BME-IDEA Meeting 2018

This small group, interactive session will enable the leaders of innovation education programs from around the world to connect, share their experiences, and help one another overcome common challenges. Before the meeting, we’ll ask all participants to send in three issues/challenges currently facing their program. At the event, we’ll discuss the top issues, with more established programs their sharing strategies/lessons learned and the entire group brainstorming other possible solutions. Participants will also have the opportunity to explore potential international collaborations and discuss what innovation education programs want/need from more global BME-IDEA activities.

Registration update: Participants from international programs are still invited to join this session by expressing interest when they complete the BME-IDEA registration form. As of August 24, the session is closed to additional participants from U.S.-based programs. To join the waiting list, please express interest on the BME-IDEA registration form and the organizing committee will notify you via email if space opens up. Contact moden@rice.edu and denend@stanford.edu with any questions.

Target Audience:

• Attendees representing programs based outside the US
• Participants from US institutions with active international collaborations and/or an interest is launching one

Required pre-work:

• Using a standard template that we provide, prepare a one-page program overview to describe key aspects of your program. We will also ask you to identify the top three challenges facing your program that you’d ideally like to discuss during the session. The template will be sent via email to confirmed guests in early September.
• Submit your completed template to moden@rice.edu and denend@stanford.edu no later than September 14, 2018.

Location: North Tower – Magnolia Room

BME innovation education took a giant step forward with the introduction of project-based, experiential learning. Now, important opportunities exist to evolve our training models further by expanding our design teams to be truly inter-disciplinary. In this interactive panel discussion, hear from graduate and undergraduate program leaders about how they are involving students from other departments and schools in their courses and the effect it’s having on the learning experience.

Moderator: Joe Tranquillo (Bucknell University)
Panelists: Mary Beth Privitera (University of Cincinnati), Vin Pizziconi (Arizona State University), and Wendy Newstetter (Georgia Institute of Technology)

Location: North Tower – International Ballroom  D

BME programs have made meaningful progress in increasing student diversity with many programs reporting balanced gender equity at the undergraduate level.  However, inclusion lags behind for graduate programs and faculty, as well as in entrepreneurial ventures. To set the stage for this session, we will review statistics and discuss federally-funded programs designed to increase diversity. To explore one possible barrier to inclusion, we will then hear the findings and recommendations from the recent report on the Impacts of Sexual Harassment in Academia from the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine. Together, we will discuss challenges, strategies, and successes in fostering inclusion and equity in BME innovation.

Moderator: Amy Lerner (University of Rochester)
Panelists: Michele Grimm (National Science Foundation), Gilda Barabino (NASEM, CUNY, and past president of BMES); Zeynep Erim (National Institutes of Health)

Location: North Tower – International Ballroom  D

This resource list provides links to reports, policies and articles related to the topic of diversity in BME Innovation.

BME innovation education programs are building momentum in universities and other institutions around the world. Hear from the invention education leaders in Africa, Asia, and Europe about how their programs work, their greatest challenges, and how they seek to address them. During the discussion, and during networking opportunities throughout the meeting, we will also explore opportunities for international cross-program collaborations.

Moderator: Maria Oden (Rice University)
Panelists: Jimmy Moore (Imperial College), Masakazu Yagi (Japan Biodesign), and Theresa Mkandawire (University of Malawi Polytechnic)

Location: North Tower – International Ballroom  D

Translation for Student-Generated Start-Ups: What You Need to Know, What They Need to Know

From the research lab to the Capstone Design experience, there are many opportunities for translation of ideas into commercial products in the academic environment. However, for many students (and faculty), starting a company can be intimidating. Most startups fail and the path to success can depend on a few key decisions along the way. In this special breakout session, four entrepreneurs with different levels of experience – from struggling first time entrepreneur to seasoned successful serial entrepreneur – will share their personal stories and provide their perspective on “If I knew then what I know now…” Join us to learn more about key issues for successful translation for student generated startups.

Moderator: Eric Ledet (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) and James Rains (Georgia Institute of Technology)
Panelists: Dev Mandavia (Ethos Medical), Erika Tybursk (Sanguina), Chris Lee (NuVasive), and Harold Solomon (Georgia Institute of Technology)

Location: North Tower – International Ballroom  D

The Next Big IDEA: Re-Imagining the Future of Design Competitions

Student-driven innovation has become a key part of many BME training programs at the graduate and undergraduate level. Over a decade ago, the BME-IDEA community articulated a shared set of needs for external targets to help focus emerging projects on innovation, create a competitive context to support the innovators and their ideas, and recognize and celebrate the programs that launched them. The resulting design competition has grown and supported many successful teams over its 12 year history. A variety of other competitions have emerged, as well, at both the regional and national levels. This session will be a “charrette” – to reflect on the current needs of our community and the students we serve, explore opportunities for encouraging and promoting innovation, and generate ideas to guide the evolution and development of these kinds of offerings.

Moderators: Phil Weilerstein (VentureWell) and Joe Tranquillo (Bucknell University)

Location: North Tower – International Ballroom  ABC

Location: North Tower – International Ballroom D

The collective wisdom of the BME-IDEA community extends beyond the names in the program and the invited panelists. We’ll close the conference with a chance for a few attendees to share their perspectives on ideas that have bubbled up throughout the day. If you have a best practice or an answer to a challenge that emerged from a panel discussion, please consider presenting in the Nifty Ideas section. This will be a crowd-sourced session of brief talks similar to the “snapshots” of previous years.

HOW IT WORKS: At any point during the day, propose a Nifty Idea talk! If you have a perfect response to a panel question, if your lunch discussion has people around you asking for more details, or if you feel like a critical topic was missing from the agenda, this is the chance to help others learn from your experience. We’ll be using the Sli.do platform to collect ideas. When you have the inspiration for a Nifty Idea presentation, jump on to Sli.do to add your proposal. During the 3:30 break, we’ll open the list of ideas for audience voting. The three topics that receive the most interest from participants will have five minutes to present during the Nifty Ideas session at the close of the day, followed by three minutes of group discussion.

Presentations should be informal (no slides). In the interest of time, they should stay focused on a single idea or best practice, rather than providing a general overview of your program or curriculum. Lobbying for your presentation is encouraged! At networking breaks, be sure to mention your Nifty Ideas to test the level of interest and encourage up-voting.

DETAILS: During the event, go to Sli.do and enter code #NIFTY.

Moderator: Moose O’Donnell (University of California-Berkeley)

Location: North Tower – International Ballroom D

Location: North Tower – International Ballroom D