Semmelweis University

The oldest and largest institution of medicine and health sciences in Hungary

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Founded in 1769, Semmelweis University is the oldest and largest institution of medicine and health sciences in Hungary. Besides providing high-quality training for the future generation of physicians and healthcare specialists in three languages (Hungarian, English and German), Semmelweis also plays a leading role in research and innovation on the European scale. Over 1,000 faculty members in 80 departments take part in R&D activities supported by Hunga-rian and international grant programmes. As an acknowledgment of its outstanding scientific achievements, the Hungarian Ministry of Education and Culture awarded Semmelweis University the title “Research Centre of Excellence” in April 2010.

Semmelweis innovations

Semmelweis Innovations is a group of ventures and projects that – in connection with Semmelweis University – facilitates innovation processes. We develop and maintain a joint technology transfer platform for universities and research centres in Budapest and the Central Hungarian Region. Activities focus on fostering new enterprises by training biotechnology managers and incubating young spin-offs. Semmelweis Innovations handles all inventions of the employees and students of Semmelweis University, approximately 70 projects per year.

Mission

The mission of Semmelweis Innovations is to foster the development of new technologies at the university and to help these technologies to become marketable products. Semmelweis Innovations serves as a bridge and connection point between the academic and the business sectors in the life sciences industry.

Semmelweis aim to form a critical mass of scientific excellence through partnerships among research institutions and universities of world renown. Semmelweis evaluates and handles innovative project ideas emerging from basic research through a network of Technology Transfer Offices located in every major research centre.

Knowing the different needs of inventors and the varying potential of their inventions, Semmelweis has outlined various utilisation paths, including the licensing and patenting of innovations, consultancy and training on how to set up spin-offs.

Activities

Training programmes

We harness the technology-transfer expertise of Semmelweis Innovations in co-operation with Gothenburg International Bioscience Business School’s European entrepreneurship masters programme. Knowing that there was a lack of well-trained innovation managers, especially in the biotech sector, we launch in 2010 the Semmelweis International BioEntrepreneurship Prog-ram (SIBE), a one-year long postgraduate course that brings and trains together young professionals working in biotech or business management fields.

Business expertise

Based on a range of international know-how, Semmelweis developed a concept of business shaping, the Trimaran Business Shaping Prog-ram. The concept aims to create new technology-driven enterprises which can effectively compete in the global market. We modelled the programme after the fastest self-powered boat, the trimaran, which brings together three hulls to support a single rig and achieves the greatest stability and speed at the same time. The three hulls – the three key competences – of this concept are a scientist with deep technical knowledge, a manager who is driving the company and a mentor or chairperson with experience and connections.

Innovation and incubation

Semmelweis also maintains extensive ties with the META Group, which has vast experience in using EU Social Fund resources for building effective innovation clusters in several European countries. Semmelweis Innovations co-ordinates the activities of the Semmelweis Innovation Cluster, an initiative fostering the co-operation and project generation of Hungarian spin-offs and SMEs in biotechnology.