signals that a research result may hold venture potential

Prerequisites:
Motivation to create impact beyond publications

Register here

March 10 | 13:30 – 16:30

Lecturer: Chantal Schmelz

Content:
Understanding how the "Why" behind your idea and thus your target users pains and gains directly impact the design of your product or service. Most successful startup founders have learned to apply a human-/customer-centered design approach and with this ensure a higher Product-Market-Fit right out of the gates.  In this workshop, you'll gain the essential knowledge and tools to match your idea and your why with your target users needs. You will learn how to verify your value hypothesis in a cost-effective and timely manner.

Learning objectives:

• You will understand the concept and importance of product-market fit
• You will have formed hypothesis on how to match your idea and your why with the customers' needs and design a promising product/service
• You will have gained the tools and techniques to verify your hypothesis in a cost-effective and timely manner

Register here

April 14 | 9:00 – 12:00 

Lecturer: Chantal Schmelz

Content:
Having defined your core, your Why, and the most promising product/service, it is important to - early on - also think about the right way to offer your product to your target audience. You need to define your business model. Thus, in this workshop you'll gain the essential knowledge about tested and proven business models in different industries, their pros and cons and will learn how to apply this to your idea/startup with the help of the Business Model Canvas. 

Learning objectives:

• You will understand the concept and importance of business models
• You will get an overview over tested and proven business models in different industries and learn about their pros and cons
• You will create your first business model based on your hypothesis and get input how to verify your assumptions

Register here

April 22 | 9:00 – 16:30

Lecturer: Manuel Merki / Humboldt University

Content:
Research results only create value when they leave the lab and enter the world. This session uses an interactive game format to expose participants to the realities, bottlenecks, and opportunities of technology transfer. The format is fast, practical, and grounded in real cases from the innovation ecosystem. 

Participants learn how scientific insights evolve into applications, products, or services—and why many promising ideas never make it. The session promotes strategic thinking, transferable skills, and a clear understanding of innovation pathways.

The session is based on an interactive simulation (“Serious Transfer Game”) combined with guided discussion, reflection phases, and short input segments. Participants learn by actively taking decisions in realistic transfer scenarios.

Learning objectives:

• Assess whether a research result has realistic transfer potential
• Recognize structural obstacles in technology transfer and evaluate ways to address them
• Map out early steps toward translating scientific results into societal or economic value
• Reflect on the roles of researchers, institutions, and partners in the transfer process

Register here

May 6 |  9:00 – 12:00

Lecturer: Manuel Merki

Content: This half-day workshop gives researchers an understanding how early-stage sales works in practice. Participants learn how to identify real buyers, secure meetings, and generate early traction before a product is finished. 
 
The session provides a concrete path to first customer engagement: defining who has buying power, who will evaluate a solution, and what triggers a purchasing decision. The focus is on early adopters, structured outreach, and building repeatable sales while the product is still evolving. 

Learning objectives:

• How to prepare and structure discovery conversations 
• Distinguishing real buyer problems from polite interest 
• Identifying the Economic Buyer, decision-makers, influencers, and internal champions 
• Buying signals that indicate genuine commercial intent 
• How to qualify prospects without scaring them 
• Using AI for automated go-to-market action 
• Repeatable tactics for building an initial sales pipeline 
• Interpreting rejection and common “no” patterns  
• Securing first commitments (pilots, LOIs, paid trials) 

Register here

A certificate of participation will be issued for each workshop. When four or more certificates are achieved, participants may request a certificate for "Entrepreneurial skills" (issued by the Graduate Campus).    

1 ECTS Credit will be awarded on request to PhD candidates who have completed four or more workshops of this series. 

The UZH Innovation Hub collaborates with the Graduate Campus to deliver this workshop series. It is part of the Transferable Skills course program and in accordance to the action plan appoved by swissuniversities. The goal is to inspire PhDs and PostDocs for Innovation.