Scientific researchers may stand on the brink of innovation without always fully realising it. Their focus on technical aspects often prevents them appreciating the real commercial potential of their research. The Interdisciplinary Institute for Broadband Technology (IBBT) aims to change all that with the IBBT Entrepreneurial iBoot Camp, three intensive sessions organised in association with Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School, which is responsible for content and coaching. The project will receive financial support under the Flemish government’s Entrepreneurship scheme.

According to the latest report by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, more and more Belgians want to have their own business, but would-be entrepreneurs often think that they lack the right skills to actually set up an organisation of their own. Mirjam Knockaert, Assistant Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Vlerick, comments: “We firmly believe that if you provide the necessary concepts and tools to enable people to put together a viable business plan, they will be less uncertain about starting a business.”

The first IBBT Entrepreneurial iBoot Camp, a three-month programme for 15 participants, will get under way in May. A further two sessions will follow. The main target group is researchers who have an innovative idea within IBBT or one of its industry partners. The programme combines teaching and coaching elements and the objective is for the participants to end up with a viable business plan.

Applicants submit their innovative ideas and five are selected in the first phase. During what is known as a “matching event”, the five successful researchers look for candidates with whom they can form a research team, preferably people working in a different sector to ensure a productive mix. During the third phase the teams receive four days’ tuition on topics that are crucial for successfully translating an innovative idea into a marketable product: technology, protectability, the added-value chain, assessment of market size and market dynamics, financial planning, valuation and team analysis. After each theoretical component the teams have a day to apply the knowledge they have gained to their own particular project, working under supervision. 

During the final phase the participants present their business plan to a jury of Belgian and foreign experts, who assess the feasibility of their project.