Postdocs partake in Wits innovation initiative
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Our postdoc fellows recently partook in the Wits Innovation Centre's annual Entrepreneurship / Prospector @Wits workshop.
Every year, the WIC's workshop gives Wits staff and students the opportunity to get intensive hands-on experiential training in how to turn ideas into innovations ready to be taken to market.
By the end of the week, attendees could articulate a clear value proposition for their innovation and outline the first steps of a roadmap toward market launch.
Two of the Antiviral Gene Therapy Research Unit's postdoc fellows, Rebecca van Dorsten and Ofentse Matlhabe took part, expanding their entrepreneurial skills.
Said Ofentse Matlhabe, "We attended the Wits entrepreneurship workshop to gain insight into how we can develop the work conceptualised in the lab into viable businesses. The workshop did indeed deliver more than I expected because we delved into design thinking, intellectual property, and establishing networks."
Matlhabe and Rebecca van Dorsten had the opportunity to interact with people from various academic fields.
"As a researcher, this workshop taught the importance of establishing networks outside academia. I learnt the importance of different ways of protecting intellectual property, and the importance of pivoting from ideas that don’t work."
To read more about the innovation workshop and the winners, click here.