Nationally Recognized Boot Camp for Health Science Startups Open to UA Students

U of A students interested in entrepreneurship can apply to an all-expenses-paid, nationally-recognized "boot camp" focusing on starting and funding a health science venture.

The Health Sciences Entrepreneurship Boot Camp will be May 17-22 at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway.

The five-day, immersive training program will introduce students to influential faculty, entrepreneurs and mentors, while exposing them to to entity filing, patents and legal issues in entrepreneurship, according to Dr. Nancy Gray, president of BioVentures and a co-sponsor of the camp.

Students will form teams, create and refine new venture ideas and talk to potential customers. Camp will conclude with a demo day that is open to the public, Gray said.

Students must have completed their sophomore year to apply. The deadline for early consideration is Feb. 28. All other applications are due March 27.

Accepted students will have all expenses paid through funding from Arkansas INBRE, BioVentures and the Conductor, Gray said.

"The camp is an extremely good resource and terrific opportunity not only for students interested in the health sciences field, but students interested in startups," said Sarah Goforth, executive director of the UA's Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

Goforth will also serve as a program mentor at the boot camp.

The camp grew from pilot project to national prestige in just four years, recently winning a second place Innovations in Research and Research Education Award from the Association of American Medical Colleges, according to Gray.

Sixty-nine students have completed the Boot Camp, representing 15 different colleges and universities within Arkansas, and the course ratings have been consistently exceptional, Gray said.

The winning team from 2018 consisted of students from Arkansas State University, University of Arkansas-Fort Smith and University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. 

The students developed a business proposal for Uber Rx, a service that delivers medications to patients before discharge from a hospital or clinic.