Each year, the University of California at Davis hosts The Biomedical and Engineering Entrepreneurship Academy: an intensive program integrating lecture, exercises, and individual projects, in which participants work to identify, design, and validate market opportunities for their research. The BMEA is a cutting-edge academic program for commercializing science and engineering innovations. It is a springboard for moving research out of the lab and into the world.

The 2016 Academy took place July 11th – 13th. Ed LaFrance, Datacate’s VP of Business Development, volunteered to provide mentoring sessions to Academy participants. Faculty and postdocs in the School of Veterinary Medicine, School of Medicine, College of Engineering and College of Biological Sciences were among the participants in this year’s Academy. Each participant was provided the opportunity to present their work and research to several mentors, who in turn provided feedback and insights designed to assist the participant in determining their next steps.

The products and processes presented to Ed by the participants ran the gamut, from potentially life-changing or life-saving medicines and software innovations, to a consumer product designed to increase convenience, to a simple testing kit for an agricultural sector that could radically alter that industry. The participants received valuable insights on how to better identify and highlight the value proposition in their work, commercialization opportunities, protection of intellectual property, strategic partnerships, branding, and more.

The mentoring sessions were part of a three-day program which included numerous guest speakers, seminars, interactive sessions and networking opportunities. The BMEA is one of four such programs sponsored or hosted by UC Davis, which along with the UC Davis Big Bang Business Competition are designed to foster innovation and success by helping each participant develop the commercial potential of their research or idea.

Datacate is pleased to be a part of this effort, and will be sponsoring or mentoring several programs, including the system-wide UC Entrepreneurship Academy in September, and the 2016-2017 Big Bang Business Competition.