Scientific training teaches you how to investigate a problem, test an idea and defend a conclusion. A life-sciences company must do something more: decide which science to pursue, protect it, fund it, develop it and turn it into something that creates value. Each step introduces questions that cannot be answered by science alone. Who owns the intellectual property? Is there a viable product behind the discovery? What evidence will an investor expect? Which development route is realistic? When should a company build, partner or stop? And where can someone with a scientific background contribute within that system?

This session offers a bird’s-eye view of these questions and introduces the BioBusiness Winter School, a three-day programme covering business models, product development, intellectual property, partnerships, venture capital and career orientation. Participants learn directly from the crème de la crème of Belgian entrepreneurs, investors, executives and specialists who have taken discoveries through financing, development, company building and market-facing decisions.

Understanding the wider business system matters even if you never intend to become a founder or business specialist. The point is not to leave your expertise behind. It is to understand where that expertise fits, what other disciplines need from you and how scientific work becomes part of a viable life-sciences organisation. The 25-minute session at the BCF Career Event maps the terrain. The detailed cases, discussions and interaction with practitioners take place during the Winter School itself.