Commerce-orientated programme
“I used to study biotechnology at Chalmers and I found that programme to be very research-orientated. Now, we are working closely with the business sector in a completely different manner, much more practical," says Maria Björklund. There is a low buzz in the open offices as teams discuss their projects. This year´s students have basically only had time to move into the incubator, generally described as a type of incubator for new business ventures.

Okay, one has a concept, a project. But how does one go about creating a business. By googling?
“In the initial stage, it is mostly about research, and naturally, there is a certain amount of surfing the Net. We need to ascertain what is available out there on the market and if there are any patents. And talk to the innovators," says Johan Andréasson. Maria Trulsson, Johan Andréasson and Maria Björklund have covered a flip-chart full of details of what needs to be done. Arrange a board meeting. Contact the researchers. Buy snacks.

GIBBS — with the focus on biomedicine
Chalmers started its School for Entrepreneurs in 1997. The reason for starting was because the research being conducted at Chalmers and the innovations developed very seldom led to commercial ventures. It was, quite simply, difficult to get the research out. By connecting ambitious students with scientists, Chalmers wanted to remedy the situation. Now CSE and GIBBS are housed under the same roof, with GIBBS focusing on biomedical innovations and CSE on technological inventions.

During the first year, students follow the ordinary programme which includes traditional subjects such as business development, industrial and intellectual property rights and entrepreneurship. During the second year, they are split into groups and assigned projects which they must develop into companies.

“We evaluate about 100 business concepts from both the university as well as industry. This year we presented 20 of these concepts to the students, who in turn selected 12 of them," says Malin Rydell, Marketing Manager, Encubator, the company responsible for the incubator at CSE and GIBBS. In addition to the use of premises, counselling and coaching, each project receives funding from Encubator; a sum of up to 200,000 SEK.

A great deal of support on the way
John Lantz, who attends CSE, is working on a project that will make it possible to print out moving printed matter. This may be anything from moving advertisements on the tram, wallpaper that is white during the day and becomes darker in the evening, or a moving first page of a newspaper. All over the globe, companies are experimenting with similar concepts.

“Of course, there is competition, but the technology in our project is simple as well as being cost-effective, which is where we are at an advantage," says John Lantz. He is really excited about getting started and is very satisfied with how the programme is designed.
“We receive a lot of support from the School," he adds.

But what exactly is a course in entrepreneurship?
“For the students, the course is very much about personal development and learning," says Jonas Berggren, President, Encubator. Jonas is of the opinion that those most suited to pursue an education in entrepreneurship are not necessarily the greatest visionaries.
“But they must dare to take risks. Students here have incredible drive and are not hesitant to do what is required of them at the time. Moreover, they are good salespeople who can make an impression after only a brief encounter.
 
The right tools for entrepreneurship
The programme is intended to inspire, encourage and provide students with tools to start business ventures. But sometimes it can go wrong. It may be that the business concept is not really feasible; that a patent already exists, or that collaboration with the innovator is not viable. Under these circumstances, the only thing to do is cut ones losses and begin with a new project.

Extremely popular Masters Programme
The two entrepreneurship programmes, leading to a Masters, are popular and the application process is quite extensive. First, there is a formal application after which candidates must respond to a number of questions in the form of written essays, before attending a practical test where group dynamics are evaluated. “When all of these have been successfully completed, we are usually left with about 2-3 students for each full-time place," says Tomas Faxheden, School Manager, CSE.  In Göteborg, the automobile industry is in crisis and the recession has made it difficult for small new business to attract capital.

“At the same time, however, the public sector has recognised the need for innovations that could become the companies of the future," says Jonas Berggren. Currently, the entrepreneurship programme has led to 32 vibrant companies with a total turnover of 193 million SEK. “This is where we are decidedly on the right track," concludes Jonas Berggren.

Facts »
Entrepreneur
The word “entrepreneur" came into use as long ago as in the 14th century and its origin is French. The word had several meanings, but what they all had in common was that an entrepreneur was a risk-taker, someone who undertook to do something. In the Middle Ages, an entrepreneur was a person who undertook major construction projects at a fixed fee, thereby accepting the risk of any potential losses. The Swedish National Encyclopaedia defines an entrepreneur as being an enterprising person who starts new business ventures and enters into new projects. Ingvar Kamprad is often described as a kind of super-entrepreneur. At the early age of 17, he founded IKEA, which initially imported cigarette lighters and pens from different countries.

State-of-the-art education to Göteborg »
Göteborg gets state-of-the-art education in entrepreneurship.
Last summer, the Swedish government decided to award Chalmers University of Technology and the University of Gothenburg one of the country's two state-of-the-art educational programmes in entrepreneurship. The state will invest more than ten million SEK to perfect the course.

In Göteborg, there are four practical entrepreneurship programmes, which together have created Göteborg School of Entrepreneurship. In addition to the above-mentioned Chalmers School of Entrepreneurship (CSE) and the Göteborg International Bioscience Business School (GIBBS) there are also the Entrepreneurship Programme at the University of Gothenburg School of Business, Economics and Law and The School of Intellectual Capital Management.

Initially, eleven universities and colleges expressed their interest in participating in building up the two new state-of-the-art programmes. Göteborg School of Entrepreneurship ranked at the top of Swedish National Agency for Higher Education´s list for entrepreneurship programmes considered as having the potential to achieve world-class status. The second was in Lund.
 
Source: Göteborgs-Posten, 19th March 2009