Innovation i-Teams

Innovation i-Teams can work with any type of technology, innovation or product concept, at any stage of development, from initial experimental results through to prototype products or services. i-Teams investigates the best market approach for commercialising an innovation, and asks the key question of whether it addresses a real market need.

According to a recent article by the Harvard Business Review, this is “the simple question that can make or break a start-up”, and 42% of start-up failures were caused by there being “no market need”.

Multi-disciplinary teams of 7 work together to identify the possible markets for their project, and contact relevant industry experts to gather their feedback on the project and how it might be used. The final results are presented to an audience drawn from the university and the local business community.

Participants gain the hands-on experience and satisfaction of “learning by doing”, working on a real project where their ideas and conclusions will influence future directions and outcomes. Skills and experience gained include:

• Working in a multi-disciplinary team with participants from other university departments
• Multiple discussions & interviews with members of the Cambridge entrepreneurial ecosystem
• Teamworking & team management
• Brainstorming
• Identify the key commercial benefits of a technology or product innovation
• Identify relevant competitors and potential collaborators
• Identify and contact relevant industry experts
• Use and develop your own network of contacts
• Cold calling and extracting useful information from commercial contacts
• Application of Human-Centred Design and Design Thinking methodologies to technology commercialisation projects
• Analyse incomplete data from a variety of sources to draw a justifiable conclusion
• Presentation skills (for a non-expert audience)

The syllabus includes lectures from industry experts and experienced entrepreneurs on the practicalities of taking university innovations to market.