BioDesign Innovation

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2016:

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

BioDesign Innovation is a “real world”, team-based subject in creating successful medical devices. Teams will consist of 2-3 students from the MBA program and 2-3 students from engineering disciplines, along with individuals with medical and law backgrounds to conceive and design an innovative medical device, taking it through all steps of development. The teams will create an engineering prototype of their invention, draft a provisional patent application, and compose a detailed business plan; team members are expected to contribute primarily according their specialisation.

BioDesign Innovation is given over three terms of one academic year and is composed of frontal lectures, practical training, and a guided project. The subject is taught by a combination of academics and guest speakers such as medical device entrepreneurs, corporate executives, intellectual property attorneys and venture capitalists. As such, it provides a unique opportunity to gain real world experience while still in an academic environment.

This subject is only available to students admitted to MC-BAPT, or students with permission of the MBA course coordinator. There is an application process for this subject, and students are required to have achieved a H2B average or better in their course.

Having completed this unit the student should be able to:

1. Search, analyse and document clinical practice, engineering science and relevant literature in order to determine the need for further research and development in a chosen clinical area.
2. Devise a methodology of investigation to improve knowledge or understanding of a chosen interdisciplinary topic.
3. Collect and analyse a range of data (both qualitative and quantitative) to improve collective understanding of a chosen topic.
4. Build a device or write software that helps to technologically address a clinical need.
5. Develop a business plan, including market overview, regulation and reimbursement strategies and intellectual property (IP) strategies.
6. Write a project report that follows good engineering science practice.
7. Present an oral presentation of the findings of an investigation to an audience of peers or lay people.

• One team-based written assignment on a clinical need (approximately 2,000 words per student), due in Week 8 or 9 (10%)
• One team-based written assignment on the proposed medical device (approximately 2,000 words per student), due in Week 12 or 13 (10%)
• One team-based oral presentation (approximately 15 minutes per student), due in Week 22 (20%)
• A technical oral presentation (approximately 30 minutes per student, including Q&A), due in Week 32 or 33 (10%)
• A lay person oral presentation (approximately 10 minutes per student), due in Week 33 or 34 (10%)
• A professional project report (approximately 5,000 words per student), due in Week 34 (40%)

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.