Page 26 - Technology and Innovation Journal - 19-1

364 DOMSCHKE & BLAHO

small university start-ups and large industrial com- of the Grove School of Engineering, Professor Gilda
panies alike. Barabino, recruited author Domschke as the CCNY
University programs, particularly conventional MTM industrial consultant. Domschke served as the
master’s degree programs in translational medicine program’s acting director to help with design and
or science, typically provide an excellent education in implementation, with a specific focus on industrial
technologies. There remains, however, a gap between best practices and tools such as Stage-Gate. Author
the acquired education of students and their true Blaho developed the program’s entrepreneurship
workplace readiness as it pertains to education in the components. Together, the authors collaborated on
practical knowledge of the multidisciplinary product the creation of the novel industrial Stage-Gate- and
development process, key skill sets, standards, and entrepreneurship-driven aspects of this new MTM
norms needed to manage complex processes while program.
mastering translational hurdles. This gap often ham- The new CCNY MTM separates itself from con-
pers the successful development of brilliant scientific ventional programs in translational medicine or
discoveries that incubate within university start-up science through its far-reaching goal of seamlessly
hubs. fusing contemporary translational medicine with
A similar situation exists in industry, where a core knowledge in all of the multiple disciplines that
skilled workforce that is capable of mastering com- play key roles in the successful development of med-
plex product development processes is key. Medical ical products. For example, the multidisciplinary
products are generally highly technically advanced; CCNY MTM program comprises biomedical engi-
therefore, expert industrial engineers and scien- neering capstone projects, business management
tists often carry much of the responsibility for the with a particular focus on entrepreneurship, finance,
design and development of these products. In many regulations and standards, intellectual property, and
cases, these technical experts are recruited at the quality assurance. This program aims to establish a
graduate level to ensure a competitive edge in the new standard, one that facilitates the translation of
rapid-growing technical environment. This leads to brilliant ideas to successful medical products.
costly ramp-up periods and the high risk of incorrect
decisions, which may impede the successful develop- METHODS
ment of a bright idea through the complex hurdles The Stage-Gate Process
to the final product.
A growing number of university programs are History
responding to this demand by offering multidis- Stage-Gate is an important management tool that
ciplinary course materials that relate to the early provides the roadmap for conceiving, developing,
stages of the product development process. This and launching new products. The general concept
trend, however, comes with a unique challenge of is believed to have its origin back in the 1940s (4).
its own: the efficient linkage and management of It has since been refined by many well-known pio-
complex course materials and high-quality teaching neering institutions and companies, such as the
standards. An example of such a multidisciplinary National Aeronautics and Space Administration,
Master of Translational Medicine (MTM) program is ExxonMobil, DuPont, Royal Bank, and Procter &
the joint program between University of California, Gamble (5). According to an AC Nielsen study in
San Francisco, and University of California, Berkeley, 2010 (6), a rigorous stage-and-gate system increases
which was funded by a gift from Andrew S. Grove company sales performance from new products by
(http://uctranslationalmedicine.org). Similarly, Grove a factor of 6.5 times. By the year 2000, almost 75%
approached the leadership of the City College of of product developers in the U.S. were using this
New York (CCNY) of the City University of New stage-and-gate system (6). In recent years, thought
York (CUNY) to develop another innovative MTM leaders such as Robert G. Cooper have taken on fur-
training program focusing on industrial key skill sets ther refinements of this process to meet the needs of
and best practices as well as entrepreneurship. The increasingly complex product processes (6). Particu-
CCNY executive team, under the lead of the dean lar emphasis is placed on the quality of the ideas that