NTU 2023 Innovation Ignition Challenge for Young Entrepreneurs (I2CE)
Introduction | Program Timeline| Registration | Program Details | Pitch Competition | FAQ | TestimonialsPROGRAM INTRODUCTION
Modelled after the Lean LaunchPad (LLP) program that helps Singapore-based research scientists and engineers turn their inventive technologies into commercially viable products and feasible business ventures, the Innovation Ignition Challenge for Young Entrepreneurs (I2CE) is an 8-week program tailored for undergraduates, post-graduate students and post-docs in NTU to gain exposure to the entrepreneurship and start-up ecosystem. Through workshops and bootcamps, selected student teams will interact with industry professionals/investors and learn to evaluate commercialization potential of deep technologies towards start-up formation. Each team will be assigned with a mentor, and under the guidance of whom the team will develop a pitch presentation for their technology, a business model canvas, and a short video clip about their technology/idea. At the end of the program, teams are encouraged to take part in the NTU I2CE pitch competition with award recognition and to gain feedback from a panel of stakeholders in Singapore entrepreneurship ecosystem.
PROGRAM TIMELINE
REGISTRATION (May 5th, Monday – May 21st, Sunday, 2023)
Log in with Microsoft account to access registration form: https://forms.office.com/r/b6LWyaXuVM
Interested participants can register as individuals and do not need to be part of a team to apply. The program will bring together all registered participants during the Ideation Phase to help individual participants group into teams with matching interest.
Alternative, if you already have a project idea and have found peers with shared interest, you can form a group of up to 6 members (PhD students/Postdoc should compose at most half of the team) with a technical lead identified. The technical lead should submit a summary of ideas for an unsolved challenge in a particular field of technology, which can be but not limited to Biomedical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Medical Device, Materials, Electronics, Robotics and automation and other STEM-related disciplines. The project idea does not necessarily have to be validated with a working prototype.
Selected participants will be notified by 23rd May 2023 after registration is closed on 21st May 2023.Priority will be given to participants who registered by 18th May 2023.
PROGRAM DETAILS
Details of the program can be found here.ENTREPRENEURSHIP PITCH COMPETITION
After Aug 3rd 2023, teams will have the benefit of more time on their own to conduct further market validation and prepare for the Entrepreneurship Pitch Competition on 7 Sep 2023 (TBC).
Registration link and further information regarding the 2023 pitch competition will be updated by early August 2023. Information on last pitch competition in 2021 can be found here.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1. Who can be the technical team lead? Who should be other team members?For both PG/postdoc and UG students can join the program as a technical team lead if they have an idea or have worked on a technology with possible commercialization potential. This can be an idea from PhD research project or Final Year Project, Internship Project, URECA project etc). You do not need a fully proven technology to join the program, but you need some knowledge of the proposed advantages that your potential idea might bring and what problems you want this idea to address. If a participant doesn’t have a technological idea, he or she can just join as a regular team member to learn how the commercialization process works. Team lead will be the point of contact for administrative purpose but the team task during the program is often and should be shared by all team members.
Yes, we welcome all the students who are interested to the program to register to indicate their interest and we can offer a place if there is capacity.
All official program events (workshops and bootcamps) will be in person and the participation is compulsory. Field interviews and mentor consultation can be conducted online or in-person depending on mutual preference of team and mentors.
There is no minimum requirement to sign up. Anyone who is interested can sign up regardless of GPA or experiences. You do not need any prior business experience to join the program. In fact, the program aims to equip engineering/technical students/researchers with knowledge on entrepreneurship that they have not previously been exposed to.
No fee is required from the participants. The program is fully sponsored by NTU CCEB and I&E Office. Even though the expense is generously sponsored, the program incurs cost for workshop and mentor engagement so we expect the students to utilize this opportunity effectively with motivation and commitment. We appreciate if you can evaluate your availability for time commitment seriously prior to registration.
6. Contact information for further enquiries If you have further inquiries, please email Fengrui (ya0003ui@e.ntu.edu.sg) regarding registration process. For other general enquiry regarding the program, please email Prof. Dang (ttdang@ntu.edu.sg)Testimonials from previous participants who have benefited from innovation and entrepreneurship programs
“…Overall, building a start-up is not an easy feat as it requires a lot of passion and commitment to grow and nurture your idea. I have also learnt from the mentors to think in many different perspectives, from a realistic view and always to have the product’s description simple for people to understand. From this experience, I am confident that the skill sets I have learnt will be applicable for projects that I will encounter in the future. I would like to thank NTUitive and SCBE for this rare opportunity for us to have a taste on what it is like being an entrepreneur.”
-from Tan Si Ling (Nicole),
Class of 2023, NTU Bioengineering,
Participant of 2021 I2CE program.
“My favourite takeaway would be l earning to be open-minded but also fast in making decisions and moving forward. The main objective is really to understand the market and seeing what value the product i n question can bring to them. I l earned to ask questions that go beyond the initial idea or route to commercialisation. For example, “Where is the best entry point that our product can enter and will be best accepted by the market?” Companies exist for the customers!”
– from De Jesus Rachel Pam,
Class of 2023, NTU Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering,
Participant of 2021 I2CE program.
"I used to have very low confidence and always gets nervous when presenting in front of others. By participating in the LeanLaunch Pad program organized by NUS and NTU jointly, I stepped out of my comfort zone to perform regular presentations, and interview stakeholders such as Clinicians, Patients and Pharma company representatives. This exposure helps me to be more confident and comfortable when talking to people with authorities. During my job interview recently, all my interviewers commented that despite having the lowest GPA (2 btw) amongst the other interviewees, I presented myself very well and they felt a genuine connection with me. I was offered a job the next day after my interviews with Hemo biotechnology and TuvSuv. You want your resume to look good, keen to explore commercialization and startups, or curious how this works? Just join, you got nothing to lose, and you will gain an experience that costs much more if you join this outside of school."
– from Aw Min Hui Hilda
SCBE student, Class of 2021, Hemo Biotechnology
"My time in the LLP program has given me great experiences and insights into the process of bringing healthcare innovations from the bench to the bedside. We carried out customer validation and I got the opportunity to talk to a wide variety of stakeholders which was helpful in learning how to commercialize healthcare innovations. Active participation in the program definitely helped me land an internship with Temasek Life Sciences Accelerator for my professional internship since I was able to showcase some knowledge and understanding of the Lean start-up methodology. The experience also aided me in assessing and analyzing new start-ups during my internship as I can better put myself in their shoes and understand their problem-solution and product-market fit."
- from Patrick Teo
SCBE student, Class of 2022, NTU Bioengieering Management Associate at TTSH)
Joining the LLP Program, we have formed team Formacyte Therapeutics with members from different backgrounds: 3 PG students and 2 UG students from SCBE, and 1 MBA student from NBS. Through training sessions and interviews with a wide range of stakeholders, the program has taught us how to look at our innovation from various perspectives, how to determine its real value outside of the lab, and the pathway to commercialization. Completed the program, we now have a much clearer picture of healthcare commercialization, and we are well-prepared to embark on our future startup journey.
We were the winner for the 2021 Pitch Competition, and it is no doubt that this preparation has played a major role in the team winning multiple awards afterwards including Runner-up of Singapore National Grand Final for 15K entrepreneurship competition in 2021, Second prize at China-ASEAN Entrepreneurship Competition and Winner of Health Category of Prototypes for Humanity in Dubai in 2022.
- Team Formacyte Therapeutics
CCEB PG and UG students, winner of multiple international and nation entrepreneurship awards
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