ETBS

Entrepreneurship and Technology-Based Startups

a course in Entrepreneurship for all PhD students


Universities have a large enterprise-creation potential that is still underutilized. The ETBS course aims to improve the entrepreneurial knowledge of researchers in order to let them translate scientific results in an entrepreneurial venture. The program is open to all PhD students, Post-Docs and researchers of the University of Padova, from any research area (Engineering, Sciences, Life Sciences, Humanities, etc.). ETBS is organized in two levels:

SCENT ETBS course


ETBS-1: course contents

From the idea to the market

  • From a research project to an entrepreneurial project
  • Recognize and evaluate an entrepreneurial opportunity
  • Market dimension, customers profiles and value proposition
  • Development of the product/service concept
  • Go-to-Market strategies

Intellectual Property Rights

  • Types of IPR (patent, copyright, trademark)
  • The structure of a patent application (description, claims, etc)
  • Getting a patent: the patenting process (step by step)
  • When to file a patent application: priority date, Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
  • Where to protect an invention
  • Different IPR strategies

The team and the early decisions

  • The creation of the founders' team
  • Types and characteristics of founders' teams
  • Founders' decisions and their consequences
  • Frequent mistakes and suggestions deriving from experience

The economic and financial aspects of a startup

  • The fundamental economic and financial operations of a technology-based startup
  • The structures of the financial statements
  • Income Statement, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow
  • Evaluation of the value of the company
  • Sources and cost of capital

Funding a startup

  • Different sources of funds: Angel Investors and Venture Capital
  • Investment companies and funds: how they work
  • How and what investors evaluate
  • The investment agreements between investors and startups
  • New ventures’ funding options



ETBS-2: advanced-level program

  • It is strictly based on an entrepreneurial project proposed by the participants
  • Participants need to develop their own project and are followed on an individual or group level
  • A selection is made to accept only a few promising projects
  • It is possible to participate individually but the participation of groups is encouraged
  • Interaction between participants and teachers could be in presence but also with any other communication tool/device (at a distance)
  • The activation of the course is "on demand" and can take place at any time. There are no deadlines
  • The duration of the course is variable according to the stage of the project

Contact us


For more information about SCENT projects, research activities and educational programs, please send us an email


SCENT - School of Entrepreneurship