Course Syllabus

EAS 590: Commercializing Technology (Building an Engineering Startup)

Get full syllabus here: EAS_590_Syllabus.pdf

Description

EAS 590 is a full semester class for students interested in real world, hands-on learning in startup formation. The class teaches a methodology for identifying and validating business models for startups. Students work in teams on their own startup ideas and interact with customers and partners to validate and refine their business model. The goal is to reduce commercialization risk in early stage engineering and software ventures.

There is a key difference between startups and established companies: startups strive to find a business model that works, while the goal of large companies is to execute already proven business models. Therefore different processes are needed for building and growing startups. The EAS 590 curriculum is based on the Lean Launchpad methodology. The curriculum has been tested and proven at top universities like Stanford, UC-Berkeley, and Columbia, and through government-funded programs like the National Science Foundation’s I-Corps and I-Corps at NSF among others.

 At the end of the class, students will have acquired the knowledge to formulate and validate startup ideas.The class ends with showcase presentations, in which the students present their findings.

Prerequisites

The course is designed for students interested in entrepreneurship in engineering areas such as computer science, robotics, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and the like. The class assumes no prior business education but presumes students have an understanding of the engineering areas they wish to explore for startup formation.

The audience is Juniors, Seniors and graduate students. Sophomores will be allowed to take the class one case-by-case basis.

Sharing of Ideas Materials:

Everything that is discussed and presented in class is open to the general public and will be publicly distributed. This includes presentations and videos made by students. EAS 590 instructors, students, and guests may freely discuss and distribute EAS 590 related materials and ideas presented in class. If there are elements that you wish to remain confidential, do not share them in class.

Instructor

Dr. Tomás Isakowitz works at the Penn Center for Innovation where he runs a hands-on experiential fellowship in technology commercialization, the PCI Fellows Program. Besides EAS 590, Dr. Tomás Isakowitz currently teaches at Penn: MTR 620/BE 608 Translational Therapeutics and MTR 642: Building a Life Sciences Startup. In addition, Dr. Isakowitz is part of the team that founded and runs the Penn I-Corps program that assists Penn teams in developing startups stemming from Penn research.

Dr. Isakowitz obtained his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Pennsylvania in 1989. He was faculty at NYU and at Wharton in the 1989 to 1998 period. Subsequently, Dr. Isakowitz focused on the commercial aspects of technology development first as an equity analyst and more recently as part of the Penn Center for Innovation (PCI). Dr. Isakowitz is married, has three children, and lives in University City, Philadelphia.